ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Child Custody in Islamic Jurisprudence Part Two: A Study of the Legal Issues of Child Custody (Hidhanat) Child Custody According to the Holy Qur’an It was explained in part one that according to the teachings of the Qur’an the mother is obliged to breastfeed her baby up to twenty one months after its birth.

It is clear, however, that besides feeding on milk, the baby needs certain caring to keep on nourishing; and this caring is to be performed, in normal circumstances, by someone who has the most emotional and physical relations with that baby. Talking about taking care of the child, which is called hidhanat (custody) in juridical and legal texts, has since long ago been of interest to the Muslim scholars.

In addition, because of its significance and the great role it plays in forming and adjusting socio-familial relationships, it has been examined in various chapters of legal books and the traditions of the infallible household of the Prophet (S.A.W.).

Although the root word hadhana and its derivatives are not used in the Holy Qur’an, but the root kafala concerning the issue of child custody and providing for its needs have been brought up in two instances; one about the Prophet Moses (A.S.) and the other for the Holy Mary (S.A.). In the two sura s of Surat Ta Ha and Surat al-Qasas , God mentions the story of Moses.

When his mother put him afloat in an ark and Asiya, Pharaoh's wife, took him from the water, he rejected the breasts of the foster suckling-mothers. Afterward he was returned to his family as per her sister's advice: ﴾When your sister walked up [to Pharaoh’s palace] saying, "Shall I show you someone who will take care of him (yakfuluhu)?" Then We restored you to your mother, that she might be comforted and not grieve.﴿ [^1] , ﴾And We had forbidden him to be suckled by any nurse since before.

So she said," Shall I show you a household that will take care of him (yakfulunahu) for you and will be his well-wishers? ﴿ [^2] The motivation behind sending back Moses (A.S.) to his family was to undertake his kifala (taking charge of his care), except that kifala in the first statement refers to one person and in the second to a group, i.e. the household of Moses (A.S.).