Supplication at the Birth of a Child

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Ibn Ishaq reported that the mother of the Prophet s.a.w. was told/inspired to say ‘I place him under the protection of the One against the treachery of the envious’. Would this make it a sunnah to do so at the birth of a newborn?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.

No, this would not be considered a specific sunna. However, the meaning is sound and it would be a good supplication to make.

أُعِيذُهُ بِالْوَاحِدِ مِنْ شَرّ كُلّ حَاسِدٍ

U`idhuhu bi al-Wahid min sharri kulli hasid

“I place him under the protection of the One against the treachery of the envious.”

A Note on the Sunna and Legal Rulings

The confirmed sunna (sunna mu’akkada) is that which the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) or the Companions (May Allah be pleased with them) did most of the time (and was not of worldly habits).

In general, legal rulings are not taken from historical references such as this. Rather, they are established by way of sound interpretation of the authentic, primary sources: namely the Qur’an and the Hadith. The scholars of hadith were rigorous in their transmission of narrations. Historians were not. Hence, many of them came under much scrutiny for their narrations from the experts in hadith criticism. As such, their narrations are accepted insofar as general history is concerned, but they do not establish any legal rulings.

Please also see: What Acts Are Recommended After Giving Birth to a Child?

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,

Tabraze Azam

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani