Hadith 8179

وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " مَا مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ إِلَّا عَلَى هَذِهِ الْفِطْرَةِ ، فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ وَيُنَصِّرَانِهِ ، كَمَا تُنْتِجُونَ الْإِبِلَ ، فَهَلْ تَجِدُونَ فِيهَا جَدْعَاءَ حَتَّى تَكُونُوا أَنْتُمْ تَجْدَعُونَهَا ؟ " ، قَالُوا : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنْ يَمُوتُ وَهُوَ صَغِيرٌ ؟ قَالَ : " اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا كَانُوا عَامِلِينَ " .
And the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Every child is born upon pure nature, then his parents make him a Jew or a Christian. Its example is like an animal that is born—do you find any defect in it? Except that you yourselves cut its nose. The people asked, "O Messenger of Allah, what is the ruling about those children who die in childhood?" The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Allah knows best what they would have done when they grew up.
Hadith Reference مسند احمد / مسند المكثرين من الصحابة / 8179
Hadith Grading حکم دارالسلام: إسناده صحيح، خ: 1358، م: 2658