This view has been transmitted from several of the early generations, including the Companions, the Successors, and others.

Several good reports to this effect have been narrated from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, corroborating one another. This is the view that al-Ash‘arī attributed to the people of the Sunnah and hadith in al-Maqālāt, stating that he himself held it. This view is supported by the established principles of the Quran and Sunnah, as has been explained at length elsewhere, where it has been shown that Allah does not punish anyone until He has sent him a messenger.

The purpose here, however, is to discuss the aforementioned interpretations of this hadith. The weakness has become clear of the view that the natural disposition is disbelief and faith, and that some acknowledged Him willingly while others did so unwillingly.

This view is further weakened by another group’s assertion that every one of those people acknowledged His lordship, without any distinction between willing and unwilling acknowledgment.

[Ibn Taymiyyah’s Comment]

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said:

“Others have said: The natural disposition mentioned in connection with newborns refers to the covenant that Allah took from Adam’s descendants before they came into this world, on the day when He brought Adam’s descendants forth from his back and addressed them: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ They all acknowledged His lordship, knowing Him. He then brought them forth from their fathers’ loins, created with that knowledge and acknowledgment imprinted upon their natures.