Sunnah Acts of After Child Born

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

After the child is born, the following Sunnats should be observed

There are six rulings pertaining to a new born child:

1) Athan and Iqamah in the ear

2) Naming the baby

3) Tahnik

4) Shaving the hair on the head

5) Aqiqah

6) Circumcision

Adhan and iqamah

When the child is born Adhan and iqamah should be said in the child's ears. In the right ear of the new-born baby, the Adhan should be recited, and in the left ear, the Iqamah.This is done immediately after the baby is bathed. However if there is a delay, it may be done before. On the birth of Hadhrat Hasan to .Hadhrat Faatimah may Allah be pleased with them the Holy Prophet (sallallahu Alahi Wa Sallam) had said the Adhan in his ear.

Narrated 'Ubaidullah bin Abi Rafi':

That his father said: "I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say the Adhan in the ear of Al-Hasan bin 'Ali - when he was born to Fatimah - the Adhan of Salat." (at-Tirmidhi 1514)

Tahneek

Tahneek is the Sunnah of chewing date and applying a part of the chewed portion to the palate of the child so that it goes down the child’s mouth easily. If date is unavailable, one may apply any thing sweet, like honey to the child’s palate. The dental palate, the jaws and the mouth are made active. As a result, it is easy for the child to suck milk from the breast of its mother.

It is preferable for the Thaneek to be done by an Áalim or a pious elder of the family. If not then by any Muslim.

Aisha (Radhiallahu Anhu) narrates that "the people used to bring their newborn children to the Prophet and he would bless them and perform the tahneek" (Sahih Muslim 2147)

Naming of the child:

Naming a child with a beautiful and honorable name is very important. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alahi Wa Sallam) always chose names with good and beautiful meanings.

It should be selected from the names of Ambiyaa like Yaqoob, Yusuf, Idris, Musa, Saleh, Muhammad, Ahmad etc. or should be adopted from the names of Sahabah and pious People like Umar, Ali, Usman, Khalid, Khadhija, Maryam, Sumayya etc.

 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.

There is a craze to keep unusual and unheard of names.  This practice should be shunned.  It is better to keep a name which is commonly used in the Muslim Ummah.  Names should originate from:

1)    The Qur’an

2)    The Ahādīth

3)    Names of Sahabah

4)    Names of the pious predecessors

5)    Good common names in the Ummah

To make Aqeeqa on the 7th day:

 Aqeeqa is a form of Sadaqah whereby the child is safeguarded against misfortunes. 

Aqīqah is a virtuous act.  It is not compulsory or necessary.  If one was to leave Aqīqah on behalf of his new born, he will not be sinful

The practice of Aqeeqah is encouraged in Islam. This is understood from following Ahadith Rasulullah )Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam( carried out the Aqeeqah of Hasan (Radhiyallahu Anhu) and Husain (Radhiyallahu Anhu) by slaughtering one ram each.(Abu Dawood 2834)

Buraidah Radhiyallahu Anhu ( mentions, “prior to Islam when one of us had a newborn boy, he would slaughter one sheep and smear the head of the newborn with its blood. When Allah blessed us with Islam, we began slaughtering one sheep. Thereafter, we would shave the child’s hair and apply saffron”. (Abu Dawood 2836)

Two sheep, or two goats are slaughtered in the case of a male while one goat or one sheep in the case of a female. If for some reason Aqeeqa was not made on the 7th day, then it should be done on the14th, 21st 28th or any day in multiples of 7 thereafter. For those who cannot afford two animals for the baby son, even one animal will be sufficient as Aqeeqah. If one has no means to sacrifice even this much, then there is no harm and he would not have to make up for it later.

It is recommended that one third of the Aqīqah meat is given to the needy.  The remaining two thirds can be used in serving relatives, friends and guests. 

 However, it is permissible to use all the meat for one’s relatives, friends and guests.

The parents and other siblings can eat from the Aqīqah meat.

The procedure of Aqeeqah

• If the newborn is a boy, then slaughter two sheep.
• If the newborn is a girl, then slaughter one sheep.
• The hair of the child should be shaved.
• Saffron should be applied to the head of the newborn after shaving the hair.
• Gold and silver equivalent to the shaved hair in weight should be given in charity.

Shaving the head

The hair on the head of the new-born, boy or girl, should be shaved on the seventh day. It is mustahib (desirable) to give silver in sadaqah to the poor and needy equal to the weight of his or her hair.

Narrated Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Al-Husain: That Ali bin Abi Talib said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had the 'Aqiqah for Al-Hasan with one sheep, and said: 'O Fatimah! Shave his head and give the weight of his hair in silver as charity.'" He said: "So I weighed it, and it was the weight of a Dirham or a bit of a Dirham." (at-Tirmidhi 1519)

Circumcision

Circumcision of the boy should be done before he attains maturity. It is advisable to do it with aqeeqah. At this age he does not suffer much pain. The Noble Messenger had the aqeeqah and circumcision of Hasan and Husain performed on the seventh day after their birth.