There is a range of scholarly opinions on the fate of the children of polytheists who die before reaching maturity. Some are supported by ḥadīth, others inferred from the Qurʾān. Ibn Ḥajar lists nine views, set out below.
The starting point is that Allāh is all-knowing, and is aware of the final fate of every individual, including children. On this view, Allāh knows what actions a child would have taken had he or she lived to adulthood. Since the child, through no fault of their own, did not reach the age of accountability, the matter rests on Allāh's wisdom, which determines their abode in the hereafter.
A ḥadīth relevant to this view states:
Some scholars take this to mean that children, especially those born to non-Muslim parents, follow the religion of their fathers.
A second view holds that children who die before reaching maturity reside in barzakh, the realm between Jannah (paradise) and Jahannam (hell). The reasoning is that children possess no good deeds for which they might be admitted to paradise, nor any sinful actions that would warrant punishment in hell; they exist therefore in a state of neutrality in the afterlife, awaiting Allāh's judgement.
Some scholars, citing a ḥadīth narrated by Samurah ibn Jundub, hold that the children of the mushrikīn will be the servants of Jannah. On this view, children fall under Allāh's particular mercy, and their final destination is service in paradise.
A different view, held by Thumāmah ibn Ashras, holds that children who pass away will become dust in the hereafter.
A further view holds that children will be tested in the hereafter. The test, as some scholars describe it, would determine whether they enter Jannah or Jahannam: those who pass would be rewarded with paradise, those who fail sent to hell.
ʿIyāḍ ibn Aḥmad held that the children of non-believers, or mushrikīn, would be sent to Jahannam.
A more general view holds that all children who pass away enter Jannah, regardless of the faith of their parents. Those who hold this view often cite the Qurʾānic verse: "And never would We punish until We sent a messenger" (Sūrat al-Isrāʾ 17:15). The verse is read to mean that children, who have neither received the message of Islam nor reached the age of accountability, are not subject to punishment, and are therefore granted entry into paradise as a manifestation of Allāh's mercy.
Finally, some scholars advise restraint in making any definitive claim about the fate of children in the hereafter. Their argument is that since the Qurʾān and ḥadīth contain no clear and explicit directive on the matter, the prudent course is to abstain from drawing conclusions on insufficient evidence. The matter is left, in the end, to Allāh.
A biographical sketch of Imām al-Bukhārī: his lineage, character, scholarly competence, teachers, students, madhhab, writings, and death.
The opening chapter of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: why Imām al-Bukhārī begins with revelation, the meaning of waḥy, and the forms it takes.
How Imām al-Bukhārī came to compile his Ṣaḥīḥ: its name, scope, method of writing, places of authorship, and the principal commentaries upon it.
The opening ḥadīth of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, narrated by ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, on the principle that deeds are judged by their intentions, with notes on the Bukhārī isnād.
