Is the Age of Seven Specifically the Age for Commanding Children to Pray?

Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa

Question

Is the age of seven specifically the age at which children are to be commanded to pray, or can they start before that?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.

The Age of Seven and the Habit of Prayer

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

“Command your children to pray when they are seven years old, and discipline them if they do not pray when they are ten, and separate them in their beds.” [Abu Dawud]

The age of seven is not the age of religious accountability (taklif) for boys and girls; rather, it is the age of discernment. When a child reaches this age, it becomes obligatory for the guardian to instruct them to pray to help them develop the habit so that by the time they reach the age of accountability (puberty), they are accustomed to praying and do not find it difficult or burdensome.

Starting Before Seven Years

It is also permissible for the guardian to instruct the child to pray even before the age of seven if they sense signs of maturity and understanding.

Mu‘adh Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn Khubayb al-Juhani reported that when he asked his wife, “At what age should a child start praying?” she replied that a man from their people narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) that he said, “When the child knows their right hand from their left, instruct them to pray.” [Ibid.]

Indeed, it is commendable for children to become accustomed to prayer from an early age, and many children begin imitating their parents in prayer as early as three or four years old. Children are often inclined to continue habits they learn from a young age, as most of the values and habits that become embedded in a person’s heart are learned in early childhood.

The Importance of Early Training

This may be the reason the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) emphasized instructing children to pray at the age of seven. As the saying goes: “A young person will grow up according to what his father teaches him.”

Knowledge acquired in childhood is like engraving on stone while learning in adulthood is like engraving on soft clay.

Guidance from Imam Shafi‘i

Finally, Imam Shafi’i (Allah have mercy on him) said, “It is upon parents to teach their young children purification, prayer, fasting, and the like, and to teach them the prohibition of adultery, homosexuality, theft, intoxicants, lying, backbiting, and similar matters. Upon reaching puberty, they enter into religious accountability, and this teaching is obligatory according to the correct opinion.” [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]

May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.

[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa

Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.

He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.

He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.

Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.