🤝 Existing wife & prospective wife · #66
My co-wife has died. What are my and my husband's responsibilities towards her children?
The husband, as father, must provide for and care for his children; you are not obliged to, but loving and helping your co-wife's orphaned children is a deed of immense reward.
The Prophet ﷺ said: I and the guardian of an orphan will be in Paradise like this, holding two fingers together (Sahih al-Bukhari 5304), and Allah forbids harshness to the orphan (ad-Duha 93:9). Custody of the children follows the legal order: usually the maternal grandmother comes before the father (Act 303 s.81), so discuss it with the late wife's family. If the children live with you, treat them like your own, keep their ties with their mother's family, and guard their inheritance faithfully. Losing a mother needs emotional support too; do not force them to call you "mum". See the question on caring for orphans.
The Prophet ﷺ said: I and the guardian of an orphan will be in Paradise like this, holding two fingers together (Sahih al-Bukhari 5304), and Allah forbids harshness to the orphan (ad-Duha 93:9). Custody of the children follows the legal order: usually the maternal grandmother comes before the father (Act 303 s.81), so discuss it with the late wife's family. If the children live with you, treat them like your own, keep their ties with their mother's family, and guard their inheritance faithfully. Losing a mother needs emotional support too; do not force them to call you "mum". See the question on caring for orphans.