The Ruling on Praying over a Deceased Child

This message came from Bahrain. Its sender says: I am Hamid Muhammad Abd al-Hamid from the Arab Republic of Egypt, residing in the sisterly state of Bahrain, and I follow your program, *Nur 'ala al-Darb*. I am very, very pleased with it for its answers to listeners' questions. He says: I heard in the program from the honorable scholars that one prays over a child who dies. I have lost four children, none of whom was less than one year old, and no one prayed over them because I entrusted the matter to my father. Please inform us, may Allah reward you?
Answer: There is no doubt that the correct view is that one prays over a child. One prays over a small infant; this is the correct position. Some scholars said that one does not pray over him, but the correct view is that one does pray over him. If a person is ignorant and buries the child without praying over him due to his ignorance, we hope that Allah will forgive him, and he owes nothing. However, he should be mindful of the future and not bury the child until he has prayed over him. He should be washed, shrouded, and prayed over like an adult: he is washed, shrouded, perfumed, and prayed over, then buried like adults. This is what is prescribed, and this is what is obligatory, and this is the stronger of the scholars' opinions regarding a small child. Yes.