Becoming parents is a huge blessing by Allah. When the baby is born, there are some islamic rites you can do:
1. Thank Allah and put your trust in Him
“It is He Who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing; and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affection: that you may give thanks (to Allah)” (An-Nahl, 16:78).Allah has blessed us in so many ways! We can never thank Him enough.
2. Giving adhan
The wisdom behind it is that the first words the child hears is the magnification of Allah Most High, in hopes that the child would live their life responding to the call to worship the Lord on the path of Islam.
3. Giving the child tahneek/gurti
It is narrated about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when a child was born and brought to him soon afterward, he would moisten a small piece of a date with his mouth and then place it on the palate of the newborn. (Bukhari, Muslim and others)The wisdom is that by sharing the piece of date with a pious Muslim, it is a source of blessing and a hope that the child will also be pious and upright.
Recent researches have also shown that it’s beneficial to give some sweet (like honey or dates) to a newborn. And our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) did this 1400 years ago!
4. Naming the child with a good and meaningful name
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “On the Day of judgement you will be called by your (own) names and the names of your fathers. Therefore keep good names.” (Abu Dawud)Giving the child a good and reflective name of the islamic faith is a right of the child. This can be done immediately or most likely the 7th day of birth.
5. Circumcision of babyboys
Narrated by Abu Hurayrah: ‘I heard the Prophet saying: “Five practices are characteristics of the Fitra: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, cutting the moustaches short, clipping the nails, and depilating the hair of the armpits.”‘ (Bukhari)
This should be done as early as possible, as it is easier to deal with it when it is done early in the childhood.
6. Shaving the head, giving Sadaqah, and Aqeeqah (slaugthering an animal)
Shaving the head, for boys or girls, is neither sunnah or obligatory according to the Hanafi school. Rather, it is merely permissible if one wishes to do this, and there is no harm in leaving it. [Radd al-Muhtar, Ibn ‘Abideen]
According to the other schools, shaving the head is either recommended, or a sunnah, for boys and girls both, on the seventh day. The shaved hair is then weighed and its weight in silver or gold is given away in charity, while the hair is then buried. These opinions also say that the naming and ‘aqeeqah should be done on the seventh day, optimally. [Sharh al-Kabir, al-Dardir; Majmu’, al-Nawawi]
