In a Western world that feeds on individualism and leans on man-made laws as the ultimate reference, the concept of "adoption" surfaces as a humanitarian solution intended to mend the fractures of a broken childhood and heal the wounds of children who have lost their support and family. Adoption is promoted as the pinnacle of compassion, a hallmark of civilization, and a psychological safeguard to protect children from loss and deviation, offering them a new opportunity for life under the care of a loving family.
However, when we examine this concept against the scale of Sharia and the mirror of divine revelation, we find that Islam has firmly closed this door, abolishing the pre-Islamic practices of mixing lineages and falsifying truths. Allah the Almighty revealed His noble words: "And he has not made your adopted sons your [true] sons. That is [merely] your saying by your mouths, but Allah says the truth, and He guides to the [right] way. Call them by [the names of] their fathers; it is more just in the sight of Allah. But if you do not know their fathers – then they are [still] your brothers in religion and those entrusted to you." (Quran 33:4-5)
Thus, the prohibition is absolute—not out of a lack of mercy or harshness in treatment, but to preserve human nature, protect identity, and prevent harms that emotionally driven admirers of hollow civilizations, devoid of divine guidance, fail to see.
Western Adoption: Forging Lineage in the Name of Mercy
In the Western system, an adopted child is given the family name, granted inheritance rights, and treated as a full-fledged biological child. The traces of their true lineage, if known, are erased, and their innate history is replaced with a fabricated identity that holds no real bonds of kinship.
Over time, tragedies emerge: a boy falls in love with someone he believes to be his sister, a young woman interacts with someone impermissible to her under Islamic law, and families are built on emotional deception and artificial rights. Matters worsen when adoption becomes a tool in the hands of homosexuality to form so-called "alternative families," dragging children from the tragedy of orphanhood into the abyss of distorted human nature and moral disintegration!
Islam Does Not Exclude the Orphan—It Honors Them Without Falsifying Lineage
Islam, which has presented the most elevated models of mercy and kindness, did not shut the door on orphans and the deprived. Instead, it opened the doors of Kafala (guardianship), elevated the status of the guardian, and placed them alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Paradise, as in the noble Hadith: "I and the one who looks after an orphan will be like this in Paradise," showing his middle and index fingers and separating them. (Bukhari)
Yet, at the same time, Islam did not allow mercy to become a gateway for forging lineage or mixing rights. Kafala in Islam does not grant the child the family name, inheritance rights, or the rulings of Mahramiyyah (marriage prohibitions), except under specific Sharia conditions, such as breastfeeding within the first two years.
When Islamic law prohibited adoption, it was not rejecting mercy—rather, it regulated it, lifting it from the darkness of blind emotion into the light of sound legal discipline. It preserved lineage (one of the five essential necessities in Islam), protected society from the normalization of immorality under the guise of "alternative families," and ensured every child’s right to know their origins and true identity.
If we were to reflect on the divine wisdom behind this prohibition, we would see how many harms are averted, how many innate natures are preserved, and how many families are protected from moral destruction in the name of false mercy.
A Final Word
O those dazzled by Western propaganda and the rhetoric of "universal mercy," would it not be more fitting for you to trust the law of the One Who created the soul and knows its depths?
Is it not rational to submit to the wisdom of the Creator, rather than importing counterfeit solutions that please emotions but corrupt human nature?
The One Who created the human soul knows best what reforms it and what corrupts it. It is from Allah’s wisdom that He legislated what preserves innate nature and prevents social and identity chaos. Pause for a moment and reflect on the balance of Sharia—which neither neglects mercy nor allows it to descend into the abyss of corruption.
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Sources:
- Encyclopedia of Mahasin Al-Islam
- islamonline.net
- Islamweb