This hadith has been narrated in several wordings that explain one another. In the two Sahīh collections—the wording is al-Bukhārī’s—it is narrated from Ibn Shihāb, from Abū Salamah, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘No child is born except upon a sound natural disposition. His parents then make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian, just as an animal gives birth to an intact animal: do you notice any mutilation in it?’

Then Abū Hurayrah would say, ‘Read: “The natural disposition Allah has instilled in mankind. There is no altering Allah’s creation. That is the upright religion.”’

They asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what of those who die in childhood?’ He replied, ‘Allah knows best what they would have done.’”

In the Sahīh, al-Zuhrī said: The funeral prayer is offered for every child who dies, even one born of an illicit union, because the child was born upon the natural disposition of Islam, provided that he cried out at birth. The funeral prayer is not offered for one who did not cry out, since this is a miscarriage. And:

“Abū Hurayrah used to relate that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘No child is born except upon a sound natural disposition. His parents then make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian, just as an animal gives birth to an intact animal: do you notice any mutilation in it?’

Then Abū Hurayrah would say, ‘The natural disposition Allah has instilled in mankind.’”

In the Sahīh, in the narration of al-Aʿmash:

“No child is born except upon