82/3. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 6600 — Fitrah and Parental Influence
It is Allah Who knows what they would have done
Hadith About Fitrah, Parents, and Allah's Knowledge
Sahih Bukhari : 6600
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 6600
حَدَّثَنِي إِسْحَاقُ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنْ هَمَّامٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَا مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ إِلاَّ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ، فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ وَيُنَصِّرَانِهِ، كَمَا تُنْتِجُونَ الْبَهِيمَةَ، هَلْ تَجِدُونَ فِيهَا مِنْ جَدْعَاءَ حَتَّى تَكُونُوا أَنْتُمْ تَجْدَعُونَهَا ". قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنْ يَمُوتُ وَهْوَ صَغِيرٌ قَالَ {اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا كَانُوا عَامِلِينَ}
Abu Hurairah Narrated from:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "No child is born but has the Islamic Faith, but its parents turn it into a Jew or a Christian. It is as you help the animals give birth. Do you find among their offspring a mutilated one before you mutilate them yourself?" The people said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! What do you think about those (of them) who die young?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah knows what they would have done (were they to live)."
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 6599, 6600In-book reference : Book 82, Hadith 6USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 8, Book 77, Hadith 597
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 6600
This hadith about fitrah repeats the teaching that every child is born with the Islamic Faith, while parents may turn the child into a Jew or a Christian. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم compared this to animals being born whole, before people alter them. When the people asked about those who die young, he answered that Allah knows what they would have done if they had lived. The focus is not on judging individual children by human guessing. The focus is on fitrah, the effect parents may have, and Allah's knowledge of what is hidden. This makes the hadith a key text for searches about fitrah hadith and parental influence in Islam.
What we learn from this hadith
- Every child is described as being born upon fitrah.
- Parents may shape the later religious identity of a child.
- The animal example makes the teaching easy to picture.
- The unseen future of children belongs to Allah's knowledge.
