Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
If one takes care of a child as a custodian or guardian and wants to write something for that child in his/her will, then one is allowed to do that within one third of his/her estate.
In his response to the question, Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America states:
Adoption in the sense of changing the name of a child’s biological parents is not permissible in Islam.
The Qur’an refers to this saying: “Proclaim their real parentage. That will be more equitable in the sight of Allah. And if ye know not their fathers, then (they are) your brethren in the faith, and your clients.” (Al-Ahzab 33:4)
However, Islam does allow Muslims to raise children who are not theirs. Muslims can fully raise these children, look after them, and support them.
If one takes care of a child as a custodian or guardian and wants to write something for that child in his/her will, then one is allowed to do that within one third of his/her estate.
One is allowed to give up to one third of one’s wealth to any charity or to anyone who would not receive any share of the inheritance otherwise.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.