The authenticity of the hadith: “Keep your children and your insane people away from your mosques”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Many of the brothers ask Your Eminence, may Allah preserve you, about the authenticity of the hadith: “Keep your mosques free of children, disputes, and legal rulings, and buying?”
The Shaykh:
The meaning is correct, but the hadith is weak. If the boy has reached seven years of age, there is no harm in his attending. The hadith “Drive your children out of your mosques, for they are like madmen” is weak, but its meaning is correct. A boy who misbehaves and is under seven is prevented from entering, and the insane are prevented if they annoy people, for they have no sense. And forbidden poetry is prevented, but good poetry is permissible.
The presenter:
May Allah preserve you. May Allah keep you safe.
The Shaykh:
Yes, and if he misbehaves, he is taught, meaning he is taught to pray, but he is taught. Just as Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the night prayer before he had reached puberty, and he stood as he said (peace and blessings be upon him) at ten, so the boy goes through the motions of the prayer, but if he misbehaves, he is disciplined and taught until he stops misbehaving.
Many of the brothers ask Your Eminence, may Allah preserve you, about the authenticity of the hadith: “Keep your mosques free of children, disputes, and legal rulings, and buying?”
The Shaykh:
The meaning is correct, but the hadith is weak. If the boy has reached seven years of age, there is no harm in his attending. The hadith “Drive your children out of your mosques, for they are like madmen” is weak, but its meaning is correct. A boy who misbehaves and is under seven is prevented from entering, and the insane are prevented if they annoy people, for they have no sense. And forbidden poetry is prevented, but good poetry is permissible.
The presenter:
May Allah preserve you. May Allah keep you safe.
The Shaykh:
Yes, and if he misbehaves, he is taught, meaning he is taught to pray, but he is taught. Just as Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the night prayer before he had reached puberty, and he stood as he said (peace and blessings be upon him)
Command your children to pray at seven, and beat them
مروا أولادكم بالصلاة لسبع واضربوهم
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم [ برنامج إذاعي ]، بداية من باب حمل المحدث والمستجمر في الصلاة وثياب الصغار وما شُكَّ في نجاسته — islamhouse.com (6:25)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.