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Like the majority of the world's religions, Islam enshrines the rights of human beings into its teaching. Islam is mindful of the needs of the vulnerable in society, and the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is often moved to entreaty his followers to take especial care of widows and orphans. In fact the Qur'an requires protection and charity for all those who may be unable to care for themselves:. "...the height is..the feeding, in the day of famine, of an orphaned relation or a needy man in distress."(Surah 90:16)

And of course all young children, not just orphans, come into the category of "vulnerable" - their parents and society as a whole need to ensure they are looked after, not only because children have intrinsic rights, but because Muslims have a duty to be charitable, and because the whole Ummah (Muslim community or brotherhood) will benefit from having those children as part of the whole.

Islam regards safeguarding children's rights as important because all human life is sacred to Allah. "Do not take life - which Allah has made sacred - except for a just cause." (Surah 17:33) The Qur'an does not condone abortion, so children have the right to life from early on. On Judgement Day we read that aborted children will ask why they were killed,(Surah 81::7-9, 11,14), though not all Muslims agree as to when that right commences (some say not until the foetus is 120 days).

However desperate the situation (and how desperate must some lives have been to cause this to be written in the first place) Allah will provide, both for parents and children. "Do not kill your children because of poverty. We shall provide for both them and you. Killing them is a grievous sin." (Surah 6:151)

In 1959 the United Nations published the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The six key points - that children have the right to a name and nationality, protection, food, medicine, education, love and care and to grow up free from discrimination, neglect, cruelty and danger - have been endorsed by all the major religions of the world, and the leaders of nearly all nations. The basis of that declaration is that "mankind owes the child the best it has to give". Such a sentiment, and the practical steps which follow, are as much a part of Islamic thinking as anything else.

But as parents our children are more than simply examples of God's creation, of course. They are our flesh and blood, and for most parents the instinct to love and protect is a strong one; at times it can overwhelm you. In

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