Concept of adoption in Islam

[mpartyka]

…we already have showd that Islam accepts adoption without the erasing of heritage . Islam also cares for the adopted child without the need to embroil him into inheritance issues. I firmly believe that islam’s approach is more humane and smart…

My point is not that Islam’s concept of adoption is less wise or less humane than the normative version understood in most cultures both before and after Islam. My point is that Islam’s concept of adoption contains so much less meaning than the normative version that I wonder if the gospel message of adoption into the family of God through Jesus Christ really gets through to the Muslim mind. If all adoption means to a Muslim is, “These people will take care of you, but you can never consider yourself one of the family, and you can expect no inheritance,” then a Muslim might rightly say to himself, “So what if God adopts me? That doesn’t have any special meaning to me.” When Christians think of God’s adopting them through Jesus Christ, we think, “We are part of God’s family now, and we have a share in the inheritance” – this is precisely the opposite notion of what Islam conveys by the word “adoption”.

–Mike

 

[meedo]

My point is not that Islam’s concept of adoption is less wise or less humane than the normative version understood in most cultures both before and after Islam. My point is that Islam’s concept of adoption contains so much less meaning than the normative version that I wonder if the gospel message of adoption into the family of God through Jesus Christ really gets through to the Muslim mind. If all adoption means to a Muslim is, “These people will take care of you, but you can never consider yourself one of the family, and you can expect no inheritance,” then a Muslim might rightly say to himself, “So what if God adopts me? That doesn’t have any special meaning to me.” When Christians think of God’s adopting them through Jesus Christ, we think, “We are part of God’s family now, and we have a share in the inheritance” – this is precisely the opposite notion of what Islam conveys by the word “adoption”.

–Mike

It depends onwhat meaning you are trying to emphasise here.

In Islam we were always a part of the family of God since we were created . Some of us got lost and some of us remained in teh family. You dont need to be adopted to rejoin your family.

People were created believers. Adam was a believer so was eve anda 1000 years generation afterwards untuill the time of Noah. If non beliuevr people werent part of the family of God now he wouldnt be feeding them and sustaining them as he is doing. God gives us our lives as a chance to go back to him. Once we decide to go back to him he have never kicked us out of tejh family in order for us to adopt us again.

The meaning of this concept shows the inclusion of the whole world in gods mercy untill they have finished their test on this earth. No need for adoption.

Thank you for the intersting disucssion.

 

[Verisimilitude]

Really?

Well, Islam says there is one God, that Christ was an extraordionary firgure, that mary was a virgin birth, that Abraham was a prophet, and numerous other things, all of which you would say are true, all pointing to just how absurd and hyperbolic your retoric are.

I am sure you have heard the silly joke that even a broken clock is right twice a day. Any agreement in the Koran with the the OT & NT is insignificant. It does not make valid those things in the Quran that differ from the OT or NT. Absurd is thinking it does for no reason.

 

[Verisimilitude]

In Islam we were always a part of the family of God since we were created.

Are slaves ever considered part of the family?

 

[AgnosTheist]

lets see how this applies in the real world.

who are more willing to adopt, muslims or non-muslims?

 

[mpartyka]

your statement is contradictory, you say the word ‘‘Fully’’ then later on you maintain that it is stillimportant to keep the ties with the original family.

No, I’m only saying that a person should not marry a close blood relative from his birth family if he knows that his/her intended is a close blood relative. I’m not saying that the adopted person therefore has to know who his birth family is for fear of accidentally marrying a close blood relative, for the chances of that happening are usually pretty remote. Is it useful to have knowledge of your birth family? Absolutely, as this knowledge could provide important medical information, for example. But is it absolutely necessary? No.

So what do you do when yopu meet your real mother on he street!!! do you say ‘’ sorry i cant call you mom even though you are my real mom’’ would you not call your sister sister?

You certainly can, if that’s what you want to do. Some people know their birth families or have sought them out and established relationships with them. Others don’t care to know who their birth parents were.

moses mom put him in teh nile and he was raised wityh Pharough. did he stop calling him mom mom or his sister sister?? Is he called moses son of Pharough??

Good point, but the Bible does say concerning Pharoah’s daughter that “he became her son”. (Ex 2:10) She even named him Moses. However, Pharoah’s daughter had no husband, so there was no patrilineal heritage to usurp Moses’ Hebrew heritage. (I kinda take this to be a foreshadowing of the virgin birth of Jesus, in a way.)

–Mike

 

[mpartyka]

Those verses were not given to provide orphans heritage protections but to allow Mohammed to marry his daughter-in-law. That ruling made the adopted child less than a natural child and that is a fact.

This is true according to the Muslim commentary from which I quoted.

The obligations a parent has regarding natural born children are very different than those adopted in Islam.

And from a Christian perspective, the two most important differences is that (1) the child is not allowed to receive the name of his/her adoptive family and (2) the parents must (if they wish) set aside money and goods for an adopted child prior to their death, because only the natural children will be allowed any share in the inheritance.

–Mike

 

[IvanKaramozov]

I am sure you have heard the silly joke that even a broken clock is right twice a day.** Any agreement in the Koran with the the OT & NT is insignificant.** It does not make valid those things in the Quran that differ from the OT or NT. Absurd is thinking it does for no reason.

Really?

That there is one compassionate and mercyfull God is an insignificant detail?

Don’t think so.

Oil and Water do not intermix, clearly some truth does exist within Islam, which makes that retoric blatantly non-sensical retoric

 

[AgnosTheist]

Oil and Water do not intermix, clearly some truth does exist within Islam, which makes that retoric blatantly non-sensical retoric

I completely agree with you. There are some truths in islam. Sometimes truths and lies can mix so well thats its very difficult to distinguish which is which. Right?

“Oil and Water” is simply a bad choice of comparison for Islam.

 

[mpartyka]

If you had a natural born son between your wife and yourself would you marry his wife for any reason if they divorced? The Koran says you are not permitted to do that but you are if he is adopted. That sounds like treating adopted and real sons differently to me.

It’s interesting that in the book of Leviticus, some of the laws against marriage of close relatives are specifically worded to ban not only marriages between close blood relatives but also marriages between close non-blood relatives.

Leviticus 18:6,8,14-16 – None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness…The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness…You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife…You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.

–Mike

 

[mpartyka]

In Islam we were always a part of the family of God since we were created. Some of us got lost and some of us remained in the family…If non-believing people weren’t part of the family of God now he wouldnt be feeding them and sustaining them as he is doing…The meaning of this concept shows the inclusion of the whole world in gods mercy untill they have finished their test on this earth. No need for adoption.

That’s interesting, and it probably deserves its own thread, for the Christian perspective has always been that while God especially created Adam and Eve to have a relationship with him, they were “children” of God only insofaras they were God’s creations and sentient beings. Even the angels are considered “sons of God” in that respect. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and fell into sin, they were still “children” of God in this sense, but they were now subject to death and the threat of eternal separation from God.

For God to save humankind from death, God had to send His Word into the world to become man and die, so that by uniting humanity to the divine Godhead at the deepest point of man’s need, man could partake of the divine nature and live forever in the presence of God. It was often said by the early Church Fathers, “God became man, so that man could become God” (i.e., God the Son took on humanity so that, through this joining of humanity with divinity, mankind could be transformed by participating in the uncreated energies of God).

Thus, the first step of salvation is that of joining Christ in His death at Calvary through the Sacrament of Baptism, in which we die to our old family – the heritage of sin and death left to us by Adam – and are “born again” into the family of God as God’s adopted children. Because we have been adopted into the family of God, we then can look forward to the inheritance in which we will someday share as children of God, and we receive the Holy Spirit as the earnest of that inheritance.

I think Christianity is unique among religions for many reasons, but one reason that stands out in this context is that Christianity alone, to my knowledge, says that we are not children of God by default. We must become children of God through faith in Christ and Baptism into His death before we can enjoy the benefits of sonship. Islam, like all the other religions of the world (to my knowledge), seems to say instead that being God’s children is our natural birthright, whereas Christianity says our natural birthright is sin and death, not righteousness and eternal life. Thus, adoption into the family of God is significant in that it is a passage from death to life, from the old life of Adam to the new life in Christ. Whether it happens in infancy, in old age, or somewhere in between, one’s life as a child of God doesn’t start until one makes this passes and is adopted into God’s family.

–Mike

 

[Verisimilitude]

Really?

Really.

That there is one compassionate and mercyfull God is an insignificant detail?

allah of the Koran is not compassionate or mercifull. allah of the Quran is not God. Ever hear the word imposter and if you have why would you believe anything they say even when they tell you what you already know?

Don’t think so.

Try reading it.

Oil and Water do not intermix, clearly some truth does exist within Islam, which makes that retoric blatantly non-sensical retoric

What is some truth and how does misleading and the untrue 98% of the Qur’an make your statement sensible? It doesn’t.

Where in the Bible do demons praise the bible like they do in the Koran? What benefit does an incorrect listing of prophets provide even if it includes some valid names? If you believe the bible you would be wise to reject the Quran in its entirety. If you do not believe the bible why are you trying to justify any part of the Qur’an that agrees with the bible?

The Koran does contain some truth. Those verses that quote the devil I beleive are true for that was who spoke to Mohammed. Can you name one valid Truth revealed in the Koran not in the bible that offers something worthwhile? Just name one thing.

 

[mpartyka]

I posted a question about adoption on an Islamic forum a while back and am just now getting some responses:

In the belief in Islam, their is a seperation between Allah or (God) and the creation. God is completely different from things created, and therefore it is not appropriate in Islam to say that any thing is a son or child of God, because then the created thing is given the supremeness of the Creator, and the Creator is lowered to the lowliness of the Creation.

The scholars of Islam are very strict on not attributing any similuted to God from the Creation, as God is completely seperate…

As for adoption, the scholars in Islam say it is not allowed to call any child one’s son or daughter, unless it is his real son or daughter. A child doesn’t become a son or daughter by adoption, rather the child is the son or daughter of his or her real parents, and the child should be attributed by his real father’s name.

Even, many scholars of Islam even disapprove of a wife changing her last name to that of her husband’s last name, because the name would not be attributed to her real father’s name.

Biologically, an adopted child is not one’s own flesh and blood. The religion of Islam attaches a tremendous amount of importance in blood line and adoption directly contradicts this. Therefore, ther is no basis - religiously or biologically - for someone to claim that a stranger belongs to their direct bloodline when they infact do not…adopted son is not a the same as an actual son.

–Mike

 

[mpartyka]

Also found a good article on the subject at this link:

Adoption of a child, if seen in the modern connotation, generally implies that a child not only be given a home and the love and affection that he may, unfortunately, lack due to the absence of his home and family, but also to give him the adopting family’s name and, subsequently, be given the complete legal status of a real child of that family.

Islam does not prohibit adoption. However, the Islamic concept of adoption is somewhat different from that of the modern concept. The Qur’an has clearly directed the Muslims to maintain for their adopted children the names of their real fathers and if their real fathers are not known, then they should be considered and called brethren in faith or the adopted children of the person concerned (Al-Ahzaab 33: 5).

This directive clearly implies that adoption of a child per se is not only allowed in Islam but the Prophet (pbuh)'s example has encouraged it as a great social service and a humane act. The directive regarding naming the child after his real father is obviously to avoid all kinds of psychological, social and emotional trauma for the child at a later stage in life.

It should, however, be kept in mind that the adopted child - who, in effect, lacks any real relationship with the adopted parents - is not a natural inheritor for his surrogate parents and vice versa. The surrogate parents may will - to any extent - in his favor. Nevertheless, in the absence of such a will the adopted child shall not be included in the inheritors of the deceased.

As should be clear from the foregoing explanation, Islam does not prohibited ‘adoption’…However, the Qur’anic concept of adoption is quite different from the modern concept of adoption. According to the modern concept, ‘adoption’ is, in fact, a legal change of status for the child, whereas, according to the Islamic concept, ‘adoption’ does not entail any legal or socio-moral obligations for the adopting parent. On the contrary, according to the Islamic concept, ‘adoption’ is only supporting and taking care of a child, as if it were one’s own child. In fact, it is only the natural extension of this lack of legal and socio-moral status that ‘adoption’ is granted by Islam, that marriage between a person and the wife of his adopted son is not prohibited in Islam.

Once again, I find it interesting that Islam so devalues adoption as to make the great gift of adoption into the family of God something seemingly worthless to the Muslim mind.

Think about it: If all adoption were to mean to you is, “I’ll be taken care of,” then if somebody came along and asked you, “How would you like to be an adopted child of God?” wouldn’t you’re reaction be something like, “God already takes care of me. What need have I of ‘adoption’?”

–Mike

 

[mpartyka]

The article at this link is not intended to directly address the issue of adoption in Islam, but it does deal in great length with the circumstances under which Mohammed married his adopted son’s wife, the disturbance in the early Muslim community that this act caused, and the Quranic verses that were composed to answer the community’s objections.

–Mike