Three Infants Who Spoke in the Cradle - A Hadith from Sahih Bukhari

Three Infants Who Spoke in the Cradle - A Hadith from Sahih Bukhari

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (RA), the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

"Only three infants spoke while still in the cradle. The first was Jesus (AS), the second was the child of Juraij, and the third was an infant who interacted with his mother."

The Story of Juraij:In Bani Israel, there was a pious worshiper named Juraij who built a place of worship to dedicate himself to the worship of Allah. One day, while he was praying, his mother called him, saying, "O Juraij, speak to me." Juraij was in a dilemma during his prayer and thought, "O Allah! Should I respond to my mother or continue my prayer?" He decided to continue his prayer and ignored his mother's call. This happened three consecutive days, and each time his mother left disappointed. On the third day, out of frustration, she made a supplication, saying, "O Allah! Do not let him die until he has seen the face of an immoral woman."

Her supplication was accepted. Later, a sinful woman tried to tempt Juraij, but he rejected her. Angered, she falsely accused him of fathering her child. The people, believing her accusation, became enraged. They destroyed Juraij's place of worship and beat him. Juraij asked them, "Why are you doing this?" They replied, "You committed fornication with this woman, and she bore your child."Juraij requested to see the child. When the child was brought to him, he prayed to Allah and then asked the infant, "O child! Who is your father?" Allah enabled the child to speak, and the infant replied, "My father is a shepherd."Upon hearing this, the people were astonished, realizing Juraij's innocence. They apologized to him and offered to rebuild his place of worship with gold or silver. However, Juraij asked them to rebuild it simply with mud, as it was before.

The Infant and the Noble Rider:Another infant spoke while breastfeeding. His mother saw a noble-looking rider on a fine animal passing by and said, "O Allah! Make my child like him." The infant stopped suckling, looked at the rider, and said, "O Allah! Do not make me like him."

Later, they saw a maidservant being beaten and accused of adultery and theft. While she denied the accusations, the mother prayed, "O Allah! Do not make my child like her." The infant again stopped suckling and said, "O Allah! Make me like her."

When the mother asked why he made these contrasting statements, the infant explained, "The rider was a tyrant, and I prayed not to be like him. The maidservant was innocent despite being falsely accused, so I prayed to be like her."

[Sahih Bukhari, 3436]