Children’s Rights in Islamic Law
The Prophet’s model: The Prophet Muhammad’s own conduct with children was famous for its warmth and egalitarianism — he carried his grandsons Hasan and Husayn on his shoulders during prayer, allowed his granddaughter Umama to be carried during salat, and taught: ‘He who does not show mercy to our children and does not honor our elderly is not of us.’ (Tirmidhi). This model of prophetic tenderness toward children set the tone for the Islamic legal elaboration of children’s rights.
Equal treatment: The Prophet’s warning against preferring one child over others in gifts — transmitted through the famous story of Nu’man ibn Bashir’s father, who was told by the Prophet ‘Do not make me a witness to injustice’ when he tried to give Nu’man a special gift without giving equally to the other children — established the ‘adl principle among siblings as a hadith-grounded legal rule.
See also: Nikah, Al Nasab, Birr Al Walidayn, Al Tarbiya, Al Mawdud, Akhlaq, Adl
The Child in the Covenant
Born into walayah: In Ismaili Bohra theology, the child of a mumin couple is born into the covenant community — the adhan whispered at birth is the first act of incorporation into the da’wa. The child’s early religious formation (Quran recitation, Arabic, Ismaili theology) is the beginning of a tarbiya that culminates in the misaq when the child reaches maturity. The intergenerational transmission of walayah is the community’s most fundamental act — each generation’s responsibility to the next.
The walad as amanah: The child is a divine trust (amanah) not a possession. Islamic law’s sharp limit on parental authority — parents cannot compel a child to sin; cannot give a daughter in marriage without her consent (post-puberty); cannot deprive children of their inheritance rights — reflects this amanah logic: the child is Allah’s, not the parent’s.
See also: Al Tarbiya, Nikah, Misaq The Covenant, Al Amanat, Understanding Walayah, Al Mawdud, Tayyibi Dawat, Dawoodi Bohra, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution
See also: Nikah, Al Nasab, Birr Al Walidayn, Al Tarbiya, Al Mawdud, Akhlaq, Adl, Misaq The Covenant, Al Amanat, Understanding Walayah, Tayyibi Dawat, Dawoodi Bohra, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution