was given precedence because she is a woman; thus, a woman has a greater right to custody of a young child than a man. The mother therefore takes precedence over the father, the grandmother over the grandfather, the sister over the brother, the maternal aunt over the maternal uncle, and the paternal aunt over the paternal uncle. As for a case involving a more distantly related woman and a more closely related man, its detailed discussion belongs elsewhere.

Our purpose here is to discuss the child who has reached the age of discernment and the distinction between boys and girls. Giving the boy a choice, as established in the Sunnah, is preferable to assigning him to either parent. Thus, assigning him to the father, as maintained by Abū Hanīfah and Ahmad … (1) the mother, as maintained by Mālik and, according to one report, Ahmad. The choice is based on personal preference. Hence they said that if he chooses the father for a time and then chooses the mother, he may do so. They even said that whenever he chooses one parent and subsequently chooses the other, he is transferred to the latter; this remains the case even if he continues changing his choice indefinitely. This is the position of those who uphold giving him a choice: al-Hasan ibn Sālih, al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

They said that if he chooses the mother, he stays with her at night, but spends the daytime with his father so that he may teach him and discipline him. This is the position of al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad. Mālik likewise said this, although he holds that the child stays with his mother without being given a choice: the father attends to him while he is with her, disciplines him and sends him to school, but he spends the night only with his mother.

The followers of al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad said that if he chooses the father, he stays with him both night and day. He is not prevented from visiting his mother, nor is she prevented from nursing him if he falls ill.

As for the “girl,” if she is given a choice and stays sometimes with her mother and sometimes with her father, this leads to her frequently going out, displaying herself and moving from place to place