al-Ibana an Akhdh al-Ujra ala al-Hadana

al-Ibana 'an Akhdh al-Ujra 'ala al-Hadana (The Clarification Regarding Taking Wages for Child Custody) is a legal treatise written by the Damascus-based Hanafi jurist Ibn Abidin (d. 1252 AH / 1836 CE), focusing on the jurisprudence of child custody (hadana) and the financial claims associated with it al-Ibana an Akhdh al-Ujra…+1.

Background and Occasion of Composition

Ibn Abidin composed the work in response to a contemporary legal question (hadithat al-fatwa) brought before him concerning a deceased mother who left behind an estate and a young child al-Ibana an Akhdh al-Ujra…+1. The child's father was insolvent (mu'sir), and a dispute arose between two grandmothers: the maternal grandmother demanded payment from the minor's inheritance to raise the child, while the paternal grandmother—who was married to the child's paternal grandfather—offered to undertake custody free of charge (majjanan) al-Uqud al-Durriyya fi Ta…+1. The question prompted Ibn Abidin to investigate the doctrinal foundations of wages for child-rearing and determine whether custody should be assigned to the paid primary claimant or to the volunteering relative al-Uqud al-Durriyya fi Ta…+1.

Legal Content and Methodology

The treatise opens with the linguistic and juridical definitions of hadana, followed by an examination of whether custody is primarily the legal right of the female custodian (haqq al-hadina) or the right of the child (haqq al-walad) al-Ibana an Akhdh al-Ujra…. Ibn Abidin reviews rulings across classical Hanafi authorities, recording the position that a mother cannot be coerced into custody if she refuses, alongside the view of Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi, Khawahir Zadah, and al-Hinduwani holding that she can be compelled because custody is the child's right al-Ibana an Akhdh al-Ujra….

Drawing on the legal research of Khayr al-Din al-Ramli, Ibn Abidin establishes that custody parallels suckling (rada') in its financial provisions:

• A mother is not entitled to a custody wage while still married to the father or during her post-divorce waiting period ('idda), because spousal maintenance covers her livelihood Hashiyat Ibn Abidin = Rad…+1.
• Following the expiration of the waiting period, a mother or non-mother custodian is entitled to a standard wage of equivalence (ujrat al-mithl) Hashiyat Ibn Abidin = Rad…+1.
• Custody wage, suckling wage, and the child's living maintenance (nafaqa) constitute three distinct legal obligations incumbent upon the father or the responsible party al-Ibana an Akhdh al-Ujra…. Ibn Abidin also reviews the necessity of providing housing (sukna) and domestic help (khadim) where warranted al-Uqud al-Durriyya fi Ta…+1.

Ibn Abidin systematically analyzes custody disputes where a volunteer (mutabarri') steps forward, dividing the scenario according to whether the volunteer is a non-relative or an eligible female relative, whether the father is solvent or insolvent, and whether the child has independent property Hashiyat Ibn Abidin = Rad…+1. He concludes that preserving the minor's property takes precedence over retaining paid custody with the maternal line; therefore, when the father is insolvent and the child has wealth, custody is awarded to the volunteering paternal grandmother to safeguard the child's assets from depletion al-Uqud al-Durriyya fi Ta…+1.

Influence and Later Reception

Ibn Abidin integrated the findings of the treatise into his later major legal works, summarizing its conclusions and referring readers to it in his marginalia Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar and in his fatwa revision al-Uqud al-Durriyya fi Tanqih al-Fatawa al-Hamidiyya Hashiyat Ibn Abidin = Rad…+1. The treatise is included as the eleventh tract in his collected essays (Majmu'at Rasa'il Ibn 'Abidin) and was subsequently cited by later muftis and legal bodies, including the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta, on questions of custody remuneration and the effect of remarriage on judicial awards al-Ibana an Akhdh al-Ujra…+1.