Guardianship Custody (Wali) & Hijnat Definition of Guardian Classification of Guardianship Power of Guardian Disqualification of Guardian

A ten-year-old in Vashi is left with a large sum after a parent's death. Who signs for her when the flat she has inherited is to be sold? Who decides which school she attends, and with whom she lives if her parents have separated? These are two different questions, and Muslim law keeps them apart: one concerns the child's person and upbringing (custody), the other the child's property and legal acts (guardianship). Learn where they overlap and where they do not.

In two minutes

In Muslim law the mother has the right to physical custody (hizanat) of a young child, while guardianship (wilayat) of the person and of property belongs primarily to the father, then to his appointees and paternal relatives; a guardian's powers over a minor's property are limited, and a guardian can be removed for unfitness.

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