Hadith 132

أَخْبَرَنَا الْفَضْلُ بْنُ الْحُبَابِ الْجُمَحِيُّ ، حَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيَمَ ، حَدَّثَنَا السَّرِيُّ بْنُ يَحْيَى أَبُو الْهِيَثَمِ وَكَانَ عَاقِلا ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ ، عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ سَرِيعٍ وَكَانَ شَاعِرًا ، وَكَانَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ قَصَّ فِي هَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ ، قَالَ : أَفْضَى بِهُمُ الْقَتْلُ إِلَى أَنْ قَتَلُوا الذُّرِّيَّةَ فَبَلَغَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى الِلَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَقَالَ : " أَوَلَيْسَ خِيَارُكُمْ أَوْلادَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ، مَا مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ إِلا عَلَى فِطْرَةِ الإِسْلامِ حَتَّى يُعْرِبَ ، فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ وَيُنَصِّرَانِهِ وَيُمَجِّسَانِهِ " ، قَالَ أَبُو حَاتِمٍ فِي خَبَرِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ سَرِيعٍ هَذَا : " مَا مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ إِلا عَلَى فِطْرَةِ الإِسْلامِ " أَرَادَ بِهِ : الْفطْرَةِ الَّتِي يَعْتَقَدْهَا أَهْلُ الإِسْلامِ الَّتِي ذَكَرْنَاهَا قَبْلُ حَيْثُ أَخْرَجَ الْخَلْقَ مِنْ صُلْبِ آدَمَ ، فَإِقْرَارُ الْمَرْءِ بِتِلْكَ الْفطْرَةِ مِنَ الإِسْلامِ ، فَنَسْبُ الْفطْرَةِ إِلَى الإِسْلامِ عِنْدَ الاعْتِقَادِ عَلَى سَبِيلِ الْمُجَاوَرَةِ .
The narrator named Hasan, quoting from Aswad bin Sari’, who was a poet—he was the first person to begin delivering sermons in this mosque—he relates: Once, the situation arose such that (the polytheists’) minor children had to be killed. When this news reached the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he said: “Are not the best among you the children of the polytheists? Every child that is born is born upon the natural disposition of Islam, until he begins to speak, then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian.”

Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says: The words of the narration: “Every child that is born is born upon the natural disposition of Islam”—this refers to the natural disposition which the people of Islam believe in, about which we have mentioned earlier that when Allah Almighty brought forth His creation (the human race) from the loins of our master Adam (peace be upon him), then a person’s acknowledgment of this natural disposition is a part of Islam, so at the time of belief, the attribution of this natural disposition will be made to Islam by way of proximity.
Hadith Reference صحیح ابن حبان / كتاب الإيمان / 132
Hadith Grading فضيلة الشيخ الإمام محمد ناصر الدين الألباني صحيح - «الصحيحة» (402). فضيلة الشيخ العلّامة شُعيب الأرناؤوط رجاله ثقات.