Back to search

Who has more right to the custody of a 4-year-old girl: her father, who resides in Dammam, or her mother, who is married to another man and resides in Riyadh? And does the previous agreement regarding alimony and travel in the divorce decree apply to the maternal grandmother if custody is transferred to her?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the mother marries a foreigner (not a mahram to the child), her right to custody is forfeited. Custody then transfers to the maternal grandmother according to the majority of scholars. However, some Hanbalis hold the view that the father takes precedence over anyone other than the mother. In the event that the parents live in different countries after separation, most scholars believe that the father has a stronger claim to custody, while others maintain that the child's best interest is the overriding consideration, regardless of the parents' place of residence. As for determining the amount of maintenance and allowing the custodian to travel, this is determined by the Sharia court.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy