Short answer
Both. In the Hanafi school the father must pay for the child's needs and is the guardian responsible for its religious teaching and discipline, while the mother has the first right to care for young children. The Prophet ﷺ said each parent is a shepherd who will be asked about their flock.
The father carries maintenance (nafaqa) and guardianship (wilayah), including making sure the child learns the faith and is ordered to pray at seven. The mother has the right of hadanah (physical care) of young children. Teaching and good example are the duty of both.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said that a man is a shepherd over his household and a woman is a shepherd over her husband's home and children, and each will be asked about those in their care. Allah tells believers to protect themselves and their families from the Fire, and to command their families to pray. The four schools agree that raising children is a shared trust.
How the duties are split in Hanafi fiqh:
- Father: food, clothing, housing, health care and education costs; choosing a good name; ordering prayer at seven; protecting the child; arranging the child's schooling and, later, marriage.
- Mother: the right to care for the child in its early years, nursing, and the day-to-day nurture where most early learning happens.
- Both: teaching belief and manners, being a good example, showing mercy, and making dua for the child.
Practical priorities for Muslim parents in the West:
- Teach tawhid first, as Luqman did: speak about Allah's love and power simply and often.
- Pray where children can see you, and bring prayer in gently from seven. See when children start praying.
- Arrange Quran learning. See when to start the Quran.
- Watch friends, screens and school influences, and keep talking.
- Correct with mercy, not anger. See yelling at children.
For the list of what children are owed, see rights of children, and use the dua for children.
The evidence
Quran, Surah At-Tahrim 66:6
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًۭا وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَٰٓئِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌۭ شِدَادٌۭ لَّا يَعْصُونَ ٱللَّهَ مَآ أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ ﴿٦﴾
O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.
Parents are responsible for guiding their families.
Quran, Surah Taa-Haa 20:132
وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا ۖ لَا نَسْـَٔلُكَ رِزْقًۭا ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكَ ۗ وَٱلْعَٰقِبَةُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ ﴿١٣٢﴾
And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein. We ask you not for provision; We provide for you, and the [best] outcome is for [those of] righteousness.
Commanding the family to pray is part of the parent's role.
Quran, Surah Luqman 31:13
وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَٰنُ لِٱبْنِهِۦ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُۥ يَٰبُنَىَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌۭ ﴿١٣﴾
And [mention, O Muhammad], when Luqman said to his son while he was instructing him, "O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allah. Indeed, association [with him] is great injustice."
A model of a father teaching his son tawhid.
Sahih al-Bukhari 893
Sahih... كلكم راع وكلكم مسئول عن رعيته ...
"Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock."
Both parents are accountable for those in their care.
Sunan Abi Dawud 495
Graded hasan sahih... مروا أولادكم بالصلاة وهم أبناء سبع سنين ...
"Order your children to pray when they are seven years old."
Religious training is a specific duty of the guardian.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Talaq, chapters on custody (hadanah) and maintenance (nafaqa). The mother's right of early care and the father's duty of maintenance.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, opening discussion. The guardian's duty to order a child to pray at seven.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.