Where will be the Children

Now what will happen to children? Will they be in Jannah or Naar? Let’s categorize them into children of the believers and children of the non believers at a young age. What we mean by “young age” is before the age of puberty.

Children of the Believers

AnNawawi says that it is the consensus of the scholars that the children of the believers that die before the age of takleef (the age of responsibility) that they will be in Jannah. Allah says in the Qur’an: “And those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith, We shall join them with their descendants and We will not deprive them of anything of their deeds. Every person for what he earned is retained.”

[In regards to the parents of these children - ] AlBukhaari narrates, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that a Muslim who lost three children before puberty will be granted Paradise due to His Mercy. So the children of the believers are going to Jannah. The father is going to Jannah.

What about the mother? AlBukhaari narrates, the women requested of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to give them a day. They came to the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and said, “The men have taken you away from us.” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Then I will devote a day for you (exclusively).” And he would go and give a reminder to the women on a weekly basis. During one of those sessions, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, A woman whose three children die, those children will be a screen for her from Hell. If three children die and a sister has patience and accepts that, then they will save her from Hell. A woman who heard that said, “What if two died?” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Even if two died.” Abu Hurayrah commented that those two children should be below the age of puberty.

We say in general that the children of the believers will go to Jannah, but we cannot guarantee – pinpoint and say – that this person is going to Jannah. Why do we say this? Because ‘Aa`isha reported that a child died and I said, “There is happiness for this child who is a bird from amongst the birds of Paradise.” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Don’t you know that Allah created Paradise and He created Hell and He created the dwellers of Paradise and the denizens for Hell?” In another words, the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam didn’t like what she said, by saying that that particular child was going to Jannah.

Children of the non-believers

What about the children of al-mushrikeen? In Bukhaari, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was asked about the children of the non Muslims. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that when Allah created them, He knew what they would do. So RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam left it open. We don’t judge what will happen to them.

Ibn Hajar commented on this hadith and said, There was another hadith narrated by Abu Ya’la, that RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam asked Allah to grant him all of the children of mankind – Muslim and non-Muslim. He is making shafa’aa` (intercession) for them. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that Allah granted me that. This hadith is Hasan, not Sahih. We can use it as evidence, but it is not as strong as the previous.

There is a third hadith, which is narrated by Abu Na’eem and Abu Ya’la, in which the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says that the children of the non-Muslims are servants for the people of Jannah. So they will be in Jannah, but as servants. The scholars say that this hadith is Sahih.

How do the scholars combine all of these hadith? Some scholars say that all of the children – Muslim or non-Muslim – are going to Jannah. This is the opinion of Al-Jowzee, An-Nawawi and AlQurtubi.

AlQurtubi says that the Prophet’s knowledge on this grew over time. In the beginning, the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that they are going to be with their fathers in Hell. Later on, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that we should not judge what will happen to them. After that, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that they are granted forgiveness and they will be granted Jannah. AlQurtubi said that that is why there is conflicting evidence on this.

We leave it at that; there is a difference of opinion. It is an issue of ghayb (the unseen). We speak according to the knowledge that we have, but we don’t speak beyond that.