What is Sunan Abu Dawud 4718 about?

This hadith from Sunan Abu Dawud (Book of Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)), narrated by Explaining the tradition “Every child is a born on Islam”, Hammad b. Salamah said :, states: "In our opinion it means that covenant which Allah had taken in the loins of their fathers when He said : “Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes."

Is this hadith authentic?

This hadith is graded Sahih. Sahih hadiths are considered the most authentic grade in hadith classification.

Which collection is this hadith from?

This hadith is from Sunan Abu Dawud, which contains 5,276 hadiths across 43 books. It is hadith number 4718 in the Book of Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah).

I searched for a different number — is this the right hadith?

Hadith numbering varies across editions and translations (USC-MSA, Dar as-Salam, Fath al-Bari, and others). If you followed a link citing a different number but landed here, you may have been redirected to the canonical version in our library. If you were looking for a different hadith entirely, use the search bar to find it by text.

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Sunan Abu Dawud

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Sunan Abu Dawud #4718

Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)

Sahih

The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.

حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجُ بْنُ الْمِنْهَالِ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ حَمَّادَ بْنَ سَلَمَةَ، يُفَسِّرُ حَدِيثَ ‏"‏ كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ هَذَا عِنْدَنَا حَيْثُ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْعَهْدَ فِي أَصْلاَبِ آبَائِهِمْ حَيْثُ قَالَ ‏{‏ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَى ‏}‏ ‏.‏

In our opinion it means that covenant which Allah had taken in the loins of their fathers when He said : “Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes.

Narrated by Explaining the tradition “Every child is a born on Islam”, Hammad b. Salamah said :

Context

This hadith discusses the innate nature of every child being born on the fitrah, or natural disposition towards Islam. It references the divine covenant made by Allah with humanity before birth, indicating that every individual has an inherent understanding of their Creator. This emphasizes the importance of nurturing this innate belief throughout a child's upbringing.

Modern Application

In contemporary life, this principle encourages parents and educators to foster a child's spiritual awareness and moral values from a young age. By creating an environment that nurtures faith, individuals can help children grow into morally responsible adults.

Topics

This hadith is tagged with Divine Covenant and Faith and Belief because it illustrates the inherent belief in Allah that every child possesses, rooted in the covenant taken before their birth.

Divine Covenant Faith and Belief

Related Ayahs

سُورَةُ الأَعۡرَافِ

Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

2 ayahs

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَٰذَا غَٰفِلِينَ

And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."

قَالُوٓا۟ أَجِئْتَنَا لِنَعْبُدَ ٱللَّهَ وَحْدَهُۥ وَنَذَرَ مَا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَا ۖ فَأْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ

They said, "Have you come to us that we should worship Allah alone and leave what our fathers have worshipped? Then bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the truthful."

سُورَةُ الصَّافَّاتِ

As-Saaffaat (Those drawn up in Ranks)

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

1 ayah

ٱللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَرَبَّ ءَابَآئِكُمُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ

Allah, your Lord and the Lord of your first forefathers?"

سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ

Al-Kahf (The Cave)

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

1 ayah

وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُوا۟ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَن نَّدْعُوَا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِلَٰهًۭا ۖ لَّقَدْ قُلْنَآ إِذًۭا شَطَطًا

And We made firm their hearts when they stood up and said, "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never will we invoke besides Him any deity. We would have certainly spoken, then, an excessive transgression.

سُورَةُ الأَنبِيَاءِ

Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets)

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

1 ayah

قَالُوا۟ وَجَدْنَآ ءَابَآءَنَا لَهَا عَٰبِدِينَ

They said, "We found our fathers worshippers of them."

Common Words

72 total65 unique4 repeated

من4x

قالوا3x

على2x

ٱلله2x

وإذ1x

أخذ1x

ربك1x

بنى1x

ءادم1x

ظهورهم1x

ذريتهم1x

وأشهدهم1x

أنفسهم1x

ألست1x

بربكم1x

بلى1x

شهدنا1x

أن1x

تقولوا1x

يوم1x

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About Sunan Abu Dawud

This hadith is #4718 from Sunan Abu Dawud, in the Book of Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah). It is graded Sahih and narrated by Explaining the tradition “Every child is a born on Islam”, Hammad b. Salamah said :.

Browse all Sunan Abu Dawud All Hadith Collections

Sunan Abu Dawud #4718

Context

Modern Application

Topics

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Common Words

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About Sunan Abu Dawud

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