❀ Funeral Prayer for the Child of Polytheist Parents: Islamic Ruling ❀
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
If a child’s parents are polytheists, should the funeral prayer (ṣalāt al-janāzah) be offered for that child?
❖ Answer:
Worldly rulings for children are based on the religion of their parents:
- For Muslim children: The rulings of Islam apply, such as ghusl, shrouding, burial, funeral prayer, and inheritance.
- For polytheist children: The rulings of shirk apply. No funeral prayer is offered for them, and their burial is conducted as done for an adult polytheist. Likewise, no Muslim inherits from such a child.
❖ Statement of Imām Ibn al-Mundhir (رحمه الله, 319H):
أجمعوا على أن حكم الطفل حكم أبويه إن كانا مسلمين، فحكمه حكم أهل الإسلام، وإن كانا مشركين فحكمه حكم الشرك، يرثهم ويرثونه، ويحكم فى ديته إن قتل حكم دية أبويه .
“The scholars are unanimously agreed that (in worldly rulings) a child follows the ruling of his parents. If both parents are Muslims, then the child is treated under the rulings of Islam. If both parents are polytheists, then the child is treated under the rulings of shirk. He inherits from them, and they inherit from him, and if the child is killed, his blood money follows the ruling of his parents’ blood money.”
(Al-Ijmāʿ, p. 74, no. 322)
❖ Important Note:
In the Hereafter, the children of polytheists will be under the ruling applied to the children of Muslims.
