Adoption

Question:
Is adoption of a child forbidden in Islam? What should a childless couple do in order to have some comfort? How can the issues of Mahram be resolved in case of an outside-family child adoption?

Response:
There is no problem in adopting a child for those couples who are issueless. However, when a child is adopted, he/she doesn't become a real son/daughter. The Qur'an requires us to call a child by his/father's name. If the identity of the father is not known, the child's parenthood should not be attributed to some one else.

When the adopted son/daughter grows up, he/she would of course be non-Mahram for the adopting parents. However, that shouldn't be a source of serious concern, because if you go by the rules of conduct that non-Mahram have to observe while living together as mentioned in surah al-Nur (24:30-31 and 58-61), you will realize that they are not difficult to follow. The two parties have to be particular about the way they conduct themselves and the way they dress up.

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