Al-Andalusian Nobility
I'm writing (or attempting to, anyway) a story set in a fantasy world based on Al-Andalus, or Moorish Spain. More accurately, in one of the taifas, or smaller kingdoms, after the Caliphate of Cordoba fell apart, but before the Reconquista really got going (so somewhere between 1000-1300, I'd say). I've tried googling "daily life in Moorish Spain
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This is one of those "what society acknowleges and what really happens are not the same" questions.
Technically, she isn't in charge, he is. Since he's not there, and not trained for the job, he'll need a deputy, and most likely that will be her, unless she's incompetent, and even then she'll be the "name" invoked by the ruling couple's deputies.
Historically, situations where familiarity and the legitimate bloodline is combined with the actual training, skills and experience to manage an estate trumps the legal/social fiction that the titular owner is in charge.
Even if you're writing this character as a secluded Muslim woman, she has the right and common precedent, as well as ability? to handle all necessary operations and make the decisions.
Estate management is a complex business, and nobody wants to run it into the ground. Most societies apply sanctions to estate owners who screw up badly enough to cheat posterity. It's possible, in most societies, for the grantor to ensure the estate will be well managed in the terms of the gift- and she definitely has the right and responsibility to keep the legacy in good shape for her children who are the owners-in-waiting.
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