Rights of children
1. Children have the right to be fed, clothed, and protected until they reach adulthood.
2. Children must have the respect, to enjoy love and affection from their parents.
3. Children have the right to be treated equally, vis-a-vis their siblings in terms of financial gifts.
Prophet Muhammad was reported as saying: "Be fair and just in terms of the gifts you offer your children. If I was to give preference to any (gender over the other) I would have preferred females over males (in terms of giving gifts)." —Abdulrahman Al-Sheha, Women In the Shade of Islam.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal said that preferential treatment of a child is permitted if he or she is handicapped while others are not. (In Al-Mughni, vol. 5, p. 605, it is stated that special treatment of a child is permissible due to a need, a handicap, blindness, his or her being from a large family, being engaged in studies, or something of the sort, as it is aIso permitted to withhold from a child who would spend what he is given on sinful or wicked things.)
4. The child has the right to be not forced by its step parents or its birth parents.
Islam has given parents so much right on their children. But it does not mean that the parents have been given licence to ill-treat their children. Muhammed has said[citation needed]: “Allah has cursed those parents who (by their behaviour) compel their children to disobey them.”
If the parents themselves do not care about the rights of their children; if they do not give proper religious education; if they neglect their character-building; if they put so much burden upon them that is beyond their strength; if they behave towards the children tyrannically - then it is they who are compelling the children to revolt against them; and they will become candidates of the above-mentioned curse of Allah.
5. Children have the right to education. A saying attributed to Muhammad relates:
"A father gives his child nothing better than a good education."
—Hadith collected by Tirmidhi and Al-Bayhaqi
6. Parents are recommended to provide adequately for children in inheritance.
A Hadith says, “It is better for parents to leave their children well provided (financially) than to leave them in poverty”.
Depriving, or banning the right of inheritance, or other financial gifts during the lifetime of the parents or the preference of a parent for one child over the other is considered according to Islam as an act of injustice. Injustice will definitely lead to an atmosphere of hatred, anger and dismay amongst the children in a household. In fact, such an act of injustice may, most likely, lead to animosity amongst the children, and consequently, this will affect the entire family environment.
But, if a parent granted one of his children financial help to fulfill a necessity, such as a medical treatment coverage, the cost of a marriage, the cost of initializing a business, etc., then such a grant would not be categorized an act of injustice and unfairness. Such a gift will fall under the right to spend in the essential needs of the children, which is a requirement that a parent must fulfill.
7. A father is responsible for teaching his children according to Islam as follows: 1. Basic information about belief and worship 2. Basic information about high moral qualities 3. Information on what to be careful about in relations with other people 4. Vocational education
Muhammed said: "Everyone of you is a protector and guardian and responsible for your wards and things under your care and a man is a guardian of his family members, and is accountable for those placed under his charge." (Bukhari and Muslim)
"And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in Faith, to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything. Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned." (Quran: 52:21)
Muhammed, in this context, said: "When a believer dies, his work ceases to be except in three areas: a perpetual Sadaqa (charity), some useful knowledge he leaves and a righteous son praying for him." (Muslim)
8. Marrying children when they are old enough to get married
One of the rights that children have over their parents is to be provided with marriage when they are old enough, without delaying it. Both the Quran and Muhammed orders[citation needed] that young people and orphans be married when they are old enough.
9. Umar in a Sunni tradition summed up some of the rights of children in the following anecdote:
One day a man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab to complain of a disobedient son. So Umar had brought the boy to him and he blamed him for his disobedience. Then the boy addressed Umar by saying "O Commander of the faithful: Are there no rights for a boy against his father?". Umar said "Yes". Then the boy said "What are these rights O Commander of the Faithful?" Umar said, "To choose a good mother for him, to select a good name to him and to teach him the Quran" Then the boy said: "O Commander of the faithful; my father has not accomplished any of these rights. As for my mother, she was a black slave for a Magian; As for my name, he has named me Jual (beetle); and he has not taught me even one letter from the Quran". Then Umar turned round to the man and said "You came to me complaining disobedience on the part of your son, whereas you have not given him his rights. So you have made mistakes against him before he has made mistakes against you".
—Abd-Allah Nasih Ulwan, Child Education in Islam[21]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_children
2. Children must have the respect, to enjoy love and affection from their parents.
3. Children have the right to be treated equally, vis-a-vis their siblings in terms of financial gifts.
Prophet Muhammad was reported as saying: "Be fair and just in terms of the gifts you offer your children. If I was to give preference to any (gender over the other) I would have preferred females over males (in terms of giving gifts)." —Abdulrahman Al-Sheha, Women In the Shade of Islam.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal said that preferential treatment of a child is permitted if he or she is handicapped while others are not. (In Al-Mughni, vol. 5, p. 605, it is stated that special treatment of a child is permissible due to a need, a handicap, blindness, his or her being from a large family, being engaged in studies, or something of the sort, as it is aIso permitted to withhold from a child who would spend what he is given on sinful or wicked things.)
4. The child has the right to be not forced by its step parents or its birth parents.
Islam has given parents so much right on their children. But it does not mean that the parents have been given licence to ill-treat their children. Muhammed has said[citation needed]: “Allah has cursed those parents who (by their behaviour) compel their children to disobey them.”
If the parents themselves do not care about the rights of their children; if they do not give proper religious education; if they neglect their character-building; if they put so much burden upon them that is beyond their strength; if they behave towards the children tyrannically - then it is they who are compelling the children to revolt against them; and they will become candidates of the above-mentioned curse of Allah.
5. Children have the right to education. A saying attributed to Muhammad relates:
"A father gives his child nothing better than a good education."
—Hadith collected by Tirmidhi and Al-Bayhaqi
6. Parents are recommended to provide adequately for children in inheritance.
A Hadith says, “It is better for parents to leave their children well provided (financially) than to leave them in poverty”.
Depriving, or banning the right of inheritance, or other financial gifts during the lifetime of the parents or the preference of a parent for one child over the other is considered according to Islam as an act of injustice. Injustice will definitely lead to an atmosphere of hatred, anger and dismay amongst the children in a household. In fact, such an act of injustice may, most likely, lead to animosity amongst the children, and consequently, this will affect the entire family environment.
But, if a parent granted one of his children financial help to fulfill a necessity, such as a medical treatment coverage, the cost of a marriage, the cost of initializing a business, etc., then such a grant would not be categorized an act of injustice and unfairness. Such a gift will fall under the right to spend in the essential needs of the children, which is a requirement that a parent must fulfill.
7. A father is responsible for teaching his children according to Islam as follows: 1. Basic information about belief and worship 2. Basic information about high moral qualities 3. Information on what to be careful about in relations with other people 4. Vocational education
Muhammed said: "Everyone of you is a protector and guardian and responsible for your wards and things under your care and a man is a guardian of his family members, and is accountable for those placed under his charge." (Bukhari and Muslim)
"And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in Faith, to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything. Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned." (Quran: 52:21)
Muhammed, in this context, said: "When a believer dies, his work ceases to be except in three areas: a perpetual Sadaqa (charity), some useful knowledge he leaves and a righteous son praying for him." (Muslim)
8. Marrying children when they are old enough to get married
One of the rights that children have over their parents is to be provided with marriage when they are old enough, without delaying it. Both the Quran and Muhammed orders[citation needed] that young people and orphans be married when they are old enough.
9. Umar in a Sunni tradition summed up some of the rights of children in the following anecdote:
One day a man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab to complain of a disobedient son. So Umar had brought the boy to him and he blamed him for his disobedience. Then the boy addressed Umar by saying "O Commander of the faithful: Are there no rights for a boy against his father?". Umar said "Yes". Then the boy said "What are these rights O Commander of the Faithful?" Umar said, "To choose a good mother for him, to select a good name to him and to teach him the Quran" Then the boy said: "O Commander of the faithful; my father has not accomplished any of these rights. As for my mother, she was a black slave for a Magian; As for my name, he has named me Jual (beetle); and he has not taught me even one letter from the Quran". Then Umar turned round to the man and said "You came to me complaining disobedience on the part of your son, whereas you have not given him his rights. So you have made mistakes against him before he has made mistakes against you".
—Abd-Allah Nasih Ulwan, Child Education in Islam[21]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_children