QUR’ANIC INJUNCTIONS ON CHILD RIGHTS (ḤUQŨQUl-’AWLÃD) AND ITS APPLICATION IN KWARA STATE OF NIGERIA

Child rights remain one of the fundamental aspects of Islam and Shariah. This stems from the fact that Islam accorded different socio-religious and economic rights to children. It is within this context that this study examines the Quranic injunctions on child rights and their application in Kwara State. It has been found that there is no implementation of Islamic Law in Kwara State, but to some extent, Muslims enforce certain rights of children which include the right to child identity, right to feeding, right to education and ibadat. However, the negligence of these rights among Muslims leads to various forms of social problems such as drug addiction, prostitution and violent behaviour in Kwara State. The paper concludes with the suggestion that Islamic scholars should issue fatwa against child rights while Muslims should be educated on the components of child rights in Islam.