Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
It is authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ regarding children who die young that he said:
“Their little ones are the young birds of Paradise. One of them meets his father—or his parents—and takes hold of his garment—or he said, ‘his hand’—and does not let go until Allah admits him and his father into Paradise.” Narrated by Muslim.
At the same time, it is authentically reported that people will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised, as the Prophet ﷺ said:
“People will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised.” Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
There is no contradiction between the two hadiths. The strongest way of reconciling them is that the events and conditions of the Day of Resurrection occur in different stages. People will initially be resurrected naked, and then they will be clothed afterward. It has been authentically reported that the first person to be clothed on the Day of Resurrection will be Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him.
Accordingly, it is possible that the child’s taking hold of his father’s garment occurs after Allah has clothed the people.
This is also supported by the wording of the hadith itself, in which the narrator expressed uncertainty: “He takes hold of his garment—or he said, ‘his hand.’” The narration mentioning “his hand” presents no difficulty, since people are naked during the initial stage of the resurrection.
It has also been said that the mention of the garment may be figurative; meaning that the child clings to his father just as a person holds onto the garment of someone he wishes to remain with. It does not necessarily mean that the people are naked at that particular stage while garments are nevertheless present.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between the hadiths. The hadith about people being resurrected naked refers to one stage of the Day of Resurrection, while the hadith about the child taking hold of his father’s garment may refer to a later stage, after the people have been clothed.
And Allah تعالى knows best.