Q20 :Adoption is forbidden in Islam. But according
to authentic Hadiths related by Al-Bukhari, the Prophet adopted a son
named Zaid. Please netment.
A20 : Both statements of the prohibition of
adoption in Islam and the Prophet’s adoption of Zaid are correct. The
explanation of these two apparently contradictory facts lies in their
chronological order. Zaid ibn Harithah was a young child when he was
kidnapped by fighters who raided the living quarters of his tribe when
their men were out on their business. Zaid was sold as a slave and he
ended up in Makkah when he was given as a gift by her uncle to
Khadeejah, who later was married to Muhammad, her third husband. At
that time, he was 25 years of age. Lady Khadeejah was a rich woman who
married Muhammad, having learned much about his character which filled
her with admiration. At that time, Muhammad was being carefully
prepared by Allah for his forthneting mission as the last prophet to be
sent to mankind. Needless to say, neither he nor Khadeejah knew
anything at that time. Prophet-hood came 15 years after his marriage.
Khadeejah made a gift of Zaid to her husband so that he would have a
good servant. Zaid’s father was full of grief when he learned of what
had happened to his son. He tried hard to find out where he was carried
to. Perhaps, it was a few years before he learned that Zaid was in
Makkah, a slave in one of its most distinguished households. He,
therefore, traveled with his brother hoping to buy his son’s freedom.
When they spoke to Muhammad about Zaid, they requested him to agree to
sell Zaid back to them and to accept a reasonable price for him. He
made them a different offer saying: “I will charge you nothing. If he
prefers to stay with me, I will not part with anyone who prefers my
netpany.” They said: “This is indeed a very reasonable offer.” When
Zaid was called in, Muhammad asked him whether he recognized the two
men. On receiving an affirmative answer, Muhammad offered him the
choice of going back or staying with him. Unhesitatingly, Zaid chose to
stay with Muhammad saying to his father and his uncle, “I have seen
things of this man which make me keen never to part with him.” When
Zaid made his choice, Muhammad took him by the hand and went to the
Ka’aba where he addressed the people present saying to them: “Bear
witness that I have adopted Zaid as a son who will inherit me and I
will inherit him.” Zaid’s father was gratified and he went back home
with his brother. This is how the adoption of Zaid by the Prophet came
to pass, long before he became a prophet. Ever since that day, Zaid was
called in Makkah and everywhere else as “Zaid ibn Muhammad.” This
continued to be the case throughout the 13 years during which the
Prophet preached his message in Makkah and in the early years of his
stay in Madinah. It was later that the verses of the Qur’an which speak
of adoption were revealed. These make it clear that adoption is
prohibited and that every adopted son or daughter must be called after
his or her real father. This automatically abrogated the adoption of
Zaid who reverted to his original name, Zaid ibn Harithah, in
netpliance with Allah’s orders. The Prophet was very kind to Zaid
through their association. He arranged Zaid’s marriage to his own wet
nurse Umm Ayman who gave birth to Zaid’s son Ussamah, whom the Prophet
loved very dearly. Later on, the Prophet married Zaid to his own
cousin, Lady Zainab, who only accepted the marriage to please the
Prophet. The marriage was an unhappy one and Zaid reluctantly divorced
Zainab. The seal on the prohibition was placed by Allah Himself when He
instructed the Prophet to marry Zainab. Thus, the Prophet demonstrated
practically the nullification of all adoption. Had adoption been of any
significance, it would not have been possible that the Prophet marries
a former wife of his former adopted son. The fact that the marriage
took place and was specifically ordered by Allah left no doubt
whatsoever that adoption is totally forbidden in Islam.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )