Rights of Children in the Islamic Perspective

Children as a Trust from Allah

In the Islamic worldview, children are not possessions of their parents — they are a trust (amanah) from Allah. Parents will be asked on the Day of Judgment how they discharged this trust. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is responsible for his flock. The man is a shepherd over his household and is responsible for his flock. (Bukhari, Muslim). This responsibility begins from the moment of birth and encompasses the child's physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual welfare.

The Right to Life

The most fundamental right of a child is the right to live. The Quran explicitly condemns the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide: And do not kill your children out of poverty — We will provide for you and for them. (Al-An'am: 151). In contemporary Islamic ethics, this principle extends to all actions that take a child's life, including neglect, abandonment, and withholding essential care. Every child born, regardless of the circumstances of birth, has a claim on the community for protection.

The Right to a Good Name

The Prophet ﷺ said: Among the rights of a child upon his father is that he gives him a good name and a good upbringing. (Al-Bayhaqi). The name a child carries is the first gift a parent gives. Islamic tradition strongly encourages names with good meanings — names of prophets, names meaning worshipper of Allah, names with praiseworthy qualities. The Prophet ﷺ changed names that had ill meanings to better ones.

Aqiqah

On the seventh day after birth, the Sunnah is to slaughter an aqiqah animal — two sheep for a boy and one for a girl — shave the child's head and give the equivalent weight in silver to charity, and give the child a name. This act expresses gratitude to Allah for the gift of a child and ties the newborn into the community of believers from the first days of life.

Education and Moral Formation

The Prophet ﷺ said: A father gives his child nothing better than a good upbringing. (Al-Tirmidhi). Education encompasses Quranic literacy, knowledge of halal and haram, prayer, and character formation. Children must be taught to pray by the age of seven and gently corrected if they neglect it by ten. The shaping of a child's character in the early years is considered one of the most consequential acts a parent can perform.

Equal Treatment Among Siblings

One of the most practically important rights of children is the right to equal treatment. The Prophet ﷺ told a man who had given a gift to one child but not others: Fear Allah and be just among your children. (Bukhari, Muslim). He ﷺ refused to witness the gift, indicating its impermissibility without equitable distribution. Parents who show favoritism toward some children and neglect others sow seeds of resentment and break family bonds that Islam commands to be maintained.