Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
As far as we know, there is no authentic evidence establishing that infants have a special ability to see angels or jinn, nor is there evidence categorically denying that this could ever occur. These matters belong to the unseen, and no definite claim should be made about them without evidence. Therefore, a baby laughing or looking toward an empty place cannot be regarded as proof that the baby has seen an angel or a jinn.
As for the general possibility of humans seeing angels or jinn when they appear in forms other than their original forms, the revealed texts indicate that this can occur.
Can Humans See Angels?
A human being can see angels when they take a form that humans are able to see, and this has been established in authentic texts.
One of the best-known examples is the Hadith of Gabriel, peace be upon him, when he came to the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions in the form of a man.
Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ one day, a man appeared before us whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black. No signs of travel could be seen on him, and none of us knew him...”
After he asked the Prophet ﷺ about Islam, faith, excellence in worship, and other matters, the Prophet ﷺ said to Umar:
“O Umar, do you know who the questioner was?”
He replied: Allah and His Messenger know best.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“That was Gabriel. He came to teach you your religion.”
[Reported by Muslim]
Thus, the Companions saw Gabriel, peace be upon him, but they saw him in the form of a man, and initially they did not know that he was an angel.
Did the Companions See Other Angels?
Yes. It is reported that some Companions saw angels in human form.
Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“On the Day of Uhud, I saw two men dressed in white, one on the right of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the other on his left, fighting fiercely on his behalf. I had never seen them before or after.”
[Reported by Muslim]
These two were angels.
Other texts also mention angels appearing in human form, such as Gabriel appearing to Mary, peace be upon her, and the story of the angel who was sent to the leper, the bald man, and the blind man.
Thus, the possibility of seeing angels when they assume other forms is established.
What About Seeing Angels in Their True Form?
Seeing angels in the original form in which Allah created them is a different matter.
It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw Gabriel, peace be upon him, in his true form twice, and Gabriel’s creation was immense.
Therefore, a distinction should be made between seeing an angel in his original form and seeing an angel after he has assumed a human or another visible form.
Can Jinn Be Seen?
Jinn can also be seen if they appear in a form that humans can see.
Among the evidences is the story of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, when the Prophet ﷺ entrusted him with guarding the Ramadan charity. Someone came and began taking food, so Abu Hurayrah caught him.
After this happened repeatedly, the Prophet ﷺ told him the person’s true identity, saying:
“He told you the truth, although he is a liar... That was a devil.”
[Reported by al-Bukhari]
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, used this account as evidence that a devil may assume certain forms and can then be seen.
As for Allah’s statement concerning Satan and his tribe:
“Indeed, he and his tribe see you from where you do not see them.”
[Al-A‘raf 7:27]
Ibn Hajar mentioned that this refers to them in the form in which they were originally created. If they assume another form, however, they may be seen.
Do Children Have a Special Ability to See Angels and Jinn?
This is the central question, and there is no authentic evidence giving infants a special ability to see angels or jinn that other people do not possess.
Therefore, we cannot state that children see them, nor can we categorically rule out the possibility of something of this nature occurring, because it concerns the unseen and requires evidence to affirm or deny it.
The widespread claims that children see angels because they are innocent, or that a baby smiling toward an empty place means that the baby is seeing an angel, have no established basis in Islamic evidence.
Does a Baby’s Laughter Mean That the Baby Saw an Angel?
It is not correct to make such a definite claim.
A baby may smile, laugh, or look in a particular direction for many different reasons, and there is no Islamic text establishing these behaviors as signs of seeing angels.
Likewise, if a child looks toward an empty place or follows something with the eyes, we should not claim that the child has seen a jinn or an angel, because doing so would amount to making a claim about the unseen without evidence.
Conclusion
Seeing angels and jinn when they assume forms that humans can see is possible, and authentic texts establish that this has occurred.
However, there is no authentic Islamic evidence establishing that infants have a special ability to see angels or jinn, nor is there evidence categorically denying the possibility.
Therefore, a baby smiling, laughing, or looking toward an empty place is not evidence that the baby has seen an angel or a jinn. Matters of the unseen should only be stated with certainty when established by the Quran or authentic Sunnah.
And Allah knows best.