Baby Stopped Drinking Milk
Ustadha Raidah Shah Idil eases concerns regarding a baby who won’t eat or drink.
My eight-month-old daughter has been ill for the past three months and has not been drinking milk. She refuses food and milk and has been in hospital three times to be fed via an NG tube.
The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her and keep saying it might be viral. She gets well in the hospital then starts getting ill when she comes home. She used to be such a happy baby who slept and ate well. My mother thinks there may be a jinn with her or me or in the house. I really do not know what to do.
I pray this finds you well. May Allah reward you for reaching out to us.
Ruqya
O you who believe, seek help through patience and prayer. Surely, Allah is with those who are patient. (Sura al-Baqara 2:153)
I am so sorry to hear about your baby, and cannot imagine the heartbreak you are enduring. Please continue to make dua for your baby’s shifa. Dunya is a place of tribulation, and our children bring about our greatest tests.
Please ask your mother to ask around for a reputable shaykh or shaykha who can perform ruqya on your baby. Be careful not to let just anyone read over baby – please trust your intuition and Perform the Prayer of Guidance to help you ascertain if he/she is trustworthy.
Some signs of a charlatan would be someone asking you to do strange things like working with blood, odd sacrifices, or burial.
Prayer of Need
Please perform the Prayer of Need in the last third of the night, as often as you need to.
Other acts you can do: Give in charity, ask for pious people to make dua for you, make copious istighfar.
Using a Ta‘wiz
Please consider using a ta‘wiz on your baby for protection. Please write or print out the Ayat al-Kursi and three Quls. Put it in a locket or a soft cover of some sort, and pin it on your baby’s clothes. Do not hang it around your baby’s neck as it isn’t safe.
Possibility of Allergens
Is there something else in your home that could be harming your baby? Any mold? Pet fur? Any kind of allergen? Could you get an allergy test done on your baby?
Emotional Stress
What is the emotional climate at home? Babies are deeply sensitive and are very connected to their mothers. I do not know the circumstances of your home, but if there is trouble in your marriage, perhaps that may be upsetting your baby. I do not say this to cast any blame on you. Allah knows how hard you are trying.
May Allah heal your baby, and make her the coolness of your eyes.
Please see: Selected Prophetic Prayers for Spiritual, Physical and Emotional Wellbeing by Chaplain Ibrahim Long and A Reader on Patience and Reliance on Allah.
Raidah
Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
