On Monday, 17 of Ramadan 1443H corresponding to 18 April 2022G, the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) organized a virtual interactive seminar on the occasion of the Day of the Orphan in the Islamic World. His Eminence Dr. Muhammad Mustafa Shuaib, supervisor of the Observatory of Fatwas and Reviews, as a representative of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), participated in it, at the headquarters of the OIC’s general secretariat in Jeddah.

The symposium touched upon the efforts of humanitarian and social bodies and institutions concerned with orphans’ issues in a number of member states of the OIC, where visual clips from the Islamic world were shown reflecting the Organization’s interest in orphans, following up on their issues, and efforts exerted in their care and patronage, based on Islam urging in more than one place in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet to treat orphans well, treat them kindly, be kind to them, patron them and take care of them educationally, healthily, socially and their living conditions, with the call to preserve their rights and raise them well.

Dr. Shuaib spoke in his intervention about the virtue of patronage of orphans in the Qur’an and Sunnah and the necessity of caring for them psychologically, mentally, physically, educationally and socially, and the necessity of preserving the orphan’s money – if he has money – and even investing it for him. He also explained the danger of neglecting the orphan and its impact on society, the importance of the role of the mother in caring for the orphan, and the need to rehabilitate and train those who are caring for orphans.

The celebration of this day comes in light of exceptional circumstances this year that require a different approach in working to secure comprehensive care and patronage for orphans, and to make more efforts to protect and take care of them, especially in light of the various repercussions of the Corona pandemic, disasters and conflicts in some member states of the Organization.

It should be noted that the Islamic world celebrates the fifteenth of Ramadan every year as the Muslim Orphan Day. The Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC Member States, in its fortieth session, which was held in Conakry, Republic of Guinea, in December 2013, issued a resolution considering the fifteenth day of Ramadan every year a day for orphans in the Islamic world to raise awareness of their issues, discuss their needs, and preserve their legitimate rights.