What is the ruling of Islamic law on claiming custody of a child of unknown parentage as one's own to prevent him from being harmed by society, knowing that he is officially registered as having unknown parents?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
It is forbidden to attribute a child whose parents are unknown to oneself. This includes official documents and conversations among people, based on Allah's saying: "Call them by [the names of] their fathers." However, there is no harm in calling a child "my son" or "my dear son" if the intention is to show closeness and endearment, provided there is no confusion.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/194249
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 194249
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy