What must a guardian do on the birth of the child?
Islam has laid down the fundamental principles in unambiguous terms for rearing the child.
Congratulations may be conveyed on the birth.
It is commendable that we congratulate our Muslim brother on the birth of his child and thus add to his happiness. This creates an atmosphere of love and compassion among Muslim families. If congratulations cannot be conveyed, prayers for the well being of his child must be offered. The Noble Quran refers to the glad tidings to Sayyidna Ibrahim (Alayhis -salam) and his wife. (Hud 11:69-71) Similarly, Sayyidna Zakariyya (Alayhis -salam) too was given the glad tidings of the birth of Sayyidna Yahya (Alayhis -salam) (Al Imran 3:39, Maryam 19:7) On the birth of the Noble.Prophet ( Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) the slave girl of Abu Lahb, Sayyidah Thuwaibah, congratulated the uncle, Abu Lahb, who freed her on the occasion .
In our congratulatory message to the parent, we may add a prayer to Allah: That He bless the child, That He guide the parents to be thankful, That the child turn out to be righteous, That he have a long life. Irrespective of whether the new born is a boy or a girl, we must offer congratulations. Some people offer gifts, sweets or cash. This practice is within the limits of the Sayings of the Noble Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) that Muslims must present gifts to one another to foster friendship and love. However, we must neither turn it into a mere custom nor consider it obligatory. We must avoid the ways of non-Muslims and must not indulge in wasteful expenditure .
Adhan (Call of Prayer) and iqamah may be said in the child’s ears,
In the right ear of the new-born baby, the Adhan may be recited, and in the left ear, the iqamah This is done immediately after the baby is bathed. On the birth of Sayyidna Hasan to Sayyidah Fatimah (Radhiallaho Anha) the Noble Prophet, (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) had said the Adhan in his ear. (Abu Dawood and Tirmizi.) This practice ensures safety to the child from epilepsy.
Hafiz ibn Qiyyim (Radhiallaho Anho) says the significance of saying the Adhan and the iqamah in the ears of the child is that the first words he hears declare the greatness and majesty of Allah. The words of testimony are those which a man recites on embracing Islam. In other words, this is a pronouncement of the creed of Islam. Besides, at the sound of Adhan and iqamah, Satan distances himself. At this early age, the child is thus invited to Allah the Majestic, to Islam and to the worship of Allah. This call forestalls temptation by Satan and ensures an unblemished faith. Moreover, it is a forearming against Satan and temptation.
Aqeeqah.
The hair on the head of the new-born must be shaved on the seventh day. It is mustahib (desirable) to give silver in sadaqah to the poor and needy equal to the weight of his or her hair. Shaving the hair of the head provides the child with strength and opens up the pores of the skin. It is also beneficial to the eye-sight, the hearing and the sense of smell. Thereby the poor is helped, too. Sayyidah Fatimah (Radhiallaho Anha) distributed silver as sadaqah equal in weight to the hair on the heads of Sayyidna Hasan Husain Zainab, and umme Kulthum. (Malik in Muwatta and Yahya bin Bukair) on the birth of Sayyidna Hasan, the Noble Prophet, (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) asked Sayyidah Fatimah (Radhiallaho Anha) to have his head shaved off and offer silver equal in weight to the hair as sadaqah. The hair weighed a dirham or a little lesser than a dirham. (ibn Ishaq)
The entire head must be shaved. To shave some hair and to leave some on the head is called qaz' and is disallowed. (Bukhari and Muslim) This is not fair with the head because some of it is bared and the rest hidden. It is exactly as though a part of the body receives sunlight and rest of it is in shade. Also, it may be compared with a shoe on one foot and none on the other. Both these things are forbidden. The intention is to prevent the defacing of one's appearance. It also aims at discouraging the adoption of unreasonable pretense or resemblance to non-Muslims. You must act on these mustahab deeds so that it is then easy to act on the fard (compulsory deeds).
7 days old is the norm, afaik.
Yes, boys and girls. Equal opportunity head shaving
Its done because it is a sunnah of the prophet peace be upon him.
After shaving, the hair is to be weighed, and the equivalent amount in gold given to charity.
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