QUESTION

A man and his wife have accepted Islaam. They have a child who is seven years old. Should they request him to utter the shahaadah as well, or is this not necessary since he has not yet reached puberty?

ANSWER by Shaykh Wasee Allaah 'Abbaas, lecturer at the Ka'bah, instructor at Umm Al-Quraa University in Makkah

Yes, the parents or whoever is repsonsible for them must request that the mumayyaz [1] child utter the shahaadah as well, and they should pronounce it to him and let him follow them in saying it.

FOOTNOTES

[1] mumayyaz: a child who has his own opinions and thinks based on them, but has not yet reached puberty

SOURCE

This was translated exclusively for www.bakkah.net from a handwritten answer provided by the shaykh, file no. AAWA019, dated 1423/7/20.

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