Does Islam allow marriage with adopted daughter?

Recently a bill was passed in Iran allowing male guardians to marry their adopted girls aged 13 and below, if the court decided it was in the interest of the girl.  If this bill is approved by the country's Guardian Council, it will become law.  The Guardian Council is a 12-member council in Iran which wields immense power.  No legislation can be accepted without its approval.  To put it briefly, this law is anti-Quranic.  It amounts to promoting the concept of incest.  A very disgusting scenario indeed.   Be it Shiias or Sunnis, neither can resist acting outright despicable because of their dependency on the distortions of Hadith.

I repeat, this practice is totally against the Quran.  It comes entirely from the corrupted Hadith. 

Relevant details of which are explained as follows.

First check Verse 33:5 of the Glorious Quran from Surah Al-Ahzab.

"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. And there is no sin for you in the mistakes that ye make unintentionally, but what your hearts purpose (that will be a sin for you). Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful." (33:5) Al-Ahzab - Noble Quran.

The same law applies to adopted daughters. The verse clearly portrays a platonic, non-sexual relationship based on mutual coordination, help and affection similar to one's dealings with their own children within a household. Neither are adopted sons non-mehram (or marriageable) for the women who adopt them nor the adopted daughters non-mehram (or marriageable) for the men who adopt them.

Now let us check Verse 4:23 of Surah An-Nissa.  This verse mentions a complete list of all female relationships with which marriage is forbidden.  You can look up the entire verse on your own.  Below we will quote only a specific part of Verse 4:23 that is connected with this topic.

"Forbidden unto you are your ........ and your foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters ......" (4:23) An-Nissa (Noble Quran).  Translation: Muhammed Marmaduke Pickthall.  

V.4:23 forbids marriage with foster mother and foster sister. The same law applies in the case of foster father and foster brother.  Adoption is a still closer bond than foster relationship as it confirms permanent guardianship.  Hence, if marriage isn't allowed between foster parents and foster children, there's NO way it can ever be allowed between adopted parents and adopted children.  I reiterate, these rules have been acquired from the very corrupted institutions of Hadith and Shariah which have nothing to do with the Quran. 

The Hadith-following translators have played their old trick by wrongly translating Verse 4:23 in order to keep it compatible with Hadith.  In their translations, along side the words "foster-mothers" and "foster sisters" they have mentioned in brackets 'those who have suckled you' and 'those who have been suckled by the same nurse as you,' respectively  .... thus introducing the concept of guardians marrying adopted daughters.  

To explain this more clearly, we need to remind you of a specific false hadith which claims that breast feeding establishes a mehram or platonic relationship between a man and woman.  It claims that if a man is breast fed by a woman other than his mother at any period in life (shocking as it may sound, Hadith allows breast feeding of adult men), she becomes mehram or unlawful for marriage to him.  According to the same false idea, the hadith also propagates that if two non-related male and female are breast fed by the same nurse during their childhood, they become mehram or unlawful for marriage to each other later in life.  This is simply a hadith fabrication.  It is not endorsed by the Quran nor does medical science confirm that mere breast feeding by an outsider changes the biological setup by creating motherly or sisterly relations.   Yet, the hadith followers have used this gimmick to promote marriage between a man and his adopted daughter by mistranslating Verse 4:23, claiming that foster mothers and foster sisters are unlawful for marriage only if the foster mother has breast fed that man or that man and his foster sister were breast fed by the same woman during childhood.  By this, the Hadith implies that if the issue of breast feeding (or suckling) does not exist, then that man can marry his foster mother or his foster sister.  From the same perspective, the Shariah legalizes marriage between adopted daughter and the man who adopts her.   Filthy, downright shameful and totally un-Quranic !!

As mentioned, an adopted child is even closer to its guardian than a foster child. While foster carers look after children on behalf of someone else which may not be a permanent arrangement, in adoption the man or woman who adopts a child becomes the permanent legal guardian. A legal guardian who gives their word to care for the child as a parent cannot take back their word, deciding to become a sexual partner. That would amount to violation of a promise, sexual abuse and gross injustice to the child. No girl in the world, after knowing that the man who adopted her and cared for her as a biological father since she was a baby, would ever desire sex with him as a teenager or a grown woman, unless she is abused and compelled. 

The reason why the Quran mentions the term "foster" and not "adopted" in Verse 4:23 is because in the 7th century adoption centers didn't exist as they do today. If a child became orphaned, they would generally be taken over by other households or extended families, close friends or neighbors.  Often an orphan child would be transferred to three or four different homes by the time they reached age 18.  That made them foster children rather than adopted children by definition. However, there is no practical difference in relationships between a foster home and an adopted home as far as the child is concerned. And marriage between foster relationships is plainly forbidden (Haram) in the Quran.  Precisely the same law must apply in adopted relationships. That goes without saying.

Look at it this way:  You adopt and raise a little girl from the time she is one, two or three years of age.  You assume the role of a caring and responsible dad for more than a decade.  Would you be able to marry her by the time she is 13 or 14 or 15?  Even if she 18 or 19?  After looking upon her as a daughter since she was a toddler, will your fatherly instincts change when you view her as a teenager approaching womanhood just because you know that she is not your biological daughter?  If yes, then there is something seriously not right with you!  

There is another truth that is being intentionally ignored by the Hadith and Shariah crowd.  The Quranic values and principles completely clash with the idea of marriage of underage girls. The institution of marriage and its responsibilities have been articulately highlighted in the Quran. Marriage is categorically portrayed as an accountable pledge that brings with itself the duties of raising a family, managing a household, managing family relationships, inheriting and handling the husband's assets. It's not humanly possible for a minor girl aged 13 or under to understand such issues, let alone tackle them.  For more details on marriage of underage girls not endorsed by the Quran, please read our earlier post "The Noble Quran does NOT mention marriage of underage girls."