MANNERS OF WELCOMING NEW-BORN CHILD IN ISLAM

Islam presents for mankind a complete and comprehensive system

of life from the cradle to grave through manners. Manners in Islam are
based on the guidance provided by Allah Himself and through the prophet
Muhammad (pbuh). It covers even the slightest acts, such as entering or
exiting a washroom. These are applicable for the whole society especially
the elderly, the young, men and women. As manners in Islam present
from the cradle, so there are manners of welcoming new-born child in
Islam. The three manners of welcoming new-born child in Islam are
reciting a Call to Prayer (adhan / iqamah), tahnik, and aqiqah.
The first manner of welcoming new-born child in Islam is reciting a
Call to Prayer which is adhan or iqamah. It should be given straight after
the birth or very soon afterward to make sure that the first thing the baby
hears in this world will be the words of Tawheed. This is similarly as what
has been done by the Messenger of Allah as reported by Abi Rafa, I saw
the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) proclaiming adhan in the ears of Hasan bin
Ali when Fatima gave birth to him. Besides, adhan will give a great and
blessed effect on the child as it is the first words heard by the baby. In
Addition, adhan also should be recited into the babys right ear and the
iqamah recited into the babys left ear by anyone who is able to say the
adhan of the salah such as the father. The benefit of this action is it can
shunned the baby from satan disturbance. Ever since before the birth,
Satan is planning to contaminate the pure heart of the baby, but when he
hears the words which weakens him, he leaves the baby alone.
The second manner of welcoming new-born child in Islam is tahnik.
Tahnik is rubbing a softened date upon the child palate just after the birth
or soon after that. It is usually performs by the babys parent, a respected
family member or some pious person. Instead of using dates in tahnik,
other sweet thing such as honey also allowed to be use. According to Ibn
Hajr said, If one is not able to find a dried date, then a fresh date should
be used, and if that is not available, then anything sweet. Besides, tahnik
is just not an action of rubbing a softened date only but it is a practice of
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blessing the baby with religious piety. When the baby is born in a family it
is taken to some pious person to do the tahnik, the idea behind that is the
baby receives something sacred through its mouth from the lips and hand
of a pious person. There are many benefits of the tahnik through medical
and non-medical perspective. One is following the sunnah of the beloved
Messenger Muhammad (pbuh). Second, the tahnik also exercise the
muscles of the mouth and helps with the circulation of blood which is
brought by the movement of the jaws.
The third manner of welcoming new-born child in Islam is aqiqah. It
is highly recommended to parents who are able in terms of money in
performing this action for aqiqah is a great sunnah of prophet Muhammad
(pbuh). In addition, the reward for fulfilling sunnah of prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) will be bestowed good merit by Allah (The Almighty). Aqiqah
defined as sacrificing animal due to the birth of a new born baby girl or
boy. It is preferable to do on the seventh day after birth or later it
circumstances do not permit. For instance, Ibn Abbas reported that
Allahs Messenger (pbuh) sacrificed a ram on the seventh day for both alHasan and al-Husain. There are some acceptable types of animal for
aqiqah such as sheep and cow. Two sheep are for a boy and one for a girl.
However, the sacrifice part of cow is different between sheep for it is
divided to seven parts while sheep is only one part. It is permissible to
distribute the meat of sacrifice raw or cooked. In addition, the meat is
recommended to be cooked with sweet dishes and distributed to people
rather than inviting them to a meal prepared from the aqiqah. Besides,
giving the cooked meat to the needy is highly recommended too.
In conclusion, these three manners of welcoming new-born baby are
highly recommended sunnah acts. Parents must ensure that these sunnah
acts are done for their kids. Last but not least, in my opinion Muslim
should not ignore and forget these good manners which can lead our life
in the most befitting manner both spiritually as well as materially.

REFERENCES

Fairul. (2011). What is aqiqah. Retrieved September 17, 2012, from

http://what-isaqiqah.blogspot.com/
Manners welcoming a new born child. Retrieved September 18, 2012,
from http://islamtruth.co.uk/islamicstore/newborn/
Parenting in the light of Quran and Sunnah. (2009). Retrieved September
17, 2012, from
http://raabta-parenting.blogspot.com/
Shad, A. R. (1985). Muslim etiquettes: Etiquettes regarding birth
ceremony. Pakistan: Kazi
Publications.

Zahazan Mohamed (phd). (2011). Persoalan agama: Lima adab, Kaedah

sambut kelahiran
bayi dalam Islam. Berita Harian Online.