When understanding the Islamic Faith; the Quran and Sunnah are the prime sources for information. It is critical however for the one seeking knowledge to have the proper tools to reach a correct understanding.
One of the Hadith circulating amongst some is the following:
God’s messenger was invited to the funeral of a boy who belonged to the Tribe of Ansar and Mother Aisha said, “Messenger of God, this one is blessed; he is one of the young ones in paradise, for he has done no evil, being too young for that.” He replied, “It may be otherwise, ‘A’isha, for God has created some to go to paradise, doing so when they were still in their fathers’ loins; and He has created others for hell, doing so when they were still in their fathers’ loins.”
Some claim that this Hadith proves that children can go to Hell and that God has predetermined who will enter Paradise and who will enter Hell, a conclusion that we see to be false and misleading.
The children are entering Heaven and among the many proofs is the following:
Qurra al-Muzani said that the Prophet asked a man who used to come to him along with a son of his whether he loved his son, and the man replied, “Messenger of God, may God love you as I love him." The Prophet missed him, and on inquiring what had happened to so and so’s son he was told that he had died. Thereupon he said, “Would you not like to find him waiting for you no matter to which gate of paradise you came?” A man asked whether that applied particularly to him, or to all of them, and he told him that it applied to them all.
What about the Hadith in question?
There are two points, the first being that our beloved Prophet was highlighting an Islamic etiquette requiring us to be mindful of our limitations and not to assume that we can predict the outcome. Heaven and Hell is in the hands of God. The Prophet was setting an example to not assume a certain outcome. Secondly, regarding Heaven and Hell being predetermined, a simple way of understanding this is to look at it this way: When a group of educators decide to open an educational program, and they announce before opening that 50% of those enrolled will not be able to pass the test, they know this based on their experience. No one can say that a certain student did not pass because of their announcement, but rather it can be an indication of their level of experience. The group of educators can determine the percentage but are unable to determine the names beforehand due to their human limitations. Allah the All-Mighty is aware of the percentage and names due to His infinite knowledge. When Prophet Muhammad said that Allah creates certain people for Heaven and certain people for Hell the Prophet was referring to Allah's knowledge not His will.
