Question: A man divorced his wife and the couple have children; who gets custody of the children?

Answer: The wife will have custody of boys up until the age of seven and girls up to the age of nine. If the wife remarries, she will lose custody of the kids to her mom, the children's maternal grandmother.

After the respective ages of seven and nine, the father has the right of custody. However, both parents have visitation rights when the children are not in his/her custody. Visitation rights should be mutually agreed. [Fataawa Hindiyyah V1:P542]

This is the general principle. However, there are others facts that at times need to be considered and may even change the stated ruling.

And Allah Knows Best

Yusuf Moosagie