QUESTION:
What is the ruling on a child who died at the age of four? Will the child enter Paradise or remain in Purgatory?
What is the ruling on a mother crying over losing her child?
ANSWER:
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.
May Allah bless Muhammad and his Family and damn their enemies.
1. Ali bin Ibrahim, of his father, of Hammad, of Hariz, of Zurara, of Abu Jaafar (peace be upon him), who said: ‘’I asked him: ‘Was the Messenger of God (may God bless him and his family) ever asked about children?’ He said: ‘He was asked and said: Allah knows what they were doing.
Then he said: ‘Oh Zurara, do you know what he meant when he said: ‘Allah knows what they were doing’? I said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘Allah has a plan for them. When the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah the Almighty will gather the children, the people whole died during the period, the old, senile man who lived during the time of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and (peace be upon him) and his purified family), those who are deaf or mute who were mentally challenged, the insane and the feebleminded who are also incapable of rationality. Each of these groups will protest against Allah the Almighty (that they had no choice in life), so Allah sends them one of his angles. This angle ignites a fire for them, and Allah will then send an angel to them with a message: ‘Your Lord commands you to leap into this fire; whoever enters it will feel only coolness and peace and will enter Paradise, but those who do not, will enter Hell.
2. Several of our companions narrated of Sahl bin Ziyad, of more than one, of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him and his purified family), was asked about children to which he said:
On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will bring them together, light a fire and commands them to leap into it. Those who Allah the Almighty knows that will be the people of Paradise, will choose to leap into the fire, yet feel only coolness and peace. Those who Allah knows will be the people of Hell, will abstain. Allah will then command those who abstained to be taken to Hell; they will protest saying: ‘O’ our Lord, you order us to the fire despite not having knowledge of you (in life)?’ Then the Mighty One will say: I have commanded you directly, yet you did not obey me, so why would you have obeyed me if I sent my messengers to command you on my behalf?
3. In another narration: The children of the believers will join their fathers, and the children of the polytheists will join their fathers also, which is the interpretation of the words of Allah the Almighty:
to them shall We join their offspring’*
*Note: Children *joining* their fathers does not necessarily mean they will be punished as their fathers are. The aforementioned is also true for the children of the believers, which applies to the ‘Barzakh’ ( the realm that separates life from the hereafter). In the Day of Resurrection, all are tested with fire.
P2: There is no problem with grieving for the dead.
The Office of Sheikh al-Habib