Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports

IIIT-FCNA Fiqh Forum on

Adoption and Orphan Care

On April 13, 2017, the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and
the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) brought jurists, scholars, and pro-
fessionals in the field to share their latest research on the topic of adoption
and orphan care. The day-long forum, held at the IIIT headquarters in Hern-
don, VA, featured one concept paper and five panels.

The opening session featured Zainab Alwani (vice chair, FCNA; program
director, Fiqh Forum on Adoption and Orphan Care; founding director, Islamic
studies, Howard University School of Divinity), who spoke on “Orphan Care
in the Qur’an and Sunnah: Critical Reading on Adoption and Kafala.” Stating
that she is providing a framework – not a solution – grounded in the Qur’an
and Sunnah, she discussed why the number of orphans and abandoned chil-
dren has reached an all-time high; why Muslim Americans are reluctant to
adopt them; and such concerns as the un-Islamic nature of the American legal
system and the ensuring legal, cultural, and linguistic problems. She stressed
that taking care of these children is an ethical/moral issue and reminded the
audience of the biographies of Musa, Yusuf, Muhammad, and Maryam, all of
whom were raised by people who were not their biological parents, and the
importance of the family structure. In closing, she recommended that Muslims
revive the collective spirit of caring for orphans, work with lawyers to derive
Sharia-compliant solutions, integrate these children into our communities, and
reconsider some traditional fiqhī concepts (e.g., brother and mawlā). Abubaker
Al-Shingieti (executive director, IIIT) chaired.

Panel 1, “Voices from the Field,” opened with Ranya Shbeib (co-founder,
Muslim Foster Care Association; https://www.muslimfostercare.org), who fo-
cused on meeting orphans’ immediate needs and provide family support. Her
organization works hard to achieve these twin goals and to raise local com-
munity awareness by a four-step process: making a presentation, providing
the relevant orientation, giving practical training, and actually receiving the
child. After each step, unfortunately, the number of interested people declines.



She then explained the difference between domestic and refugee foster care,
saying that the latter is far more challenging because it usually involves men
aged sixteen to seventeen who have experienced trauma, have little formal
education, and are not readily accepted by the community.

Tanveer Mirza (FAITH; https://faithus.org) stated that FAITH was set up
in 1999 to deal with the influx of Bosnian refugees. Its primary goals are to
help its annual 750 clients with such immediate needs as finding a job, pur-
suing their education, and supporting the family. The organization, which pro-
motes self-sufficiency, relies on the tarbiyah framework and encourages
Muslims to be aware of on-the-ground realities (e.g., their homeland models
will not work here). Zillehuma Hasan (executive director, Wafa House;
www.wafahouse.org), a specialist in domestic violence and supporting fami-
lies, focused on the lack of Muslims licensed to serve as foster families in
northern New Jersey. Wafa House annually serves around 1,000 families both
here and abroad. She dealt with the misperception of some Muslim families
that the government wants to take away their children, the identity crisis of
children who are adopted by nurturing families who know nothing about
Islam, cases of forced “de-Islamization,” and the obligation for the community
to take care of its own.

Wafa Bennani’s (founder and advisory board member, New Star Kafala;
www.newstarkafala.org) organization grew out of her wondering why Mo-
roccan children end up in orphanages and why local families or the larger
community do not take them in. After explaining New Star Kafala’s goals –
to develop a central hub of information services and advocacy, as well as to
secure Muslim scholars’ input, encourage others to become an orphan ambas-
sador in their local community, and to convene forums – she mentioned sev-
eral roadblocks, among them political issues, fiqh-based misunderstandings,
legitimate vs. illegitimate children, and breastfeeding concerns.

Khalid Iqbal (ICNA Relief; http://icnarelief.org) thanked the organizers
for recognizing the need for action by letting the activists speak before the
scholars. After overviewing ICNA Relief’s accomplishments, he asked Mus-
lims to open their homes to orphans and refugees so that they can learn how
to live independently and, at the same time, have some adult supervision. In
addition, he recommended that the community be educated about what it can
do, the formulation and distribution of an information packet that explains the
existing system and what they can expect, and the setting up of a portal to dis-
seminate the relevant data. He closed by stressing that this long-term discus-
sion needs to be replaced by action. Muzammil Siddiqi (chariman, FCNA)
moderated.

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Panel 2, “Adoption and Foster Care,” led off with Jasser Auda’s (FCNA;
www.fiqhcouncil.org) video presentation of “Issues at Hand in the Fatwas of
Orphan Care and Adoption.” He approached the issue from the viewpoint that
“the small issues and rules” should not deter the community from the bigger
picture: the obligation to take care of and adopt these orphans legally. Making
his case that a method(s) of legal adoption (e.g., open instead of closed adop-
tion) can be formulated, he cited the options of permanent guardianship or
foster parenting. In other words, the child would grow up as a special child of
the family, as opposed to a “foreigner,” perhaps based upon local custom
(‘urfī). The development of a legal agreement/template, as opposed to a fatwa,
would inform the community of these children’s status and would help them
be accepted and integrated.

He was followed by Muzammil Siddiqi’s (FCNA) detailed research into
“Al-Raḍā‘ah as a Solution for Orphan Care in Islam,” which outlined the con-
ditions for establishing the detailed prohibitions that exist among children who
have been breastfed by the same woman. Hatem Al-Haj (Assembly of Muslim
Jurists of America; www.amjaonline.org/en) and Abdullah bin Hamid Ali (Za-
ytuna College; www.zaytuna.edu) spoke on “Filiality through Bloodline and
Breastfeeding: An Inquiry into the Possible Solutions to Facilitate Care for
Orphans” and “Orphans, Abandoned Children, and Adoption: Reading in the
Fiqh Literature,” respectively. Their papers dealt with protecting the family
structure, the need for transparency (open adoption) so that the children will
know their lineage, the practical issues associated with legal adoption, that
we can think beyond the “Four Imams’ rulings” because they did not attain
consensus in the literal sense, and how American-style adoption has a lot in
common with the pre-Islamic Arabs’ practice. Ermin Sinanović (director of
research, IIIT) moderated. 

Panel 3 focused on “Orphans and Abandoned Children.” Amr Abdullah
read Imam Hassan al-Qazwini’s (Islamic Institute of America; www.iiofa.org)
“Laqīṭ in the Shia School of Thought.” He was followed by Imam Mustafa
Umar (FCNA), who spoke on “Laqīṭ,” and Ossama Bahloul (FCNA), who
discussed “The Concept of Adoption and Its Reality.” All speakers discussed
the traditional reasons for laqīṭ (foundling), namely, abandonment for various
reasons (the main one today seems to be war) and for fear of being accused
of adultery. Definitions were proposed – a lost or deserted child who cannot
take care of himself/herself or one who has no caretakers and has been aban-
doned – but the scholars never reached any consensus on any particular def-
inition or what the cut-off age was (many said seven years) They discussed
whether caring for such children was obligatory, recommended, or optional;

Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 113



the caretaker’s motive and/or intention and if witnesses are required to verify
it; who is granted final responsibility; if the child can be moved to another lo-
cation or enslaved; and so on. Also stated was that idea that the community is
obliged to care for such children, because adoption is “halal, but with condi-
tions”; that preserving their religion is more important than preserving their
lineage; and that institutes need to be set up to resolve all such issues. Accord-
ing to Bahloul, “the Sharia can’t be in our way because it is perfect. If the
scholars can’t find a solution they must blame themselves, not the Sharia.”
Amr Abdulla (senior advisor, IIIT) moderated.

Panel 4 dealt with “Family and Institutional Care.” Shaikh Abdur Rahman
Khan (FCNA) spoke on “Kafālat al-Yatīm.” He remarked that the Qur’an
mentions orphans twenty-six times, a figure that is exceeded only by prayer
and zakat. These children have the right to be taken care of until they can look
after themselves and live independently. Once adopted, they are entitled to be
treated as the couple’s biological children are treated. However, this obligation
also extends to taking care of their spiritual, social, psychological, and other
needs as well.

During his “The Orphan Support Program (OSP) of Helping Hand for Re-
lief and Development: A Unique Orphan Care Model from an Islamic Perspec-
tive,” Zahid Bukhari (www.helpinghandonline.org/Orphan_Support.html)
outlined this ICNA-affiliated program’s activities, all of which are funded by
the American Muslim community. As half of the program’s 15,000+ orphans
live in Pakistan, he presented them as a case study. The essential elements are
education health, food and subsistence, and social grooming (i.e., character
building, social engagements, intellectual growth, physical development, lead-
ership development, and “Shining Stars” societies). Working directly with the
children, mothers/guardians, and government officials, this program has been
assessed as very effective in terms of reaching its goals.

Salma Abugideiri’s (Peaceful Families Project; www.peacefulfamilies.org)
“Orphan Care: A Mental Health Perspective,” stressed the need for assessing
the mental health of the adopted children and the adoptive parents. Interestingly,
she pointed out that approximately two-thirds of Muslims are immigrants,
many of whom have already been traumatized to some degree, and asked
whether empty nesters are really able to raise these children. The orphans’ con-
texts also need to be analyzed: What did they see, how did they lose their par-
ents, have they been tortured, what is the possibility of their acting out, and so
on. If the going gets tough – which it will – will the adoptive parents try to re-
turn the orphans, thereby re-abandoning them and unleashing new traumas
(e.g., issues of trust, “It was something I did,” “I’m a bad person”). Ways need

114 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 34:2



to be found to let the children work through their emotions, overcome any con-
flicts of loyalty, ensure that they go into a positive and nurturing environment,
and that spirituality is made part of their mental health help (e.g., God is testing
you, God is always with you, and change is never easy).

Nermeen Mouftah’s (Northwestern University) “Guardians of the Faith:
Orphans and the Remaking of the Muslim American Family,” approached this
issue from an anthropological perspective. She presented her case study of a
Muslimah, herself a child of South Asian immigrants, who has adopted two
nominally Christian African-American sisters. This woman is somewhat am-
bivalent toward the relevant fiqh, which she sees as sometimes standing in the
way of what she is trying to do. She is concerned with foreign refugees being
“prioritized” over Muslims already in the country, constantly has to deal with
race (e.g., as she is neither white nor black, the children were confused over
her identity), and does not see their different religions as a stumbling block.
However, Christmas is a rather stressful time, for the children’s relatives make
it a very materialistic event, whereas she is trying to focus it on Jesus’ early
life. Zainab Alwani moderated.

Panel 5, “Recommendations,” was moderated by Ranya Shbeib and Ab-
dullah bin Hamid Ali and followed by “Concluding Remarks,” moderated by
Al-Shingieti and Alwani.

Jay Willoughby
AJISS

Herndon, VA 

Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 115