2/30. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 495 — Children, Prayer, and Separate Beds
When A Boy Should Be Ordered To Offer As-Salat
Hadith About Commanding Children to Pray and Separating Beds
Sunan Abi Dawud : 495
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 495
حَدَّثَنَا مُؤَمَّلُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ، - يَعْنِي الْيَشْكُرِيَّ - حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، عَنْ سَوَّارٍ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ، - قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ وَهُوَ سَوَّارُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ أَبُو حَمْزَةَ الْمُزَنِيُّ الصَّيْرَفِيُّ - عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مُرُوا أَوْلاَدَكُمْ بِالصَّلاَةِ وَهُمْ أَبْنَاءُ سَبْعِ سِنِينَ وَاضْرِبُوهُمْ عَلَيْهَا وَهُمْ أَبْنَاءُ عَشْرِ سِنِينَ وَفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَهُمْ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ " .
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately.
Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 495In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 105English translation : Book 2, Hadith 495
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 495
This hadith about children and prayer gives three instructions in one report. The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said to command children to pray when they are seven years old. He then said to beat them for it when they are ten years old. The hadith also says to arrange their beds separately. The wording shows that prayer training is not left until later years. It starts early with instruction, then becomes more serious at ten. The last part adds a family manners point about sleeping arrangements. For readers searching for “command your children to pray at seven hadith,” this narration is one of the most direct reports. The explanation should stay balanced and close to the text: it is about teaching prayer, taking it seriously with age, and managing children’s sleeping spaces.
What we learn from this hadith
- Children should be told to pray when they reach seven.
- At ten, prayer responsibility is treated with stronger correction.
- Children’s beds should be arranged separately as stated in the hadith.
- Family guidance includes both worship habits and home manners.
