Al-Khallāl said:

‘Abd al-Malik al-Maymūnī informed us:

“I asked Abū ‘Abd Allāh, before his imprisonment—that is, before Ahmad was imprisoned during the trial instigated by the Jahmiyyah—about a young child brought out of Byzantine territory without his parents. He replied, ‘If he dies, the Muslims offer the funeral prayer over him.’

I asked, ‘Is he compelled to embrace Islam?’

He replied, ‘If they are young, they offer the funeral prayer over him. He is compelled; who has charge of him but them? His legal status is theirs.’

I asked, ‘What if both his parents were with him?’

He replied, ‘If both his parents—or one of them—are with him, he is not compelled, and he follows his parents’ religion.’

I asked, ‘What is the basis for this view? Is it the Prophet’s saying (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), “Every child is born upon the natural disposition”—until his parents are with him?’

He replied, ‘Yes.’

He said, ‘And ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz made a proclamation concerning him?’

He replied, ‘He returned him to Byzantine territory only on the basis that his legal status was theirs.’

I asked, ‘In the report, were both his parents with him?’

He replied, ‘No; but this should only be done when both his parents are with him.’”