Abu Dawud

495. Commentary:
Several important issues are understood from this hadith. For example, when children reach the age of ten, their beds should be separated, whether they are real brothers, sisters, or a mix of brothers and sisters. The wisdom of this command of the Shari‘ah—Allah knows best—could be that from the very beginning of their awareness, children should be kept away from gatherings and assemblies that may pose a risk of corrupting or disturbing their thoughts, habits, and manners. In other words, this Prophetic command is an excellent means of protecting children and saving them from the effects of evil. Furthermore, this hadith also indicates the importance of prayer (salah). There is no other religious act, apart from prayer, regarding which there is a command that even small children of seven years should be instructed to perform it, and if they do not do so by the age of ten, they should be disciplined (with light beating). The statements of the early predecessors (salaf) and scholars regarding a person who does not pray are as follows: Imam Malik and Imam Shafi‘i say that «يقتل تار الصلوة»—that is, the one who abandons prayer should be killed. Mak‘hul, Hammad ibn Zayd, and Waki‘ ibn Jarrah say: He should be made to repent; if he repents, fine, otherwise he should be killed. Imam Zuhri says: He is a transgressor (fasiq); he should be given a severe punishment and imprisoned. Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i, Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal rahimahullah, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, and a group of scholars hold the view that whoever does not pray without a valid Shar‘i excuse, to the extent that the time for prayer passes, then such a person is a disbeliever (kafir). [عون المعبود : 115/2، طبع جديد]