Question 371:
What is the ruling pertaining to those who were born to a Muslim family and do not have the ability to understand right or wrong (the insane)? Are they in the jannah or the Hellfire? Do they share the same ruling as those born to the kuffar (their insane)?
Answer :
A person who is born insane or who becomes insane before reaching the puberty he will be tested on day of resurrection as it came in the following hadeeth:-
Narrated by Al Aswad ibn Saree` from the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), “Four persons will have excuse on day of resurrection, the deaf person who cannot hear and the insane person and the senile person (the one has lost his physical and mental abilities due to old age) and the one who died in Fatrah (the period in which no message of Islam has reached to his people). As for the deaf he will say, ‘Oh my Lord, Islam came while I couldn’t hear anything and as for the insane he will say, ‘Islam came while the children used to throw dung upon me’ and as for the senile he will say, ‘Islam came while I couldn’t understand any thing’ and as for the one who died in Fatrah he will say, ‘Oh my Lord, no messenger came to me.’ Then Allah will take covenant from them that they will obey Him and He will send to them a messenger who shall say: ‘enter the fire’. He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, by the One in whose hand my soul is, if they have entered that then it will be cool and peace upon them” [Reported by Ahmad, At Tabarani and others and graded as Saheeh by Al Albani].
This is the same if he was born in muslim family or non-muslim family. If he became insane after reaching the puberty he will be taken account for what he had done after reaching puberty and before becoming insane.
Answered by : Shaykh Abu Bilal Al Hadhrami
Translated the summary of the answer by : AbdunNoor Al Hindi