𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐡 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟐𝟔𝟔𝟐𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐬 (𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐦 𝐁𝐮𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐦 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐦). 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐀𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 (𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦) 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝:
“𝐎 𝐀𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚! 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬.”
The purpose of this hadith is to discourage anyone from giving testimony about a particular person's destination in the afterlife, be it Paradise or Hell. This is because a child may adopt their parents' religious beliefs, even if their parents are non-Muslims. Furthermore, even if an individual claims to be a Muslim, their faith may not be genuine.
Children tend to follow in the footsteps of their parents, and if a child dies at a young age without following the Islamic faith, they will be judged according to the authentic Islamic criteria on the Day of Judgment. If they had obeyed the teachings, they will enter Paradise, and if they had disobeyed, they will be sent to Hell, just like the people who lived during the time of Jesus and Muhammad. It is believed that they will be tested on the Day of Judgment.
This also applies to children. That is why when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was asked about the children of polytheists, he said, "Allah knows best about what they used to do."
As for the children of Muslims, they follow their parents and, according to Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama'ah, they are in Paradise with their parents. The children of Muslims follow their parents in Paradise. However, the children of disbelievers will be tested on the Day of Judgment.
ALLAH KNOWS BEST
