A few years ago, I went to visit an orphanage where I saw the faces of innocent children who are probably accustomed to seeing strangers every so often. Their parents, who decided their children should be denied parental love, abandoned many of these children. Such parents may have been successful in concealing their crimes from people but they sure will not be able to hide the truth from the Creator.
Inside the orphanage I went to were children of different ages who weren’t really orphans. They are called orphans because they were born, through no fault of their own, as a result of the lustful and sinful behavior of their parents. For their upkeep the country is donating huge sums of aid and ensures all their needs are provided with at the orphanage. I saw orphans living in residential apartments with everything they could possibly need and with social workers playing the role of mothers trying to create a family-like environment for them. The situation of these children is very difficult, because when children grow up and become youths, murky unanswered questions haunt them and many are left heart-broken. Some of them surrender to their fate, while others cannot and end up needing others to help them accept the reality of their situation and lives.
Recently, I learned about the fate of a young girl who was trying to mend a broken heart that had been shattered by her family when they excluded her from their life. They left her trembling to face the strong winds of life’s difficulties. Her situation will probably grow worse when she deals with people who may appear to be merciful but inside they are anything but that.
There are orphans that have lost one or both of their parents. It is rare that other people would be able to help replace the love of a mother or the care of a father. A stepmother or a stepfather may take them into their care meaning well but this is not always the case. Sometimes people try to get rid of their partners’ children from a previous marriage by forcing them to live with their grandparents, uncles and aunts. People try different things but at the end of the day these children continue to suffer from inside.
Only God knows the psychological struggle orphans go through and that is why they need special care and a different kind of upbringing. Verses in the Qur’an and the Prophet’s sayings all emphasize the reward one receives for looking after orphans. But where do we all stand in this? Look around you and see if you have lost a family member or a friend whose children are alone. If there are then ask yourself what did you offer to these orphans?
We need time, effort and a sense of direction — whether individually or in cooperation with others — to be able to search and find ways to help orphans in society.
