Child - custody

What is Islam’s view on child custody?

The Qur’an advises couples accordingly “Take mutual counsel together, according to what is just and reasonable” (65:6). Granting that couples cooperate and come to a mutual agreement on what is best for their children then, what ever they decide, Islam will support.

The issue of child custody is not fostered on gender; it is based on the capability and suitability of the parent, that is which parent is better prepared to raise the children. Nevertheless, when parents cannot agree on settling the issue of custody, then in most cases, the father would obtain custody of the children. Again, this is conditional based on the premise that the father was religious and morally qualified. Otherwise, the children may remain with the mother, and the father must continue to financially support his children.

If the father were granted custody of the children, it would not mean that the mother would be denied seeing the children. The mother would continue to have access to her children. A father could never deny a mother the opportunity to be with her children.
(A New Perspective: Women in Islam by Sayyid Moustafa al Qazwini & Fatma Saleh)