The Meaning of the Hadith: The Pen Is Lifted from the Sleeper, the Child, and the Insane
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner, S.M. from al-Hufuf, asks: What is the meaning of this hadith? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said.
Answer:
The meaning of the hadith is that these three are not obligated to perform any of the commands of the Shari'ah, because they are not accountable. Prayer, fasting, Hajj, and other obligatory acts of worship are not required of them in their current state. They do not sin by leaving off these acts of worship, because they are not obligated to perform them. However, the child is commanded to perform worship and trained in it so that he becomes accustomed to it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This applies to the rights of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), which are not obligatory except upon the accountable person. As for the rights of creation, if they encroach upon someone by taking a life or destroying property, they are required to provide compensation. They are required to provide compensation because the rights of creation do not fall away from the one who destroys them unless the owner permits it. These rights are based on mutual agreement, as the scholars say. Therefore, compensation is required for lives and property from the one who encroaches upon them, whether he is accountable or not. Even for animals: if an animal destroys something from the people's property, its owner is required to compensate for that destruction, except for what is permitted by the Shari'ah. For example, if an animal destroys crops during the day—meaning it grazes on the crops during the day—there is no compensation required of its owner, because it is permitted to let it out to graze during the day. However, if it destroys them at night, its owner is required to provide compensation, because the owners of crops are required to protect their crops during the day, and the owners of livestock are required to protect their livestock at night. Yes.
The questioner, S.M. from al-Hufuf, asks: What is the meaning of this hadith? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The pen is lifted from three: the sleeper until he awakens, the child until he reaches puberty, and the insane until he regains his mind, or
رفع القلم عن ثلاثة النائم حتى يستيقظ، والصبي حتى يبلغ، والمجنون حتى يعقل، أوDo these three not face accountability in this world or the Hereafter
وهل هؤلاء الثلاثة لا يؤاخذون دنيا ولا آخرةAnswer:
The meaning of the hadith is that these three are not obligated to perform any of the commands of the Shari'ah, because they are not accountable. Prayer, fasting, Hajj, and other obligatory acts of worship are not required of them in their current state. They do not sin by leaving off these acts of worship, because they are not obligated to perform them. However, the child is commanded to perform worship and trained in it so that he becomes accustomed to it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
(peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Command your children to pray when they are seven, beat them for it when they are ten, and separate them in their sleeping places."
صلى الله عليه وسلم مروا أولادكم بالصلاة لسبع واضربوهم عليها لعشر وفرقوا بينهم المضاجع
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما معنى هذا الحديث: (رفع القلم عن ثلاثة: النائم ... الخ) وهل هؤلاء الثلاثة لا يؤاخذون دنيا ولا آخرة؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.