Atebe (Jun 2022)
The Question Regarding the Children of Nonbelievers in Islam
Abstract
The question regarding the children of nonbelievers or of non-Muslims who die before reaching puberty, is inextricably intertwined with the issue of predestination. Comprising the core of the problem is the dilemma whether these children will end up in Heaven or Hell. Verdicts given by the Prophet on the issue tend to pose dissimilarities. Motivated with the foremost of aim of setting the hearts and souls of those who had become Muslim anew firmly on the Quran and Islam, these verdicts, to a lesser extent, were also part of a strategy of safeguarding Muslim society from its enemies. Prioritizing this particular aspect of the issue, the research at hand pertains, therefore, to method. It is hoped, in the end, that there will emerge a better understanding and appraisal of both the relevant aḥādīth and the surrounding events. Otherwise, debates surrounding the issue will perpetuate, as has hitherto been the case, leaving the problem of interpreting the complexities between the relevant evidences derived from both the Quran and Sunnah unsolved. If the texts about the children of the nonbelievers are interpreted correctly, it means that the religion of Islam will be understood correctly about this issue and all people need this. Because Islam is the last and universal religion, that is, Islam is the religion of all people. So the rules of this religion should be for the benefit of all people. When the views about the children of the nonbelievers are explained correctly, it is possible that the non-Muslims will be more interested in the religion of Islam. Thus, it will be easier to convey the religion of Islam to non-Muslims. One of the important issues that is wanted to be explained in this article is to explain Islam, which is the common religion to people more accurately. In addition, the aim of this study is to end the differences of opinion on this issue among the Islamic sects and to provide a common opinion and belief. However, the texts in Islamic sources have been explained by Islamic researchers in accordance with the principles of their own sects. But when the texts in the sources are brought together in the historical process, only one view emerges: The children of the nonbelievers will be in Paradise like the children of the Muslims.
