Investigating the Destiny of Children in the Hereafter from Avicenna. Mullā Ṣadrā, and the Infallibles' Viewpoints

Abstract

The destiny of the human being in the hereafter is one of the issues that one can never be indifferent about it. That human beings will ultimately be divided into the good and the bad, and rewarded or punished is unanimously agreed upon by all the Muslim thinkers. However, there is ample disagreements regarding how the children or those who die before the age of puberty would be rewarded or punished. By investigating Avicenna and Mullā Ṣadrā's viewpoints and studying the Infallibles' narratives, the present library-based study attempted to answer the following question: what is the destiny of children and the status of their souls after dissociating from body in the hereafter. The findings showed that although there are some disagreements on this regard among the three, they unanimously agree that punishing children without the Divine test is against the Divine justice; because of the Divine mercy and the children's not reaching to the age of puberty, as well as the rule which stipulates no punishment without declaration of law, there will be no punishment for the children. Children will be subject to the Divine mercy and, according to some narrative, they will join their faithful parents. Moreover, according to some other narratives, they will be trained by Ḥaḍrat Zahrā (PBUH), Ibrāhīm and Sara, and become the servants of the people of the paradise. All of the above are consistent with the narratives on the Divine knowledge about the children. Finally, from Avicenna and Mullā Ṣadrā's viewpoints, there is no intellectual impediment.