What is the religious status of a non-Muslim child captured along with both of their parents?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Jihad

Book 54 · Issue 9 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If a non-Muslim child is captured along with both of their parents, the child remains upon the religion of the parents. This is the view held by Abu Hanifa, Malik, and Al-Shafi'i. The evidence for this is the Prophet's saying: 'And their parents make them Jewish, or Christian, or Zoroastrian,' and both parents are present with the child. The captor's ownership does not prevent the child from following the parents, as demonstrated when a child is born in the captor's ownership to enslaved Muslim parents.

Supporting text

Al-Awza'i maintains that the child is a Muslim because the captor has the superior right to the child by virtue of ownership through capture, which dissolves the parents' guardianship and severs mutual inheritance rights.