33/23. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1868a — Age for Battlefield Permission
The age of responsibility
Hadith About Age Fifteen and Battlefield Permission
Sahih Muslim : 1868a
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1868a
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ عَرَضَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَوْمَ أُحُدٍ فِي الْقِتَالِ وَأَنَا ابْنُ أَرْبَعَ عَشْرَةَ سَنَةً فَلَمْ يُجِزْنِي وَعَرَضَنِي يَوْمَ الْخَنْدَقِ وَأَنَا ابْنُ خَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ سَنَةً فَأَجَازَنِي . قَالَ نَافِعٌ فَقَدِمْتُ عَلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ وَهُوَ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَلِيفَةٌ فَحَدَّثْتُهُ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ فَقَالَ إِنَّ هَذَا لَحَدٌّ بَيْنَ الصَّغِيرِ وَالْكَبِيرِ . فَكَتَبَ إِلَى عُمَّالِهِ أَنْ يَفْرِضُوا لِمَنْ كَانَ ابْنَ خَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ سَنَةً وَمَنْ كَانَ دُونَ ذَلِكَ فَاجْعَلُوهُ فِي الْعِيَالِ .
Ibn 'Umar Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) inspected me on the battlefield on the Day of Uhud, and I was fourteen years old. He did not allow me (to take part in the fight). He inspected me on the Day of Khandaq-and I was fifteen years old, and he permitted me (to fight), Nafi' said: I came to 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz who was then Caliph, and narrated this tradition to him. He said: Surely, this is the demarcation between a minor and a major. So he wrote to his governors that they should pay subsistence allowance to one who was fifteen years old, but should treat those of lesser age among children.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1868aIn-book reference : Book 33, Hadith 133USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 20, Hadith 4605
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1868a
This Hadith reports Ibn Umar’s own experience. He said that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم inspected him on the day of Uhud when he was fourteen years old and did not allow him to take part in the fight. Later, on the day of Khandaq, he was fifteen years old, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم permitted him. Nafi' later told this Hadith to Umar b. Abd al-Aziz, who said that this was a boundary between a minor and a major. He then wrote to his governors about allowance for those who were fifteen and treating younger ones among children. For people searching for hadith age fifteen or Ibn Umar Uhud Khandaq hadith, the text gives a clear age-based report tied to battlefield permission and later administrative use.
What we learn from this hadith
- Ibn Umar was not permitted to fight at fourteen.
- He was permitted at fifteen on the day of Khandaq.
- Umar b. Abd al-Aziz used this report as a boundary between minor and major.
