Under Islamic law, the duty to follow its rulings begins at bulugh, or maturity: from then on obligatory worship such as prayer and fasting is required, and a person is answerable for acts against the law. Many people therefore ask from what age sins are written in a person's record. An explainer by Our Islam says that Islamic law looks not only at age but at the recognised signs of maturity.
Verse 59 of Surah An-Nur in the Quran sets a rule for children once they reach maturity, that they too must ask permission before entering, showing that different rules apply after it. In a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said the pen is lifted from three: the sleeper until he wakes, the child until he reaches maturity, and the insane until he regains his reason (Sunan Abu Dawud, hadith 4403; numbering varies by edition).
This shows that a child is not accountable as an adult is before maturity, but after it must bear responsibility for sins committed knowingly.
In Islamic jurisprudence, once the physical signs of puberty appear, a boy or girl is counted as mature without waiting for a set age. For girls, the start of menstruation is the main sign.
Where no signs appear, age decides. In the well-known Hanafi view, both boys and girls are mature on completing 15 lunar years. This rests on a report from Abdullah ibn Umar: at 14, at the time of the battle of Uhud, the Prophet did not let him take part, but at 15, at the battle of the Trench, he did. Hearing this, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz said it marks the line between minor and adult (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 2664 and 4097; Sahih Muslim, hadith 1868).
Even though children are not accountable before maturity, parents are responsible for teaching them prayer, fasting, manners and morals from an early age, so that once mature they can follow the faith's rulings properly.
Source: Our Islam
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