However...

However, if no one does, all those who are informed about it while having the possibility to take care of such children, are sinful.[^6] Collecting the abandoned children and taking care of them is obligatory, since it is among the benevolent deeds that God has obliged us to cooperate with one another and commissioned us to act in this respect, as saving one's life is also among the most important duties of every Muslim: ﴾Cooperate in piety and God wariness, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.﴿, [^7] ﴾O you who have faith!

Bow down and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord, and do good, so that you may be felicitous.﴿ [^8] , ﴾And whoever saves a life is as though he had saved all mankind.﴿ [^9] In addition, if giving food to someone who is starving or keeping people clear of harm is obligatory from a religious perspective, it can be well concluded that collecting the unattended and abandoned children, sheltering them, and fulfilling their needs is obligatory in sight of God.[^10] Given these explanations, although collecting children from public places is obligatory, it is indeed a communal duty, because collecting such children is aimed at protecting their lives and fostering and educating them.

This goal is achievable by any Muslim who may undertake it; besides, the jurists' consensus ( ijmaʿ ) and reference to the practical principle of disavowal ( bara’a ) would confirm it not to be ʿayni (personal duty) and to be kifa’i (collective or communal duty).[^11] The question arises for the jurists who believe collecting the abandoned and unattended children is a communal duty that if someone undertakes this task, can they give up later on or are they obliged to live up to their commitment until the child reaches maturity?

Answering this question involves the doctrinal rather than jurisprudential (legal) research that whether the undertaking that has been communal at the outset can turn into personal so that it is not possible to give it up, or it will remain as a communal duty to be continued.[^12] In contrast to communal obligation, some jurists believe that picking up abandoned children and taking care of them is a praiseworthy and preferably religious act, in which lies otherworldly reward besides its worldly value.