The rights of an orphan

Allah )جل جلاله(

stresses the rights of the orphans in many places in the Quran, for example : 

فأما اليتيم فلا تقهر

Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness. [93:9]

و أن تقوموا لليتامي بالقسط

… that you stand firm for justice to orphans. [4:127]

And one of the Prophet's Hadith states:

أنا و كافل اليتيم في الجنة هكذا و أشار بالسبابة و الوسطي و فرج بينهما

(مشكوة- ص 422- البخاري)

"The guardian of an orphan and I will be in the Paradise like this"; and he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) brought his index and middle fingers closer.

Another Hadith says:

خير بيت المسلمين فيه يتيم يحسن إليه

(مشكوة ص 1423 إبن ماجة)

The best among Muslims' houses is the one where an orphan is treated well.

Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

من مسح رأس يتيم لم يمسحه إلا الله كان له بكل شعرة تمر عليها يده حسنات

(مشكوة –ص423-ترمذي)

Whoever caresses an orphan's head solely to please Allah (جل جلاله), he will earn rewards for every strand of hair that was touched. Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) also said:

من أحسن إلي يتيمة أو يتيم عنده كنت أنا و هو في الجنة كهاتين و قرن بين إصبعيه

(مشكوة –ص423-ترمذي)

"Whosoever did a favor with an orphan boy or a girl will be close to me". He (صلى الله عليه و سلم) explained this by bringing the two fingers of his hand closer.

It is a well-known Hadith that Fatima (رضي الله عنها ) used to perform all her domestic chores herself which included, grinding the flour, fetching the water from the well, sweeping the floor, etc. When she requested a household helper from among the captives, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) told her that the orphans of Battle of Badr deserve care on priority basis instead. Before Islam, no orphanage existed. Thanks to the Islamic teachings, today, we see the orphanages all over the world.

Link: 

http://www.scholaris.com/islam/learning/PDF/Islam-TheReligionOfMercy.pdf