The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "None spoke in cradle but three: (The first was) Jesus, (the second was), there a man from Bani Israel called Juraij. While he was offering his prayers, his mother came and called him. He said (to himself), 'Shall I answer her or keep on praying?" (He went on praying) and did not answer her, his mother said, "O Allah! Do not let him die till he sees the faces of prostitutes." So while he was in his hermitage, a lady came and sought to seduce him, but he refused. So she went to a shepherd and presented herself to him to commit illegal sexual intercourse with her and then later she gave birth to a child and claimed that it belonged to Juraij. The people, therefore, came to him and dismantled his hermitage and expelled him out of it and abused him. Juraij performed the ablution and offered prayer, and then came to the child and said, 'O child! Who is your father?' The child replied, 'The shepherd.' (After hearing this) the people said, 'We shall rebuild your hermitage of gold,' but he said, 'No, of nothing but mud.'(The third was the hero of the following story) A lady from Bani Israel was nursing her child at her breast when a handsome rider passed by her. She said, 'O Allah ! Make my child like him.' On that the child left her breast, and facing the rider said, 'O Allah! Do not make me like him.' The child then started to suck her breast again. (Abu Huraira further said, "As if I were now looking at the Prophet (ﷺ) sucking his finger (in way of demonstration.") After a while the people passed by, with a lady slave and she (i.e. the child's mother) said, 'O Allah! Do not make my child like this (slave girl)!, On that the child left her breast and said, 'O Allah! Make me like her.' When she asked why, the child replied, 'The rider is one of the tyrants while this slave girl is falsely accused of theft and illegal sexual intercourse."
Prophets - Sahih al-Bukhari 3436
This narration from the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) recounts three miraculous instances of infants speaking from the cradle, demonstrating Allah's power to manifest extraordinary signs through His creation.
The Case of Juraij
Juraij was a pious worshipper from Bani Israel whose mother invoked against him when he prioritized prayer over responding to her call. This teaches the importance of honoring parents while maintaining religious obligations.
The subsequent events - false accusation, public humiliation, and eventual vindication through the speaking infant - illustrate how Allah tests His righteous servants and ultimately clears their honor.
The Israelite Woman and Her Child
This incident demonstrates profound wisdom regarding appearances versus reality. The mother's superficial dua for her child to resemble a handsome rider was corrected by the infant's understanding of spiritual reality.
The child recognized the rider's tyranny and the slave girl's innocence despite her outward appearance, teaching us to value inner piety over external appearances and worldly status.
Scholarly Commentary
Classical scholars emphasize that these miracles occurred by Allah's permission to establish specific proofs. The speaking infants weren't prophets but signs affirming divine power.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani notes these events highlight how children's souls can receive divine inspiration (ilham) before reaching maturity, and how outward beauty often conceals spiritual corruption.
The narration also underscores the importance of sincere intention in worship and the danger of cursing one's children, as seen in Juraij's mother's invocation.