What is the ruling on fostering an infant from an association, and what are the rights resulting from that in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah? And does breastfeeding have an impact?

Sponsoring an abandoned child (laqeet) carries immense reward, and it may even be greater than sponsoring an orphan. This is because such a child is considered in the same category as an orphan, and their sponsor enters into the reward of the orphan's sponsor, as stated in the hadith: "I and the sponsor of an orphan will be in Paradise like this," [and he gestured with his index and middle fingers].

Here are some rulings regarding sponsoring an abandoned child:

1. The abandoned child is a stranger to the family that sponsors them and is not considered their son or daughter unless the mother or someone in her position breastfeeds him five full feedings before the age of two. In this case, he becomes her son through suckling, not by lineage. 2. The one who finds the child has guardianship over their upbringing (education, discipline, and medical care). However, the guardianship of marriage belongs to the ruler or his representative, and not to the one who found the child. 3. If the abandoned child dies possessing wealth, the one who found him does not inherit from him. Rather, the wealth goes to the treasury of the Muslims (Bayt al-Mal).