ABSTRACT
Islamic law distinguishes between guardianship and the custody of minor children. The custody of the children in no way affects the father's natural guardianship over their persons. As a rule, a mother enjoyed her right to custody of her minor children. She did not need confirmation of this right from the court unless someone challenged it. The qadis almost blindly confirmed divorce agreements in which the wife renounced the custody of her young children. Although the attitude of the qadis was very advantageous to the mother, it seems that its motive was not, as a rule, her best interest or that of the child, but the wish to apply the provisions of the shaft a unswervingly. Shaykh Husni al-Zu'bi noted that the qadis regularly relied on this memorandum in deciding which of the parents was eligible for haddna, he, at any rate, frequently had recourse to the welfare officer and always accepted his recommendations.
