purely a form of worship, so it is valid from a discerning child, just like prayer and Hajj. Furthermore, Allah Almighty invited His servants to the Abode of Peace and made Islam its path; He declared that whoever does not answer His invitation will be in Hell and in painful torment. Thus, it is not permissible to prevent a child from answering the invitation of Allah while he is answering it and pursuing its path, nor is it permissible to condemn him to the punishment of Allah, judge him to be in the Fire, and block the path of salvation to him while he is fleeing from it. Moreover, what we have mentioned is a matter of consensus (ijma'), for Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, accepted Islam as a boy and said:

I preceded you all in Islam while I was a boy, before I had reached the age of puberty.

For this reason, it was said: The first of the men to accept Islam was Abu Bakr, of the children was Ali, of the women was Khadija, and of the slaves was Bilal. Urwa said: Ali and al-Zubayr accepted Islam while they were eight years old, and Ibn al-Zubayr pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at seven or eight years of age, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not reject anyone’s acceptance of Islam, neither young nor old. As for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "The pen is lifted from three," there is no evidence for them in it, for this implies that sins should not be recorded against him; whereas Islam is recorded for him, not against him, and he finds happiness through it in this world and the Hereafter. It is like prayer; it is valid from him and is recorded for him, even if it is not obligatory upon him, and likewise are other acts of pure worship. If it is said: Islam imposes Zakat upon him regarding his wealth, the maintenance of his Muslim relatives, forbids him from inheriting from his non-Muslim relative, and annuls his marriage. We say: As for Zakat, it is a benefit because it is a cause of increase, growth, preservation of wealth, and reward. As for inheritance and maintenance, these are matters that are speculative; he is compensated by his inheritance from his Muslim relatives and the lapsing of the maintenance of his non-Muslim relatives. Furthermore, this harm is submerged and outweighed by the happiness of this world and the Hereafter that he attains, and his salvation from the misery of both abodes and eternal residence in Hell. Thus, this is placed in the same category as the harm of consuming food—which includes the weight of what is eaten and the effort of moving the mouth—when that which results from it, namely survival, makes it not considered a harm. The harm in our issue, in comparison to the benefit obtained, is far less than that. Since this is established, al-Khiraqi stipulated.