Custody of  the child Part 5 End

Spending on the children’s maintenance during custody is the duty of the father.

After the custody ends, when the children reach puberty and become mature, then there is a difference of opinion among the jurists regarding the duty of spending on their maintenance.

If an adult son is poor, then his rich father is obliged to spend on him. If there is no father, then his rich mother must spend on him, according to the Hanbalis, whether he is healthy or incapacitated.

According to the Shafa‘is, that becomes obligatory if the child is incapacitated due to a chronic condition or illness.

It says in al-Insaf (9/289): The words “and his children, no matter how far the line of descent reaches” also include adult children who are healthy and strong, if they are poor. This is correct, and it is the view of the madhhab. End quote.

Ibn Qudamah said: And ash-Shafa‘i said: There should be a condition that there is something wrong with him, either in terms of discernment or physically.

Abu Hanifah said: The father should spend on the boy until he reaches puberty, then if he reaches puberty and is healthy, the duty to spend on him ceases, but the duty to spend on a daughter is not waived until she gets married.

Malik said something similar, except that he said that spending on daughters should continue until they get married and their husbands consummate the marriage with them, then there is no spending on them even if they get divorced. But if they get divorced before consummation of the marriage, then [the father] should still spend on them.

And we have the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to Hind: “Take what is sufficient for you and your children on a reasonable basis.” He did not exempt the child who is mature and healthy, and because the child is poor, he deserves maintenance from his rich father, just as is the case if the child is chronically ill or blind."

(Al-Mughni  9/258).

From this we may learn that so long as the father is alive, the woman does not have to spend on her children after custody ends, whether that is to buy a house or anything else, and that the father is required to spend on his daughter until she gets married.

#Parents #Children #Sharia

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