What are the most widely acceptable and categorical religious rulings, concerning child Adoption and establishment of orphanage homes in Islam; and approved ways to go about?

First of all, i must commend you, and i hope you are successful

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The best house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are well treated. The worst house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are ill treated. [b]I and the guardian of the orphan will be in the Garden like that,"[/b]indicating his two fingers


Allah Most High says in the Qur’an, "So as for the orphans, do not oppress them, and as for beggars, do not berate them," (93:9-10)

and the Almighty says, "Have you seen him who denies the deen? He is the one who harshly rebuffs the orphan and does not urge the feeding of the poor." (107:1-3)

There are specific rules regarding child "adoption"....

What i mean is this; If you elect to sponsor a child and treat with kindness and love: The child's must keep his original last name:

You can not change the child's last name to your last name....

“…nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons…”

[al-Ahzaab 33:4]

“Call them (adopted sons) by (the names of) their fathers, that is more just with Allaah…” [al-Ahzaab 33:5].

Allaah has forbidden this kind of adoption because it causes knowledge of people’s lineage to be lost, and we have been commanded to preserve people’s lineage.

Sponsoring an orphan means that a man brings the orphan to live in his house, or he sponsors him somewhere other than his house, without giving him his name or forbidding that which is permitted or permitting that which is forbidden, as is the case with adoption.

I got the below from Islamqa.com

http://islamqa.com/en/ref/10010/Child%20adoption

Praise be to Allaah.

Adoption of children is of two types, forbidden and not forbidden.

The forbidden type means adopting a child in the sense that the child is considered to be the child of the adopting parent and subject to the rulings on children. This is not permitted. Allaah nullified it in the Qur’aan when He said (interpretation of the meaning):

“…nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons…”

[al-Ahzaab 33:4]

The kind which is prescribed and may be mustahabb means being kind towards the child and giving him a righteous religious upbringing and sound direction, teaching him that which will benefit him in this world and the next. But it is not permitted to hand a child over except to one who is known to be trustworthy, religiously-committed and of good character, who will take care of the child’s interests. He should also be a local resident, so that he will not take the child away to a country where his presence may be a cause for his religious commitment being lost in the future. If these conditions are met in the case of both the child and the adopting parent, then it is OK to hand over a foundling whose parentage is not known. May Allaah preserve you .



May Allah make your endeavor successful...