Mukhtasar Muslim

Narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: No child spoke in the cradle except for three children. One was ‘Isa (peace be upon him), the second was the companion of Jurayj. And Jurayj was a devout worshipper who built a place of worship and lived in it. He was praying when his mother came and called him, “O Jurayj!” He thought to himself, “O Allah, my mother is calling me and I am in prayer (should I continue praying or respond to my mother)?” In the end, he remained in prayer, so his mother went back. The next day, she came again and called, “O Jurayj!” He said, “O Allah, my mother is calling me and I am in prayer.” Again, he remained in prayer. On the third day, his mother came and called, but Jurayj remained in prayer, so his mother said, “O Allah, do not let him die until he sees the faces of immoral women (i.e., until he is confronted by them).” Then the Children of Israel began to talk about Jurayj and his worship. Among the Children of Israel was a prostitute whose beauty was proverbial. She said, “If you wish, I will put Jurayj to trial.” Then the woman went before Jurayj, but he paid her no attention. Eventually, she went to a shepherd who used to take refuge in Jurayj’s place of worship, and she allowed him to have relations with her, so he did, and she became pregnant by him. When she gave birth to the child, she said, “This child is from Jurayj.” Hearing this, the people came to him, brought him down, destroyed his place of worship, and began to beat him. He said, “What is the matter with you?” They said, “You committed adultery with this prostitute, and she has given birth to your child.” Jurayj said, “Where is the child?” They brought the child, so Jurayj said, “Let me pray.” Then he prayed, came to the child, poked him in the stomach, and said, “O child, who is your father?” The child said, “So-and-so, the shepherd.” Hearing this, the people rushed to Jurayj, kissing and caressing him, and said, “We will rebuild your place of worship with gold and silver.” He said, “No, rebuild it as it was, with clay.” So they rebuilt it.

(The third) was a child among the Children of Israel who was suckling from his mother when a well-dressed, handsome rider passed by. His mother, seeing him, said, “O Allah, make my son like this rider.” Upon hearing this, the child left his mother’s breast, looked at the rider, and said, “O Allah, do not make me like him.” After saying this, he returned to suckling. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “It is as if I am seeing the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at that moment, showing with his finger how the boy began to suckle again.” Then a slave woman passed by whom people were beating and saying, “You have committed adultery and theft.” She was saying, “Allah is sufficient for me, and He is my guardian.” So his mother said, “O Allah, do not make my son like her.” Hearing this, the child again left suckling, looked at the woman, and said, “O Allah, make me like her.” At that time, a conversation took place between the mother and the child. The mother said, “O shaven-headed one! When a handsome man passed by and I said, ‘O Allah, make my son like him,’ you said, ‘O Allah, do not make me like him.’ And when the slave woman, whom people were beating and accusing of adultery and theft, passed by, I said, ‘O Allah, do not make my son like her,’ you said, ‘O Allah, make me like her.’ (What is the matter?)” The child replied, “That rider was a tyrant, so I prayed, ‘O Allah, do not make me like him.’ And as for the slave woman, people were falsely accusing her, saying she committed adultery and theft, though she had done neither, so I said, ‘O Allah, make me like her.’”