as above (the sub narrators are different). Abu Huraira qualified the three children referred to in the above mentioned Hadith as not having reached the age of committing sins (i.e. age of puberty) .
Commentary on the Hadith of the Three Children
The noble companion Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) provided crucial clarification regarding the three children mentioned in the preceding narration from Sahih al-Bukhari (102). He specified that these children had not yet reached the age of accountability (bulugh), meaning they were below the age of puberty and thus incapable of committing sins in the legal sense.
Scholarly Analysis
This qualification is significant in understanding divine mercy. Children who die before puberty are granted Paradise by Allah's pure grace, not through their own deeds, as they lack the legal capacity for sin or righteous action. Their state reflects Allah's boundless compassion.
The variation in sub-narrators between transmissions, while noted, does not affect the core meaning, as the essential message about Allah's mercy toward children remains consistent across authentic chains of transmission.
Legal and Theological Implications
This hadith establishes important theological principles: Allah judges based on capability, children are born in a state of natural innocence (fitrah), and divine mercy encompasses those unable to perform religious obligations.
Scholars derive from this that children of Muslim parents who die before puberty will be in Paradise, while the status of children of non-Muslim parents is subject to scholarly interpretation, with the predominant view being that Allah knows best what they would have done had they lived.