The Rights of the New
Born Baby in Islam
In all communities around the world
the birth of a child is considered a
blessing and ceremonies are held
to celebrate this event. Besides
being a natural expression of joy, it
also serves a special purpose, that
is, making it known in a suitable
and dignified manner, that the father
has accepted the child as his own
and that there is no doubt or
suspicion concerning this matter. It
shuts the door to any mischief that
could arise in the future. As soon
as your child is born, they are
under attack from Satan. The
Prophet said,
"When any human being is born,
Satan pinches the body with his two
fingers, except 'Isa, the son of
Maryam, whom Satan tried to pinch
but failed, for he touched the
placenta instead".
Sahih Bukhari 4:506
This is why the child cries at birth;
Satan never leaves his enemy
without harming it. To protect the
faith and Islam of the newborn
baby, who is now under attack by
mankind's greatest enemy, the
Messenger of Allah taught us about
various things that we can do.
Some are well known others not so
well known.
The following brief points are
intended to remind all people of
what the Prophet did when a child
was born.
Saying the Adhan
Abu Raf'I relates that, "I saw the
Prophet saying the adhan of salah
in the ear of his grandson, Hasan,
when the child was born to his
daughter Fatima".
This Hadeeth is found in Musnad
Ahmad, and authenticated by
Shaikh Abdul Qadit 'Arnoot.
Tahneek
When a child was born to one of the
families of the Sahaba (the
Companions of the Prophet) they
would take it to the Prophet so that
he would bless it, and apply the
pulp of a date, chewed by him, to its
palate. This 'tahneek' as it is known
in 'Arabic', was to keep the child
safe from evil. Therefore, similarly
when a child is born into a Muslim
family, it should be taken to a
virtuous, pious person, so that this
person may supplicate for the child
and perform the tahneek. Tahneek
is among those Sunan whose
practice has become rare.
Aisha (RA) narrates that "the people
used to bring their newborn children
to the Prophet and he would bless
them and perform the tahneek"
Sahih Muslim 1:560
Aqeeqah & shaving the head
The Aqeeqah ceremony essentially
consists of two acts: the shaving of
the hair from the head of a newborn
baby, and the sacrifice of an animal
(these were also characteristic
features of Millat-u-Ibrahim, the
religion of the Prophet Ibrahim).
The hair on the child's head is
shaven and its weight in silver is
given as charity. An animal is then
sacrificed as a mark of celebration
and distributed amongst friends,
family, the poor and a portion is
kept for ones own consumption.
Ali (RA) reported that the
Messenger of Allah slaughtered a
goat on the occasion of Hasan's
birth, the son of Fatimha (RA) and
Ali (RA) and said "Oh Fatimah!
Shave the head of Hasan and pay
silver equal to the weight of the hair
as charity".
Sahih Sunan at-Tirmithee 2:1226
It is reported by Abdullah bin al-As
that the Prophet said, "To
whomsoever a child is born and he
wants to perform a sacrifice of
Aqeeqah on behalf of it, he should
sacrifice two goats for a boy and
one goat for a girl".
Sunan Abu Dawood 2:2836
It is reported by Buraydah (RA)
"During the age of ignorance, when
a child was born to anyone of us,
we used to slaughter a goat and
smear the child with its blood.
Later, after the dawn of Islam, our
practice became (on the advice of
the Prophet) that we sacrifice a
goat of Aqeeqah on the seventh day
after the birth of the child, shave
the head of the infant and apply
saffron on it".
Sunan Abu Dawood 2:2137
Tasmiyah (naming the child)
It is from the teachings of the
Messenger of Allah, that each
member of the family be given a
good name. Those who ask Allah to
give them children should also ask
Allah to make these children among
the followers of the Prophet
Muhammad and adherents to his
Sunnah. It is an obligation upon the
parents that their child be given a
good name. Some Ahadeeth
indicate that the child is to be
named on the seventh day along
with Aqeeqah. However, the
Prophet also named children on the
day of their birth, as proven by
other narrations. There is no harm
if the child is named before the
seventh day, but if the naming has
not been done, and then the child
should be named on the seventh
day.
Naming a child with a beautiful and
honourable name is very important.
The Prophet always chose names
with good and beautiful meanings,
even telling people to change their
names if they had unpleasant
meanings.
Narrated by Abu Musa (RA)" a son
was born to me and I took him to
the Prophet who named him
Ibrahim, did tahneek for him with a
date, invoked Allah's blessing upon
him and returned him to me.
Sahih Bukhari 7:376
Ibn Umar (RA) reported that Allah's
Messenger said that "the names
dearest to Allah are Abdullah and
Abdur-Rahman."
Sahih Muslim 3:5315
Abu Wahab al-Jushamee (RA) who
was the Companion of the Prophet
reported him as saying", call
yourselves by the names of the
Prophets. The names dearest to
Allah are Abdulla and Abdur
Rahman, the truest are Harith
(ploughman) and Hammam
(energetic) and the worst are Harb
(war) and Murrah (bitter)".
Sunan Abu Dawood 3: 4140
Narrated Abu Hurayrah (RA).
Allah's Apostle said, "the most
awful name in Allah's sight on the
Day of Resurrection will be that of a
man calling himself Malik Al-
Amlaak. (king of kings)".
Sahih Bukhari 8:224.
Ibn Umar (RA) reported that Allah's
Messenger changed the name of
Aasiyah (disobedient) and said "You
are Jameelah (good and beautiful).
Sahih Muslim 3:5332 & 4747
(This name should not to be
confused with Asiya, the Muslim
wife of the Pharaoh)… see Islamic
glossary
Usaman Ibn Akhdari (RA) said, a
man called Asram (harsh, severe,
cut off) was among those who
came to the Apostle of Allah. The
Apostle of Allah said "what is your
name?" he replied "Asram" He said
"no, you are Zu'rah". (which
means, has been taken or derived
from crop, or to sow seed).
Sunan Abu Dawood 3:4144
Khitan - Circumcision
Narrated Abu Hurayah (RA), I heard
the Prophet saying "five practices
are characteristic of the Fitrah:
circumcision, shaving the pubic
hair, cutting the moustache short,
clipping the nails and depleting the
hair of the armpits".
Sahih Bukhari 7:779
Allah says in the Qur'an
"Then we have inspired you (O
Muhammad) follow the religion of
Ibrahim, the true in faith and he was
not from polytheists"
Surah An-Nahl 16:123
In this verse, the Prophet and his
Ummah are commanded to follow
the religion if Ibrahim, therefore it is
known that circumcision is from the
religion of Ibrahim.
Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim
have related that.
Abu Hurayah (RA) said that Allah's
Messenger said, "Ibrahim did his
circumcision with an adze (hand
tool with a steel cutting blade) at
the age of eighty".
Sahih Bukhari 4:575. Sahih Muslim
4:5844
اللهم هب لنا من أزواجنا وذريتنا قرة أعين واجعل للمتقين إماما
Born Baby in Islam
In all communities around the world
the birth of a child is considered a
blessing and ceremonies are held
to celebrate this event. Besides
being a natural expression of joy, it
also serves a special purpose, that
is, making it known in a suitable
and dignified manner, that the father
has accepted the child as his own
and that there is no doubt or
suspicion concerning this matter. It
shuts the door to any mischief that
could arise in the future. As soon
as your child is born, they are
under attack from Satan. The
Prophet said,
"When any human being is born,
Satan pinches the body with his two
fingers, except 'Isa, the son of
Maryam, whom Satan tried to pinch
but failed, for he touched the
placenta instead".
Sahih Bukhari 4:506
This is why the child cries at birth;
Satan never leaves his enemy
without harming it. To protect the
faith and Islam of the newborn
baby, who is now under attack by
mankind's greatest enemy, the
Messenger of Allah taught us about
various things that we can do.
Some are well known others not so
well known.
The following brief points are
intended to remind all people of
what the Prophet did when a child
was born.
Saying the Adhan
Abu Raf'I relates that, "I saw the
Prophet saying the adhan of salah
in the ear of his grandson, Hasan,
when the child was born to his
daughter Fatima".
This Hadeeth is found in Musnad
Ahmad, and authenticated by
Shaikh Abdul Qadit 'Arnoot.
Tahneek
When a child was born to one of the
families of the Sahaba (the
Companions of the Prophet) they
would take it to the Prophet so that
he would bless it, and apply the
pulp of a date, chewed by him, to its
palate. This 'tahneek' as it is known
in 'Arabic', was to keep the child
safe from evil. Therefore, similarly
when a child is born into a Muslim
family, it should be taken to a
virtuous, pious person, so that this
person may supplicate for the child
and perform the tahneek. Tahneek
is among those Sunan whose
practice has become rare.
Aisha (RA) narrates that "the people
used to bring their newborn children
to the Prophet and he would bless
them and perform the tahneek"
Sahih Muslim 1:560
Aqeeqah & shaving the head
The Aqeeqah ceremony essentially
consists of two acts: the shaving of
the hair from the head of a newborn
baby, and the sacrifice of an animal
(these were also characteristic
features of Millat-u-Ibrahim, the
religion of the Prophet Ibrahim).
The hair on the child's head is
shaven and its weight in silver is
given as charity. An animal is then
sacrificed as a mark of celebration
and distributed amongst friends,
family, the poor and a portion is
kept for ones own consumption.
Ali (RA) reported that the
Messenger of Allah slaughtered a
goat on the occasion of Hasan's
birth, the son of Fatimha (RA) and
Ali (RA) and said "Oh Fatimah!
Shave the head of Hasan and pay
silver equal to the weight of the hair
as charity".
Sahih Sunan at-Tirmithee 2:1226
It is reported by Abdullah bin al-As
that the Prophet said, "To
whomsoever a child is born and he
wants to perform a sacrifice of
Aqeeqah on behalf of it, he should
sacrifice two goats for a boy and
one goat for a girl".
Sunan Abu Dawood 2:2836
It is reported by Buraydah (RA)
"During the age of ignorance, when
a child was born to anyone of us,
we used to slaughter a goat and
smear the child with its blood.
Later, after the dawn of Islam, our
practice became (on the advice of
the Prophet) that we sacrifice a
goat of Aqeeqah on the seventh day
after the birth of the child, shave
the head of the infant and apply
saffron on it".
Sunan Abu Dawood 2:2137
Tasmiyah (naming the child)
It is from the teachings of the
Messenger of Allah, that each
member of the family be given a
good name. Those who ask Allah to
give them children should also ask
Allah to make these children among
the followers of the Prophet
Muhammad and adherents to his
Sunnah. It is an obligation upon the
parents that their child be given a
good name. Some Ahadeeth
indicate that the child is to be
named on the seventh day along
with Aqeeqah. However, the
Prophet also named children on the
day of their birth, as proven by
other narrations. There is no harm
if the child is named before the
seventh day, but if the naming has
not been done, and then the child
should be named on the seventh
day.
Naming a child with a beautiful and
honourable name is very important.
The Prophet always chose names
with good and beautiful meanings,
even telling people to change their
names if they had unpleasant
meanings.
Narrated by Abu Musa (RA)" a son
was born to me and I took him to
the Prophet who named him
Ibrahim, did tahneek for him with a
date, invoked Allah's blessing upon
him and returned him to me.
Sahih Bukhari 7:376
Ibn Umar (RA) reported that Allah's
Messenger said that "the names
dearest to Allah are Abdullah and
Abdur-Rahman."
Sahih Muslim 3:5315
Abu Wahab al-Jushamee (RA) who
was the Companion of the Prophet
reported him as saying", call
yourselves by the names of the
Prophets. The names dearest to
Allah are Abdulla and Abdur
Rahman, the truest are Harith
(ploughman) and Hammam
(energetic) and the worst are Harb
(war) and Murrah (bitter)".
Sunan Abu Dawood 3: 4140
Narrated Abu Hurayrah (RA).
Allah's Apostle said, "the most
awful name in Allah's sight on the
Day of Resurrection will be that of a
man calling himself Malik Al-
Amlaak. (king of kings)".
Sahih Bukhari 8:224.
Ibn Umar (RA) reported that Allah's
Messenger changed the name of
Aasiyah (disobedient) and said "You
are Jameelah (good and beautiful).
Sahih Muslim 3:5332 & 4747
(This name should not to be
confused with Asiya, the Muslim
wife of the Pharaoh)… see Islamic
glossary
Usaman Ibn Akhdari (RA) said, a
man called Asram (harsh, severe,
cut off) was among those who
came to the Apostle of Allah. The
Apostle of Allah said "what is your
name?" he replied "Asram" He said
"no, you are Zu'rah". (which
means, has been taken or derived
from crop, or to sow seed).
Sunan Abu Dawood 3:4144
Khitan - Circumcision
Narrated Abu Hurayah (RA), I heard
the Prophet saying "five practices
are characteristic of the Fitrah:
circumcision, shaving the pubic
hair, cutting the moustache short,
clipping the nails and depleting the
hair of the armpits".
Sahih Bukhari 7:779
Allah says in the Qur'an
"Then we have inspired you (O
Muhammad) follow the religion of
Ibrahim, the true in faith and he was
not from polytheists"
Surah An-Nahl 16:123
In this verse, the Prophet and his
Ummah are commanded to follow
the religion if Ibrahim, therefore it is
known that circumcision is from the
religion of Ibrahim.
Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim
have related that.
Abu Hurayah (RA) said that Allah's
Messenger said, "Ibrahim did his
circumcision with an adze (hand
tool with a steel cutting blade) at
the age of eighty".
Sahih Bukhari 4:575. Sahih Muslim
4:5844
اللهم هب لنا من أزواجنا وذريتنا قرة أعين واجعل للمتقين إماما
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