317. Adopted Children

In these verses (33:4, 58:2) of the Quran we find it saying the adopted children can never be equal to the biological ones.

The Quran explains why Islam prevents childless couples from adopting children.

This relation between the adopted and the adopter is a false one. Islam rejects all kinds of false relationships. Ispite of the knowledge of the biological father we find kids naming someone else as their father, and fathers who claim other’s child as their own.

This is just a word play in people's imagination, and one’s child can never be another’s.

A man can never become the father of another’s child. Islam completely rejects this notion.

If a blood relationship need to be established, there’s got be a true blood relation between the two. Verse (33:4,5) advises this is as just and honest on one’s part.

A person who is responsible for having fathered the child could be the only father, and calling another as the father is a blatant lie. 

Can a person who brings up a pet be called its father? Can a person who fosters a plant or a tree can be called as its father. Calling a person who adopts a child as its father amounts to the same.

He can be called as a guardian, but calling him as the father is a false relation.

In the beginning stages of Islam there existed the practice of calling the adopter as father. The adopted son became the legal heir to the person who adopted him, later this was prohibited in Islam.

Abdullah bin Umar (RA) narrated:

Till verse (33:5) of the Quran saying “ Call the adopted sons by addressing their biological father, along with the name of the person who adopts him, this is being just with the Almighty ” was revealed we were in the practice of calling Zaid bin Harisa (RA) as the son of Prophet Muhammad.

Bukhari 4782.

This hadith gives us the message, a person named Zaid adopted by Prophet Muhammad was called as his son till it was declared by Allah in the Quran, an adopter can never become the biological father. And this practice was given up.

Similarly a woman who adopts a girl child cannot be the mother of that child.

Hence when the adopted girl child attains puberty, she needs to conduct herself in a manner as becoming of an alien.

For instance, with a matured adopted son, women should avoid being alone or appearing without a hijab in front of him. He should be accorded the status of an alien.

When a childless man adopts a male child, and is blessed with a female child at later stage he can get his female child married to the adopted son on maturity. because the adopted son is not his own son, and Islam says he cannot become a brother to the daughter of the person.

Similarly the adopted son can never become the legal heir of the adopter because he is not the biological son. When biological brothers and sisters of the deceased adopter are there they may dislike a person from outside laying claim to the property of the deceased creating enmity within.

If one wishes to bequeath property to the adopted, it may be done when the adopter is alive or leave a wish at his death, limiting to not more than one third of the total value of property