Important Things to Know About Child Custody Under Sharia Law

1. Important Things to Know About Child Custody Under Sharia Law Author: Dr. Hassan Elhais Child custody is an important consideration when spouses are getting divorced. While divorce in itself is a tough situation to be in, when there are children involved, it becomes a harder situation. In this article, we will discuss the crucial points to be kept in mind for child custody. 1. Who is a Custodian? Under the Federal Law No. 5 of 2005 (UAE Personal Status Law), a custodian is an individual concerned with the child’s day to day life, involved in raising, taking care and bringing up the child. A guardian on the other hand, financially maintains the child, makes decision regarding the child’s education, upbringing and generally takes care of the child’s affairs. According to Article 146 of the UAE Personal Status Law, the mother has the first right to be a custodian, followed by the father. 2. Conditions to be met by a custodian Under Article 143, a custodian must meet certain specified conditions. These include having sound judgement, attained the age of maturity, fidelity, ability to raise the fostered child and provide for his maintenance and care, safety from dangerous contagious diseases and not previously condemned for a crime against honor. In addition to the above, in accordance with Article 144 of the UAE Personal Status Law, if the custodian is a woman, then she should be of the same religion as the child and not be married to a man not related to the child, unless the court decides otherwise in the interest of the child. Article 145 of the UAE Personal Status Law states that if the mother is of a different religion than the child, the custody will be forfeited unless the judge regards the custody of the child with the mother in the interest of the child. However, in this case, the period of custody ends upon the child completing 5 years. 3. Till when can the mother have custody? The right of the mother to have custody of the child ends upon the male child reaching the age of eleven and the female child reaching the age of thirteen, unless the court believes that extending the age of custody is in the children’s best interest. In this case, the extension may be till the male child reaches the age of maturity and the female, up to her marriage. The father has the right to claim custody once the son and/or daughter reach the age of 11 and 13,

2. respectively. Article 156 of the UAE Personal Status Law further states that the mother will continue to have custody where the child is of unsound mind or suffering of a disabling illness. It may also be noted that the mother is entitled to the custody of the children during court proceedings, unless the judge believes that such custody is not in the interest of the child. 4. Custodian Fee and other financial support The mother may claim maintenance for the children. The custodian of the child has the right to claim a custody fee from the children’s father in consideration of the performance of her services as a custodian of the children. Additionally, a father is required to financially support the boy until he finishes his education and the girl until she is married under Article 78. Temporary child support may also be claimed till the case is decided as per Article 68 of the UAE Personal Status Law. Conclusion The above only gives a brief snapshot of the various rules involving custodianship in the UAE. If you are in need of legal advice regarding your child’s custody, reach out to our expert family lawyers today. Disclaimer: The above information might not apply if both parties are non-muslim. Starting from the 3rd of February 2023, UAE issued specific family law to be applied between non-muslim expat residents in case none of them wanted to apply his/her home country's law in the UAE. To know more information about this law, please feel free to click this link. Related Links Law on Family Matters for Expatriates living in the UAE: Part I Law on Family Matters for Expatriates living in the UAE: Part II What Kind of Correspondences Can Be Accepted as Evidence in Court? Copyright © of this article is retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. We explicitly grant you permission to download a copy, without any alteration, of this article for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or any charge. This article can be utilized on your website or for marketing, however, we grant you permission to host this article on your website and no other rights. This content should not be altered in any way or sold commercially in any format without prior permission of the copyright holder. During reference of this article, full biographic details entailing the name of the author, his designation, the institute and the publishing date of the article shall be provided. Contact Us The H Hotel Office Tower, 29th Floor, Office 2904, Sheikh Zayed Road, PO Box 40073, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 355 8000 | Fax: +971 4 358 9494 Office No. 804, 8th Floor, Tamouh Tower Marina Square, Al Reem Island, PO Box 129980, Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 650 1211 | Fax: +971 4 358 9494

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