Hadith #399
Arabic Text
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا يُونُسُ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ عَنِ الْأَسْوَدِ بْنِ سَرِيعٍ قَالَ أَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَغَزَوْتُ مَعَهُ فَأَصَبْتُ ظَهْرًا فَقَتَلَ النَّاسُ يَوْمَئِذٍ حَتَّى قَتَلُوا الْوِلْدَانَ وَقَالَ مَرَّةً الذُّرِّيَّةَ فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ مَا بَالُ أَقْوَامٍ جَاو
َزَهُمْ الْقَتْلُ الْيَوْمَ حَتَّى قَتَلُوا الذُّرِّيَّةَ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّمَا هُمْ أَوْلَادُ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَقَالَ أَلَا إِنَّ خِيَارَكُمْ أَبْنَاءُ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَلَا لَا تَقْتُلُوا ذُرِّيَّةً أَلَا لَا تَقْتُلُوا ذُرِّيَّةً قَالَ كُلُّ نَسَمَةٍ تُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ حَتَّى يُعْرِبَ عَنْهَا لِسَانُهَا فَأَبَوَاهَا يُهَوِّدَانِهَا وَيُنَصِّرَانِهَا
Isnad Chain
English Translation
Ismāʿīl narrated to us, saying: Yūnus informed us, from al-Ḥasan, from al-Aswad ibn Sarīʿ (رضي الله عنه) who said: I came to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and went on a military expedition with him. We achieved a victory, and the people that day killed so many that they even killed children. He said: Then the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ was told about that, and he said: 'What is wrong with people today that they killed children?' A man said: 'O Messenger of Allāh, are they not the children of polytheists?' He ﷺ said: 'Are not the best of you the children of polytheists? Every soul is born upon the natural disposition (fiṭrah), and they remain upon it until their tongues express for them and their parents make them Jews or Christians.'
Quran References
Reference: Musnad Ahmad, Book 30, Hadith 399
Sunnah.com ref: Musnad Ahmad 15037
Islam.wiki ID: IWH-51427