—those of the right hand—and thereafter continues to draw near through voluntary acts of worship until he becomes one of the foremost, those brought near to Allah, it is evident that no disbeliever or hypocrite can be a friend of Allah. The same applies to those whose faith and worship are not valid, even supposing that they bear no sin, such as the children of disbelievers and those whom the call to Islam has not reached—even if it is held that they will not be punished until a messenger is sent to them. They cannot be among Allah’s friends unless they are believers who fear Him. Whoever does not draw near to Allah, whether by doing good deeds or refraining from evil deeds, is not among His friends. The same applies to the insane and to children, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“The pen of accountability has been lifted from three: the insane person until he regains his sanity, the child until he reaches puberty, and the sleeper until he awakens.”

This hadith was narrated by the compilers of the Sunan collections on the authority of ‘Alī and ‘Ā’ishah, may Allah be pleased with them both. The scholars versed in hadith have unanimously accepted it. However, according to the majority of scholars, the acts of worship of a child who has reached the age of discernment are valid, and he is rewarded for them.

As for the insane person from whom the pen of accountability has been lifted, none of his acts of worship is valid, by scholarly consensus. Neither his faith nor his disbelief is valid, nor are his prayer or any other acts of worship. Indeed, rational people generally consider him unfit even for worldly pursuits such as commerce and crafts. He is not fit to work as a cloth merchant, perfumer, blacksmith, or carpenter, and his contracts are invalid by scholarly consensus. Thus, his sales, purchases, marriage, divorce, acknowledgments, and testimony are not valid, nor any other