is ruled as being a Muslim. The same applies if he is taken captive with one of his parents. Even if one of the child's parents is a Muslim and the other is a disbeliever, his emancipation suffices because he is ruled to be a Muslim. The Qadi said, in one place: The emancipation of a minor suffices in all expiations except the expiation for killing, for which there are two narrations. Ibrahim al-Nakha'i said: Whenever 'a believing slave' is mentioned in the Qur'an, it does not suffice unless the slave has fasted and prayed; and whenever 'a slave' is mentioned in the Qur'an without the qualifier 'believing', then a child suffices. Similar to this is the opinion of Al-Hasan. The reasoning for Al-Khiraqi's opinion is that what is required is a believing slave, and belief is both statement and action, so if prayer and fasting have not occurred, the action has not occurred. Mujahid and 'Ata' said regarding His saying: {And the freeing of a believing slave}: They said: She has prayed. Similar to this is the opinion of Al-Hasan and Ibrahim. Makhul said: When a newborn is born, he is a soul (nasama), when he turns from his back to his belly, he is a slave (raqaba), and when he prays, he is a believer. And because worship is not valid from a child due to the absence of legal accountability (taklif), it does not suffice in the expiation, like the insane person, and because childhood is a deficiency for which one is entitled to maintenance from a relative, resembling chronic illness (zamana). The other opinion is closer to correctness, if Allah the Almighty wills, because belief is Islam, and this is realized in the case of a minor. This is evidenced by the fact that Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami brought a slave girl to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked her, "Where is Allah?" She said, "In the heaven." He asked, "Who am I?" She said, "You are the Messenger of Allah." He said, "Emancipate her, for she is a believer." Recorded by Muslim. In a hadith from Abu Hurayrah, a man brought a non-Arab slave girl to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have an obligation of a slave [to be emancipated]." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to her, "Where is Allah?" She gestured with her head toward the heaven. He said, "Who am I?" She gestured toward the Messenger of Allah and toward the heaven, meaning: You are the Messenger of Allah. He said, "Emancipate her, [for she is a believer]." Thus, he ruled that she had belief based on this statement.

Section: The emancipation of a fetus does not suffice, according to the opinion of most scholars. Abu Hanifah and Al-Shafi'i also say this.