Q: Can I adopt a child from from my brother? Will I write my name and attribute the child to me or should the child be atributed to my brother?
A: No, it is not permissible for you to write your name and attribute the child to you. In Islam, it is not permissible for parents to give away their children. As far as the law of adoption is concerned, this only relates to the case where a child is an orphan or has been abandoned by his parents.
If the parents allow you to look after the child, it will be permissible for you to bring him up. However he will not be regarded as your child and the biological parents will still remain the parents of the child throughout his life. They will always remain responsible for his upbringing and seeing to his needs till the time he grows up. In the case of the child passing away, his parents will remain his heirs and if they pass away, he will inherit from them. Similarly the child will be attributed to his biological father and have his surname.
In the case of adoption, the child will not inherit from the adoptive parents and nor will they inherit from him. If the adopted child is a male, when he reaches the age of maturity, he will have to observe purdah with his adoptive mother and if the adopted child is a female then she will have to observe purdah with her adoptive father.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)