Rights of Children in Islam: What Every Parent Owes Their Child

It is easy to think of Islamic parenting as a list of things children owe us: respect, obedience, looking after us when we are old. Those are real. But Islam starts the other way round. Long before a child can say “thank you”, they already have rights over us.

Seeing these as rights, not extras, can make everyday choices clearer. When you are deciding whether to stop scrolling and play, or whether one child is getting more than another, you are not just asking “what kind of parent do I want to be?” You are asking “what does my child have a right to?”

Children as an amanah (trust)

The Prophet ﷺ described every carer as a guardian, or shepherd:

Evidence · Hadith

“All of you are guardians and responsible for those in your care… a man is the guardian of his family and is responsible for them. A woman is the guardian of her husband’s house and is responsible for it.” Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (RA).

A shepherd does not own the flock. They look after it for someone else, and they will be asked how they did. That is what it means to call children an amanah (a trust). Your child belongs to Allah first.

The Qur’an puts the same responsibility on believers directly:

Evidence · Qur’an

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًۭا

“O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire…”

This can feel heavy. It is also freeing. You are responsible for doing your sincere best, not for controlling every outcome. Guidance is from Allah.

Rights before and at birth

A good start

Many scholars include choosing a righteous spouse among a child’s rights, since a child’s first teachers are their parents.

Life and protection

The Qur’an forbids taking children’s lives out of fear of poverty, at a time when this happened:

Evidence · Qur’an

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَوْلَٰدَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَٰقٍۢ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ

“And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you.”

Today, the right to life and protection looks like caring for the mother in pregnancy, safe sleep, car seats, vaccinations your doctor recommends, and keeping children safe from harm and abuse. For health questions, your midwife, GP, paediatrician or health visitor is the right person to ask.

Lineage

A child has a right to know who they are and where they come from: their father’s name, their family and their roots. This is why Islam takes lineage seriously, and why adopted children in Islam keep their birth family’s name (Qur’an, Al-Ahzab 33:5) while being loved and raised as part of the family.

Dua

Your dua for your child is a gift they receive before they can ask for it. Make it in pregnancy, at birth and every day after.

A good name, aqiqah and welcome

The Prophet ﷺ cared about names. He told us which names Allah loves most:

Evidence · Hadith

“The names dearest to Allah are ʿAbdullah and ʿAbd al-Rahman.” Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (RA).

He also changed names with bad meanings. A girl named ʿAsiyah (“disobedient”) was renamed Jamilah (“beautiful”):

Evidence · Hadith

The Prophet ﷺ changed the name of ʿAsiyah and said: “You are Jamilah.” Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (RA).

A good name doesn’t have to be Arabic or a prophet’s name. It needs a good meaning, and it should be one your child will be happy to carry where you live. Our guide on how to choose a Muslim baby name goes through it step by step.

The welcome continues with tahnik, shaving the head and the aqiqah, a sacrifice in thanks on the seventh day. Scholars differ on whether the aqiqah is a strong sunnah or an obligation, and on the details. See our aqiqah guide for the rules, timing and options.

Provision, care and health

Children have a right to be fed, clothed and housed. The Qur’an places this provision on the father, in the same verse that speaks of nursing:

Evidence · Qur’an

وَٱلْوَٰلِدَٰتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَٰدَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ ۖ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يُتِمَّ ٱلرَّضَاعَةَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلْمَوْلُودِ لَهُۥ رِزْقُهُنَّ وَكِسْوَتُهُنَّ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ

“Mothers may breastfeed their children two complete years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing. Upon the father is the mothers’ provision and their clothing according to what is acceptable.”

The same verse goes on: “No person is charged with more than his capacity.” It allows weaning earlier by mutual consent and consultation, and it allows another woman to nurse the child. Breastfeeding is the ideal the verse describes, and families who cannot or choose not to breastfeed for two years have not failed their child. Ask your health visitor or doctor about feeding.

Nafaqah (financial provision) is a father’s duty in Islamic law, but care is shared. Many families today have two working parents, single parents or grandparents raising children. Whatever your setup, the right is the same: a child should have what they need, given with dignity, without being made to feel a burden.

Education: deen and dunya

Every child is born on the fitrah, a natural readiness to know Allah:

Evidence · Hadith

كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ

“Every child is born upon the fitrah…” Narrated by Abu Hurayrah (RA).

Education in Islam starts with protecting and nurturing that: teaching them who Allah is, how to pray, how to read the Qur’an, and how to treat people well. But scholars have long included worldly skills too: reading and writing, a trade, the ability to earn a living and stand on their own feet.

What this looks like today:

Mercy, play and affection

Children have a right to be loved openly. When the Prophet ﷺ kissed his grandson al-Hasan, a man named al-Aqraʿ ibn Habis said he had ten children and had never kissed any of them. The Prophet ﷺ looked at him and said:

Evidence · Hadith

مَنْ لاَ يَرْحَمُ لاَ يُرْحَمُ

“Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully.” Narrated by Abu Hurayrah (RA).

Mercy includes play, patience, listening, and not shaming children in front of others. It includes time. A child who is fed and clothed but never played with has not received all their rights. Our guide to prophetic parenting has more examples of how the Prophet ﷺ treated children.

Fairness between siblings

An-Nuʿman ibn Bashir (RA) described how his father gave him a gift and went to the Prophet ﷺ to have it witnessed. The Prophet ﷺ asked whether he had given the same to all his children. He had not.

Evidence · Hadith

فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ، وَاعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ أَوْلاَدِكُمْ

“Be afraid of Allah, and be just to your children.” His father went back and took the gift back.

Scholars differ on how this applies to gifts:

• Some hold that fairness in gifts between children is obligatory, and that favouring one child is sinful.
• Others hold that it is strongly recommended and that favouring one child is disliked.
• They also differ on whether sons and daughters receive identical gifts or gifts in proportion to inheritance shares.

If you are facing a real decision, like helping one child with a house deposit, ask a scholar you trust. In everyday life, fairness goes beyond money: attention, praise, time, and not comparing children with each other. Our guide to sibling rivalry and fairness has practical ideas.

Context notes

In a Muslim-minority country, some of these rights need more deliberate effort. Teaching Islam may not happen at school, and your child may need help to feel that their name and faith are something to be proud of. In a Muslim-majority country, the challenge is often the opposite: assuming children will “pick up” faith from their surroundings, without it ever becoming personal.

Heritage shapes how these rights are lived: an extended family in Pakistan or Egypt may share care for children; a convert parent in Canada may be building everything from scratch. The forms change. The rights don’t.

A quick self-check

• Does each of my children know they are loved, in words and touch?
• Am I teaching them about Allah in a way that fits their age?
• Am I fair between them in gifts, time and praise?
• Are they learning skills to stand on their own feet one day?
• Do I make dua for each of them by name?

Nobody ticks every box every day. The aim is direction, not perfection. Our age-by-age guide shows what each right looks like at each Stage.