I am married and have two children. Elder Daughter (11) and younger son (6). Myself and my wife now wish to adopt a child from orphanage since we can afford to raise one more child.
Mu' meneen
Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam
Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and
Blessings be upon all of you)
One of
our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Dear Mr.Burhan,
Let me first express my gratitude to you for
doing this remarkable work to make men like me to aware of true Islam. May
Allah reward you with his blessings. Amen.
Sir, I have written to you in past and was
guided, Thankyou.
I am married and have two children. Elder Daughter (11) and younger son (6). Myself and my wife
now wish to adopt a child from orphanage since we can afford to raise one more
child. Please guide me
whether Islam allows to adopt child even if
you have one already and also whether
should we take note of child's parent's religion. I have not yet spoken to my
father and other family members about my intentions.
Your guidance will encourage me to talk to
them and sought their permission.
Allah Hafiz
(There may
be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does
not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Can one adopt in
Islam
In the name of Allah, We
praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah
guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide
them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
May Allah Subhanah
reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments
of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped
even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we
would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity
by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord
accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves
you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.
My dear and beloved
brother in Islam, not only is adoption of a child permissible in Islam, it is a
highly encouraged and meritorious act in the Sight of Allah Subhanah and
something that would earn one unbelievable and innumerable rewards in the life
of the Hereafter.
Allah Says in
the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 219-220 (part):
219 … They ask
thee how much they are to spend (in charity); say: "What is beyond your
needs." Thus doth Allah make clear
to you His Signs: in order that ye may consider
220 (their bearings) on this life and the
Hereafter. They ask thee
concerning orphans. Say: "The best
thing to do is what is for their good; if ye mix their affairs with
yours they are your brethren; but Allah knows the man who means mischief from
the man who means good.
Allah Says in
the Holy Quran Chapter 76 Surah Dhahr verses 5-12:
5 As to the Righteous (in the Hereafter), they
shall drink of a Cup (of Wine) mixed with Kafur
6 A Fountain where the Devotees of Allah do
drink, making it flow in unstinted abundance.
7 They (in the life of the world) fulfill
(their) vows, and they fear a Day whose evil flies far and wide.
8 And they feed for the love of Allah the
indigent, the orphan, and the captive
9 (Saying) "We feed you for the sake
of Allah alone: No reward do we desire from you nor thanks.
10 "We only fear a Day of distressful Wrath from the side of our
Lord."
11 But Allah will deliver them from the evil
of that Day and will shed over them a Light of Beauty and a (blissful)
12 And because they were patient and
constant, He will reward them with a Garden and (garments of) silk.
Allah's
Messenger (saws) said, "If anyone strokes an orphan's head, doing so only
for Allah's sake, he will have blessings for every hair over which his hand
passes; and if anyone treats well an orphan, girl or boy, under his care, he
and I (the Prophet Mohamed (saws)) shall be like these two in Paradise,"
putting two of his fingers together.
Allah's
Messenger (saws) said, "The best house among the Muslims is one which
contains an orphan who is well treated, and the worst house among the Muslims
is one which contains an orphan who is badly treated."
The Prophet
(saws) said, "I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for
him, will be in
In light of the above
guidance of the Quran and Sunnah one can only imagine the rewards the Lord Most
Gracious would bestow on those blessed and fortunate people who took good care
of orphans.
Your Question-1: Please guide me whether Islam
allows to adopt child even if you have one already and also whether should we
take note of child's parent's religion.
Regardless of whether
one has one’s own children or not, and regardless of the child’s biological
parents religion, it is absolutely permissible and encouraged in Islam for the
believers to adopt the less fortunate, if they wish to do so.
Because the relationship
of blood in Islam has obvious ties towards marriage, inheritance, etc.; there
are certain guidelines in Islam a believer who wishes to adopt must follow:
- The child will always
be called by the original father’s name.
- The child will only
inherit from his original blood-relationship. He will not be eligible to inherit from
his foster-parents. The
foster-parents who adopt the child may have the option to will or bequeath
upto a maximum of one/third of their wealth to their adopted children
after their death, if they wish to do so.
- If the foster-mother
has nursed the adopted child, then she will be considered a mehram of the
child; but if the foster-mother has not nursed the adopted child, then she
will not be considered a mehram of the adopted child.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verses 4-5:
…Allah has not made your adopted sons your real sons. These are the things which you utter from
your mouths, but Allah says what is
based on reality; and He Alone guides to
the
Your Statement: Your guidance will encourage
me to talk to them and sought their permission.
My dear and beloved
brother in Islam, there are only a very few things one can do in this world
which would earn them the ultimate reward, honor and status of being in the
constant company of the Noble Messenger of Allah (saws) in the Eternal Life of
the Hereafter; and Allah is our witness, if one adopts an orphan with the
intention to take good care of them, and provides them to the best of their
ability with love, honor, and compassion…Allah is our witness, such blessed
believers are promised the constant company of none other than the Noble
Prophet (saws) himself in the Eternal life of the Hereafter.
Allah's
Messenger (saws) said, "If anyone strokes an orphan's head, doing so only
for Allah's sake, he will have blessings for every hair over which his hand
passes; and if anyone treats well an orphan, girl or boy, under his care, he
and I (the Prophet Mohamed (saws)) shall be like these two in Paradise,"
putting two of his fingers together.
Whatever written of
Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever
of error is of me alone. Allah Alone
Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister