An examination of the entry "adoption" in the Encyclopedia of Islam

The marriage of the Prophet (s) to Zaynab bint Jahsh and its consequences for the concept of adoption reveal the importance of addressing this issue in the light of human rights. The entry "children" in the Encyclopedia of Quran has made concise references to this issue. Although this entry has not presented any untrue stance, its incomplete presentation of the issue may lead the reader to faulty conclusions. The writer of the entry has made true references that are presented without any analysis – which is common in the encyclopedic articles. However, due to a certain bias, the article presents the Quran as having a prejudiced view toward male and female children, without explaining the possible reasons behind this stance of the Quran. Therefore, the reader is led to the conclusion that the male is more valuable than the female. Lack of a true specification of the logical relationship between the marriage of the Prophet (s) and abrogation of the Days of Ignorance adoption rules, provision of incomplete information about the verses related to the gender, and untrue interpretation of the superiority of the male over the female are the main criticisms against this entry that are addressed in this article in the light of the related Quranic interpretations.