Newborn
Welcoming a child — from the womb to the first days
"Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and offspring comfort to our eyes" (25:74). A child is an amanah — a trust. These are the Prophet's ﷺ sunnahs, so the child is welcomed into faith from the very start.
رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ
Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and offspring comfort to our eyes. (Qur'an 25:74)
Ask Allah for righteous offspring
Long before the first days, the prophets turned to Allah for children. Make their duas your own throughout the pregnancy.
رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
Rabbi hab li mina as-salihin.
"My Lord, grant me [a child] from among the righteous" — the dua of Ibrahim (AS). (Qur'an · As-Saffat 37:100)
رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِن لَّدُنكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً
Rabbi hab li min ladunka dhurriyyatan tayyibah.
"My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring; indeed You are the Hearer of supplication" — the dua of Zakariya (AS). (Qur'an · Al ʿImran 3:38)
The trust taking shape
The Prophet ﷺ taught that after about four months in the womb, an angel is sent to write four things: the child's provision, their lifespan, their deeds, and whether they will be happy or wretched. What is decreed is with Allah — meet it with dua and tawakkul, never anxiety. (Sahih al-Bukhari 3208)
أُعِيذُكَ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّةِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ وَهَامَّةٍ وَمِنْ كُلِّ عَيْنٍ لَامَّةٍ
Uʻidhuka bi kalimatillahi at-tammati min kulli shaytanin wa hammatin wa min kulli ʻaynin lammah.
"I seek protection for you in the Perfect Words of Allah from every devil, every harmful creature, and every envious eye." The Prophet ﷺ recited it over Hasan and Husayn (RA), as Ibrahim (AS) did for his sons — say it over your child once born. (Sahih al-Bukhari 3371)
The first moments
Adhan, gratitude and welcome.
- ◆Receive the child with gratitude and calm — a birth is a gift and a trust from Allah, whether a son or a daughter.
- ◆Many families softly recite the adhan in the newborn's right ear, so Allah's name is among the first sounds the child hears.This rests on the report of Abu Rafi' (Abu Dawud 5105), graded hasan by al-Albani though some scholars question its chain — a recommended practice, not an obligation.
- ◆Make du'a for the child's faith, health, protection and righteousness.
Tahnik
A softened date on the palate.
- ◆Perform tahnik: soften a date (chew or mash it), then gently rub a little on the roof of the baby's mouth.The Prophet ﷺ did this for newborns brought to him — Bukhari 5467, Muslim 2145.
- ◆It is good for a righteous person to do it, seeking the blessing of following the sunnah — but any Muslim may.
- ◆A date is the sunnah; if none is at hand, something else sweet may be used.
A beautiful name
Chosen with meaning, given by day seven.
- ◆Give the child a good name with a beautiful meaning — the Prophet ﷺ gave good names and changed disliked ones to better.
- ◆The most beloved names to Allah are Abdullah and Abdur-Rahman; the names of prophets and the righteous are excellent too.Muslim 2132.
- ◆Naming is usually done on the seventh day with the aqiqah, though it may be given at birth.Tirmidhi 1522.
- ◆Avoid names of poor or arrogant meaning.
Aqiqah
Two sheep for a boy, one for a girl.
- ◆Offer the aqiqah on the seventh day: two sheep for a boy and one for a girl.Umm Kurz reported the Prophet's ﷺ instruction — Abu Dawud 2834.
- ◆"Every child is pledged by his aqiqah — sacrificed for him on the seventh day, his head shaved, and he is named."Samurah ibn Jundub — Tirmidhi 1522, Abu Dawud 2838.
- ◆If it cannot be done on the seventh day, do it later when able — the sunnah is not lost.
- ◆Eat from the meat, gift some, and give some in charity — like the udhiyah of Eid.
Shaving & silver
Shave the head, give its weight in charity.
- ◆Shave the newborn's head on the seventh day.
- ◆Weigh the hair and give its weight in silver as charity.The Prophet ﷺ told Fatimah to weigh Hasan's hair and give the weight in silver — Tirmidhi 1519 (acted upon, though its chain carries some weakness).
- ◆Shave the whole head evenly — do not shave part and leave part (qaza'), which the Prophet ﷺ forbade.Bukhari 5920.
Khitan & the fitrah
Circumcision and the natural sunnahs.
- ◆Circumcision (khitan) is from the sunan al-fitrah — the acts of natural disposition."Five are from the fitrah: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, plucking the armpit hair, trimming the moustache and clipping the nails" — Bukhari 5889, Muslim 257a.
- ◆It is done for boys; the timing is flexible, and doing it early is easier and common.
- ◆Keep up the other fitrah acts of cleanliness as the child grows.
Du'a & protection
Placing the child in Allah's care.
- ◆Seek refuge for the child with the words the Prophet ﷺ used for Hasan and Husayn.He would seek refuge for them with these words — Bukhari 3371.
- ◆Turn away the evil eye and harm by placing the child in Allah's care, through du'a and reliance on Him.
أُعِيذُكُمَا بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّةِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ وَهَامَّةٍ وَمِنْ كُلِّ عَيْنٍ لَامَّةٍ
U'idhukuma bikalimatillahit-tammati min kulli shaytanin wa hammah, wa min kulli 'aynin lammah.
I seek protection for you both in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and poisonous creature, and from every evil eye. (Bukhari 3371)
Nursing, rights & fairness
Milk, upbringing and justice between children.
- ◆Breastfeeding is encouraged up to two full years, for the one who wishes to complete the term.Qur'an 2:233.
- ◆The child has rights: a good name, love and mercy, being taught the deen, and being raised on good character.
- ◆Be perfectly fair between your children in gifts and attention."Fear Allah and be just between your children" — Bukhari 2587 (Nu'man ibn Bashir).
- ◆Thank Allah often for the trust He has placed in your hands.
Milestones at a glance
- ◆Adhan in the earThe call whispered at birth
- ◆TahnikA softened date on the palate
- ◆Name chosen & announcedA beautiful name by day seven
- ◆Aqiqah performedThe sacrifice, usually day seven
- ◆Head shaved · silver givenIts weight in charity
- ◆KhitanCircumcision, a sunnah of the fitrah