Fatherless Children
The Quran in 19 verses forbids harsh and oppressive treatment of orphaned children while urging kindness and justice towards them. Muhammad himself was an orphan and an early Quranic verse celebrates God's providence and care towards him. Other Quranic verses identify those who repulse the orphan as unbelievers, rebuke those who do not honor the orphans and encourage the unbelievers to feed the orphans. The Quran speaks of the reward waiting for those who feed orphans, poor and the prisoner for the love of God. It also warns those who wrongfully consume the property of orphans that they will be punished in the hereafter with "fire in their own bellies". The Quran also gives concrete instructions to guardians regarding the orphans, particularly on how to protect their wealth and property rights.
Islamic scholar and prominent thinker Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei, who is given the titles Allamah and Sayyid, renowned for his Quranic exegesis explains that verses 57 to 59 of sura 16 (An-Nahl) indicate how God admonished pagan polytheistic tribes for their sexism:
They used to assign girls to God and for themselves choose whatever they wanted, meaning that they would choose boys for themselves. For the same reason, they used to bury daughters alive. In conclusion, the things they did not prefer for themselves, they would prefer for God almighty. God admonishes them for this statement.Read more about this topic: Islam And Children
Famous quotes containing the words fatherless and/or children:
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
—Bible: New Testament James, 1:27.
““Our earth is degenerate in these latter days. Bribery and corruption are common. Children no longer obey their parents. . . . The end of the world is evidently approaching.” Sound familiar? It is, in fact, the lament of a scribe in one of the earliest inscriptions to be unearthed in Mesopotamia, where Western civilization was born.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)