What is the order of preference between maternal aunts and paternal aunts for guardianship when parents and sisters are absent?
Chapter on Who is More Entitled to Child Custody
Al-Mughni
Book of Maintenance (Nafaqāt)
Primary text
If mothers, fathers, and sisters are unavailable, guardianship passes to the aunts, and maternal aunts are prioritized over paternal aunts. This is explicitly stated by Ahmad. The reasoning that favors maternal aunts follows from the argument that the paternal aunt (father's mother's sister) was preferred over the maternal aunt (mother's mother's sister) in the prior discussion, suggesting a preference for the paternal line connection. Furthermore, paternal relatives derive through a male collateral ('asabah), justifying their preference, akin to preferring the paternal half-sibling over the maternal half-sibling.
Supporting text
The statement of al-Khiraqi might imply preference for paternal aunts because he preferred the father's aunt (paternal aunt) over the mother's aunt (maternal aunt), indicating precedence for the paternal line connection, as they derive through a collateral ('asabah). The view supporting maternal aunts relies on the analogy that the paternal aunt should be treated like the paternal half-sister being preferred over the maternal half-sister. If maternal aunts are preferred, then paternal aunts follow them; conversely, if paternal aunts are preferred, maternal aunts follow them. Following the exhaustion of both sets of paternal and maternal aunts, guardianship transfers to the paternal grandfather's aunts, according to al-Khiraqi, or the maternal grandfather's aunts, according to the other view. There is uncertainty regarding whether the paternal grandfather's aunts are preferred over the paternal grandfather's paternal aunts based on the established rules for the preference between maternal and paternal aunts.