Can You Expand on What to Do When a Muslim Baby Is Born?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

I’ve read this answer on the SeekersGuidance website about the sunnah of receiving a newborn baby. I have a baby coming in a few days in sha Allah and I need details about the following:

When to do ‘Aqiqa and how and when to give adhan; how to name; what are other Sunnis.

Do I whisper the name to him/her? And when do I cut its hair? Do we give him/her something sweet to eat?

What exactly did the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and companions do when a newborn came?

Answer

May Allah bless your child and make him/her a coolness and joy to the eyes in this world and the next. You will find all the details here:

What Acts Are Recommended After Giving Birth to a Child?

‘Aqiqa

Please see Shaykh Faraz’s answer here:
What Are the Guidelines for Slaughtering a Lamb for the Aqiqa? [Video]

Adhan

Please see the details here:
What is the method of giving Adhan for a new born baby?

Naming

It is sunna to name a a child on the seventh day. See more details below:
Keeping Names for Children

Whisper

I have not heard at all about whispering the baby’s name in his/her ear.

Shaving the Head

It is sunna to shave the baby’s head on the seventh day as well.

Tahneek

Tahneek which refers to sunnah in Islam has been taught by Mohammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) by masticating or chewing dates before it is given to the baby and then rubbing some small part of the dates on the upper part of the baby‟s mouth.
What should be given as Tahneek? 

I have copied below the section of some of the sunnas of a newborn from the Reliance of the Traveller:

j15.0 Sacrifice For A Newborn (Aqiqa) and Name-Giving

(O: Lexically, ‘aqiqa means the hair on a baby’s head at birth. In Sacred Law, it means the animal is sacrificed when the baby’s hair is cut, which is a confirmed sunna (def: c4.I).

Sunnas After Birth

j15.1 It is recommended for anyone to whom a child is born to shave its hair on the seventh day thereafter (O: meaning any newborn, whether male or female; a baby girl should also have her hair shaved) and give away in charity gold or silver equal to the weight of the hair. It is also recommended (N: when the baby is first born) to give the call to prayer (adhan, def: f3.6) in its right ear and the call to commence (iqama) in its left.

The Sacrifice

j15.2 If the baby is male, it is recommended to slaughter two shahs (def: h2.5) that meet ‘Eid Sacrifice specifications (def: j14.2), while if the baby is female, it is recommended to slaughter one. (O: The person called upon to slaughter for a newborn is the one obliged to support the child (dis: m12.1).) After slaughtering, the shah is cooked (O: as at any feast) in sweet sauce, but none of its bones are broken (A: it is cut at the joints), and it is recommended to distribute the meat to the poor.

Name-Giving

j15.3 It is sunna to give the child a good name such as Muhammad or ‘Abd aI-Rahman. (O: It is desirable to name a child even if it dies before being named.) (A: It is sunna for a new Muslim to take a good name like the above, or one of the names of the prophets (def: u3.5) (Allah bless them and give them peace).

Please see these links as well:
When Should the Sunna Connected to a New-Born Be Fulfilled?
Supplication at the Birth of a Child
Balancing Worship and Caring For a New Child

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.