What Does Islam Say About Child Labor?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

What does Islam say about child labor and education as a right for children? I ask for people who put their young children to work instead of school if you could give me primary text evidence.

Answer

Islam does not condone any kind of child labor and encourages education at the elementary age. The Prophetic way is to love children until they are seven years old, educate them until they are 14, and then befriend them until they are 21.

The cycle of poverty is the cause of child labor and needs to be addressed at its core. When the economic opportunity is given to all, you will find that many problems go away, such as crime, terrorism, human trafficking, and child labor, just to name a few. We ask Allah to lift the plight of the Muslims, undo our discord and bring us together for unity, strength, and uprightness.

Please see these articles for more information:
Are We Beyond Slavery? Not even close.
Poverty and its negative effects, and means of eliminating it in Islam
Rights of Children in Detail

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.