Are parents responsible for their children's crimes?

Every person remains responsible for their own deeds. Parents, however, carry a real responsibility for upbringing, and when they neglect it, the home easily becomes a breeding ground for crime.

Two truths stand side by side in this question. The first is that God does not punish anyone for another person’s deed. Whoever commits a crime must answer for it themselves. A father or mother does not become guilty in place of the child, as the first verse above says.

The second truth is just as important. Parents have a duty of their own, and they will be questioned about that duty. The second verse and the hadith above make clear that the family is a trust. Parents who leave their children to themselves fail in their own task, even though the later deed remains the child’s.

When crime among young people rises, one important cause therefore lies in the home. Many homes become places where wrongdoing grows because parents do not fulfil their responsibilities. There are many reasons for this. Some parents have no time or no interest. Some also feel so weakened by outside interference in family life that they no longer dare to give clear guidance.

It is therefore right for a society to hold parents more firmly to their duty. Punishment alone, however, is not enough. Parents also need the space and the respect to be able to truly raise their children.

Islam brings both together. The child is responsible for their deed, the parents for their upbringing. When each side takes its task seriously, the home once again becomes a place where children learn to choose what is good.