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How sound is this hadith, and what does it mean: "The child, until he reaches puberty, whatever good deeds he does are written for his father or his mother, and whatever bad deeds he does are not written against him nor against his parents. When he reaches puberty, Allah makes the pen flow for him, and He commands the two angels with him to record and to be diligent. When he reaches forty years in Islam, Allah protects him from three afflictions: madness, leprosy, and vitiligo. When he reaches fifty, Allah lightens his reckoning. When he reaches sixty, Allah grants him repentance to Him as He loves. When he reaches seventy, the inhabitants of the heavens love him. When he reaches eighty, Allah records his good deeds and overlooks his bad deeds. When he reaches ninety, Allah forgives him his past and future sins, and grants him intercession for his household, and he becomes Allah's captive on His earth. When he reaches the most decrepit age: 'so that he may not know, after knowledge, anything,' Allah records for him the like of what he used to do of good in his prime, and if he commits a bad deed, it is not written against him"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The aforementioned hadith narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) was cited by Ibn Kathir in his tafsir (exegesis), who described it as "very strange and severely objectionable." In this context, "al-hinth" means reaching maturity (بلوغ), and this meaning has been reported in authentic hadiths, including the hadith in Bukhari narrated by Anas: "No Muslim whose three children die before reaching the age of al-hinth, except that Allah will admit him to Paradise by virtue of His mercy upon them." Al-Suyuti explained "did not reach al-hinth" as meaning they did not reach the age of accountability (تكليف) at which sins are recorded.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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