Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (4/311)

The shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

Do the people of Paradise have offspring? And the “young boys”—are they the children of the people of Paradise? What is the fate of children? When the souls of the people of Paradise and Hell leave the body, are they in Paradise enjoying bliss, or do they remain in a particular place until Allah resurrects the body? What is the fate of a child born of fornication who dies: will he be among the people of the Heights or in Paradise? What is the correct view regarding the children of polytheists: are they among the people of Hell or the people of Paradise? Are the days in the Hereafter named as they are in this world, such as Saturday and Sunday?

He replied:

The “young boys” who go about attending to the people of Paradise are among the creatures of Paradise; they are not the children of people from this world. Rather, when children from this world enter Paradise, their physical form is perfected like that of the people of Paradise: in the form of Adam, thirty-three years of age and sixty cubits tall. It has also been reported that they are seven cubits wide.

The souls of the believers are in Paradise, and the souls of the disbelievers are in Hell. The souls of the believers enjoy bliss, while the souls of the disbelievers suffer punishment, until they are restored to their bodies.

سُئِلَ الشَّيْخُ - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ -: هَلْ يَتَنَاسَلُ أَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ؟ . " وَالْوِلْدَانُ " هَلْ هُمْ وِلْدَانُ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ؟ وَمَا حُكْمُ الْأَوْلَادِ وَأَرْوَاحُ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ إذَا خَرَجَتْ مِنْ الْجَسَدِ هَلْ تَكُونُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ تُنَعَّمُ؟ أَمْ تَكُونُ فِي مَكَانٍ مَخْصُوصٍ إلَى حَيْثُ يَبْعَثُ اللَّهُ الْجَسَدَ؟ وَمَا حُكْمُ وَلَدِ الزِّنَا إذَا مَاتَ يَكُونُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْأَعْرَافِ أَوْ فِي الْجَنَّةِ؟ وَمَا الصَّحِيحُ فِي أَوْلَادِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ هَلْ هُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ أَوْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ؟ وَهَلْ تُسَمَّى الْأَيَّامُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ كَمَا تُسَمَّى فِي الدُّنْيَا مِثْلُ السَّبْتِ وَالْأَحَدِ. فَأَجَابَ: " الْوِلْدَانُ " الَّذِينَ يَطُوفُونَ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ خَلْقٌ مِنْ خَلْقِ الْجَنَّةِ؛ لَيْسُوا بِأَبْنَاءِ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا بَلْ أَبْنَاءُ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا إذَا دَخَلُوا الْجَنَّةَ يَكْمُلُ خَلْقُهُمْ كَأَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ عَلَى صُورَةِ آدَمَ أَبْنَاءِ ثَلَاثٍ وَثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً فِي طُولِ سِتِّينَ ذِرَاعًا. وَقَدْ رُوِيَ أَيْضًا أَنَّ الْعَرْضَ سَبْعَةُ أَذْرُعٍ. وَأَرْوَاحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَأَرْوَاحُ الْكَافِرِينَ فِي النَّارِ؛ تُنَعَّمُ أَرْوَاحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَتُعَذَّبُ أَرْوَاحُ الْكَافِرِينَ إلَى أَنْ تُعَادَ إلَى الْأَبْدَانِ.