Ahmad, in one report, that the child is to be deemed Muslim, on the basis of the Prophet’s saying:

“It is his parents who make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian.”

Thus, if his parents die, he remains upon the natural disposition. The other report agrees with the majority’s view that he is not to be deemed Muslim.

This latter view is correct. Indeed, it represents a long-standing consensus of the earlier and later generations, and is established by the Sunnah beyond any doubt. It is known that non-Muslims under a covenant of protection lived during the Prophet’s lifetime—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in Medina, Wādī al-Qurā, Khaybar, Najrān, Yemen, and elsewhere. Some of them died leaving young children, yet the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—did not deem their orphans Muslim.

Likewise, during the time of his caliphs, non-Muslims under a covenant of protection were spread throughout Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Khurāsān. There were many orphans among them, yet the caliphs did not deem any of them Muslim. The covenant of protection entailed that they should care for one another, so they assumed custody of their orphans just as the parents had cared for their children.

Ahmad—may Allah be pleased with him—holds that when a non-Muslim under a covenant of protection dies, his young son inherits from him, although in one of the two reports he holds that the child becomes Muslim. This is because their children have always inherited from them, and because the child acquires Muslim status at the same time as his entitlement to inherit, not before it. The other view, however, is correct, as explained above.