Is a person held accountable for what he did before reaching puberty?
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Question:
This is a questioner for the program who says: O Shaykh, the questioner is your sister in Allah, a regular listener to the program, and she has used this symbol for her name. She says, O Shaykh: Is a person held accountable for his mistakes and sins that he committed before reaching puberty? I say, O Shaykh, in my youth I committed many mistakes and sins, until Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) granted me guidance. Since reaching puberty—and praise be to Allah—and my guidance to the straight path, I have been performing righteous deeds, including voluntary acts and worship. Is anything required of me in this regard, O Shaykh?
Answer:
What is done before reaching puberty is not held against a person; rather, he is held accountable for what comes after puberty. What he did of evil deeds before puberty is not held against him, because he is not obligated: like the insane person, and like the child who has not reached fifteen years of age, he is not obligated.
The point is that he is not held accountable except for what was done after puberty, after the obligation begins. So prayer before the obligation, or cursing, or insulting, or committing a lewd act, or the like of that, none of it is held against him before the obligation. But he is not allowed to do what Allah has forbidden; he is not allowed to commit unlawful sexual intercourse, he is not allowed to commit sodomy, he is not allowed to steal. Even if he is a child, he is disciplined. But in the Hereafter, what he did before puberty is not held against him. However, his guardians, if he does something before puberty, they discipline him if they see him engaging in what Allah has forbidden, such as sodomy, theft, or harming his family; he is disciplined and prevented. And likewise, when he reaches ten years of age, he is ordered to pray, and he is struck for it. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
This is a questioner for the program who says: O Shaykh, the questioner is your sister in Allah, a regular listener to the program, and she has used this symbol for her name. She says, O Shaykh: Is a person held accountable for his mistakes and sins that he committed before reaching puberty? I say, O Shaykh, in my youth I committed many mistakes and sins, until Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) granted me guidance. Since reaching puberty—and praise be to Allah—and my guidance to the straight path, I have been performing righteous deeds, including voluntary acts and worship. Is anything required of me in this regard, O Shaykh?
Answer:
What is done before reaching puberty is not held against a person; rather, he is held accountable for what comes after puberty. What he did of evil deeds before puberty is not held against him, because he is not obligated: like the insane person, and like the child who has not reached fifteen years of age, he is not obligated.
The point is that he is not held accountable except for what was done after puberty, after the obligation begins. So prayer before the obligation, or cursing, or insulting, or committing a lewd act, or the like of that, none of it is held against him before the obligation. But he is not allowed to do what Allah has forbidden; he is not allowed to commit unlawful sexual intercourse, he is not allowed to commit sodomy, he is not allowed to steal. Even if he is a child, he is disciplined. But in the Hereafter, what he did before puberty is not held against him. However, his guardians, if he does something before puberty, they discipline him if they see him engaging in what Allah has forbidden, such as sodomy, theft, or harming his family; he is disciplined and prevented. And likewise, when he reaches ten years of age, he is ordered to pray, and he is struck for it. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.