How long couple can live away/apart during resentment or quarrel? and at which age of kid, father can take his baby from wife? As my case is for separation filed by wife is under trial in Local Islamic court, since we made several efforts but my wife is not agree over reconciliation. Please supplicate for us.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of `worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, Allaah clarified in His Book the Islamic principle in this regard saying (what means): {…either keep [her] in an acceptable manner or release [her] with good treatment.}[Quran 2:229]

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 157275 and 89825.

Therefore, a husband should not leave his wife hanged, neither divorced nor married; as there is nothing in the Sharee’ah that is called a period in which the spouses are separated from each other when there is a dispute between them.

However, if dissension happens between the spouses, both of them should be wise and endeavor to reconcile with each other as reconciliation is good as Allaah informed us and because divorce has disadvantages in general.

On the other hand, the wife is not permitted to ask for divorce without a sound (religious) reason, and if she insists on divorce without a sound reason for doing so, then her husband may refrain from divorcing her unless she gives him a ransom [i.e. to compensate him for divorcing her, like giving him back her dowry].

As regards the fostering of the children, it is the common right of both spouses as long as the marital bond is ongoing. If they are separated [divorced], the mother has more right in fostering her children as long as she does not remarry until the child reaches the age of distinction, and he/she then chooses with which parent he/she wants to stay; this is according to the most preponderant opinion of the jurists . For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 84618.

Allaah Knows best.