None spoke in the cradle, except three

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “None spoke in the cradle, except three: ‘Īsa, the son of Maryam and the companion of Jurayj. Jurayj was a worshiper. He had a hermitage and while he was there, his mother came in and called him while he was praying. He asked: ‘My Lord, my mother or my prayer?’ And he continued his prayer, so she left. The next day she came again and called him while he was in prayer. He asked: ‘My Lord, my mother or my prayer?’ and he continued his prayer. The following day she came again and called him while he was in prayer. He asked: ‘My Lord, my mother or my prayer?’ and he continued his prayer. She said: ‘O Allah, do not let him die until he sees the faces of prostitutes.’ The Children of Israel talked about Jurayj and his worship. There was a prostitute who they took to be an icon of beauty. She offered to seduce him. She tried to do so, but he did not pay her any attention. So she approached a herdsman who used to take refuge in Jurayj’s hermitage. She offered herself to him and he had sexual intercourse with her. She became pregnant, and when she gave birth she claimed that it was Jurayj’s son. The people went to him, invoked curses upon him, destroyed his hermitage, and attacked him. He said: ‘Why are you doing this?’ They replied: ‘You fornicated with this woman and she bore you a child.’ He asked: ‘Where is the child?’ So, they brought the child to him. He said: ‘Leave me until I pray.’ When he had finished praying he came to the boy and poked him in the stomach, and said: ‘O boy, who is your father?’ The boy responded: ‘So-and-so, the herdsman.’ So the people turned to Jurayj, kissing him and touching him, seeking his blessing. They offered to rebuild his hermitage with gold, but he refused and asked them to rebuild it with mud, just as it had been before, and so they did. There was also a baby, who was suckling from his mother when a rider dressed in fine garments passed by on an agile animal. His mother said: ‘O Allah, make my child like this one.’ The baby stopped suckling and looked at the man, and said: ‘O Allah, do not make me like him.’ He then continued suckling.” Abu Hurayrah said: “It is as if I can see the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) right now demonstrating the baby suckling with his forefinger in his mouth.” He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) continued: “And some people passed by holding a slave girl, who they were beating and accusing of fornication and theft. She was saying: ‘Sufficient is Allah for me, and the best of Guardians is He.’ The mother said: ‘O Allah, do not make my child like her.’ Again the baby stopped suckling, looked at her and said: ‘O Allah, make me like her.’ At this point they spoke to each other. The mother said: ‘A good looking man passed by and I asked Allah to make my son like him, and you asked Allah not to make you like him. Then, the people passed by with this slave girl who was being beaten and accused of fornication and theft, and I asked Allah not to make my son like her and you asked Allah to make you like her!’ The child said: ‘The man was a tyrant, so I asked Allah not to make me like him. They were accusing the girl of fornication but she had not committed it, and they were accusing her of stealing, but she had not stolen. So I asked Allah to make me like her.’”

Attribution: Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim

Grade: Authentic hadith