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Adoption (tabanni)

التبنّي

Al-Sha'rawi says Islam ended ascribing to an adopter a child not born of his loins. The phrase 'wives of your sons who are of your own loins' shows that adopted sons were known in pre-Islamic practice. He ties this to the story of Zayd ibn Haritha (may God be pleased with him) and Zaynab bint Jahsh (may God be pleased with her) and holds that the ruling came by revelation and not only as the Prophet ﷺ's own legislation 12345.

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Family, marriage and kinship

Summary

Al-Sha'rawi says Islam ended the ascription to an adopter of a child not born of his loins, and that this ruling came by revelation. 1

The phrase "of your own loins"

He reads the phrase "wives of your sons who are of your own loins" as showing that "sons" was used in pre-Islamic practice for adopted sons, and that Islam ended this. 12

The story of Zayd and Zaynab

He tells how Zayd ibn Haritha, whom the Prophet had adopted, married Zaynab bint Jahsh, and the marriage did not last. The verses of Surat al-Ahzab were revealed, and he says God is the one who gave the marriage, so that there would be no fault for believers regarding the wives of their adopted sons. 345

Not checked here

This story is told as the book tells it and has not yet been checked against the biographical sources. No academic reading is set out (needs_source).

Opinions on the question

The question: Does adoption confer lineage, and what did its abolition change in marriage and prohibitions?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Adoption does not establish lineage, and its abolition came by revelation

Sha'rawi holds that adoption does not establish lineage, relying on the verses revealed on the occasion, and says what the Prophet did was carrying out the ruling and not legislating on his own {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2104}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2105}.

Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi

More opinions (1)

Academic viewSecondary opinion

A historical reading of adoption in pre-Islamic Arabia has not yet been added

No academic reading is set out in these pages; it needs a named source (needs_source). The story of Zayd and Zaynab is told as the book tells it and has not yet been checked against the biographical sources.

People and things also explored

Taj Mahal· Abawan (the two parents)· Justice among co-wives· Obstructing a marriage (adl): the guardian and the husband· Fleshy growth in the wife's womb and the right to annul (afal)· Ahl al-Nasab (the kin by descent, and who counts as kin in bequests and endowments)· Akdariyya (a named inheritance case)· Brother (full, paternal and maternal) in law

Sources

  1. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2100
  2. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2101
  3. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2104
  4. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2105
  5. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2106
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Adoption (tabanni)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-tabanni/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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