Protecting Children's Rights Through the Lens of Maqashid Syariah

Children are both a trust and a gift. The Qur’an describes children as an adornment of worldly life (zinatul hayah), but also portrays them as a test for their parents. These two aspects demonstrate that having children is not just a source of pride; it is a profound responsibility that must be fulfilled with care. Unfortunately, children’s rights are often neglected amidst the flow of information and social transformation. This includes domestic violence, economic exploitation, child marriage, and exposure to negative content on the internet. It is here that revising the idea of maqashid syariah as a way of thinking to protect children’s rights becomes crucial. According to maqashid syariah, the rights of children mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are systematically connected to the fundamental objectives of Islamic law to safeguard human welfare. Maqashid syariah is structured into five main objectives: safeguarding religion (hifz ad-din), safeguarding life (hifz an-nafs), safeguarding intellect (hifz al-aql), safeguarding lineage (hifz an-nashl), and safeguarding property (hifz al-mal). These five principles are not merely theoretical; they must serve as a framework for thinking for every policy and action, including childcare. If these five principles are applied to child protection, it becomes clear that Islam laid a strong foundation long before contemporary child rights conventions were created. Firstly, safeguarding religion (hifz ad-din) entails the child’s right to receive moral and faith-based education from an early age. Parents and the community bear the responsibility of instilling a firm foundation of faith, not through violence, but through habituation and exemplary conduct. In this context, child protection also means shielding them from extremist ideologies and secular values that could later obscure their religious beliefs. Secondly, safeguarding life (hifz an-nafs) necessitates the physical and mental safety of the child. Islam prohibits physical, verbal, or emotional violence against children. Thirdly, safeguarding intellect (hifz al-’aql) obliges the protection of children from anything that could disrupt their thinking and cognitive development, such as gadget addiction, age-inappropriate digital content, and narcotics. In the era of computers and the internet, this issue has become increasingly complex. To protect a child’s intellect, parents must play an active role in supervising technology use, and the state must take responsibility for regulating child-safe content. Fourthly, safeguarding lineage (hifz an-nasl) relates to protection from sexual exploitation, child trafficking, and early marriage that erases their childhood. All forms of exploitation of a child’s body and dignity constitute a severe violation of maqashid syariah, as Islam considers the honour and reproductive future of a child to be sacred. Fifthly, safeguarding property (hifz al-mal) serves as a reminder that children, especially orphans, have rights to inheritance and maintenance that must be protected and not misused by guardians. Islam sternly threatens anyone who unjustly consumes the property of orphans, as mentioned in Surah An-Nisa. This principle is also relevant in highlighting the dangers of child economic exploitation, such as employing underage children for unilateral profit. The five pillars of maqashid syariah align with the spirit of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which emphasises the rights to life, development, protection, and participation. However, in Islam, this protection is based on the spiritual awareness that children are a divine trust for which we will be held accountable in how we raise them, rather than merely on formal regulations. According to maqashid syariah, the protection of children’s rights must be integrated into family policies, educational institutions, and the state as a whole. It is time we view child protection as part of worship and a religious trust that must be fulfilled earnestly, rather than just a social problem.