Welcoming a newborn in Islam – Aqeeqah – is a momentous occasion that brings immense joy and profound responsibility to a family, accompanied by specific spiritual practices. Parents are encouraged to observe established Prophetic traditions that lay a pure foundation for the child’s life. These practices, rooted in the legacy of Prophet Ibrahim and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), ensure the child is received with gratitude and prayers for righteousness.

Tahneek and Supplication for the Child

One of the earliest recommended acts is Tahneek, which involves placing a small amount of a sweet substance, such as a chewed date, into the newborn’s mouth. Alongside this, it is highly recommended to invoke Allah to bless the child.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed this act; prophetic traditions narrate that when a child was born to a companion, the infant was taken to the Prophet, who assigned a name, performed Tahneek with a date, invoked blessings upon the child, and then returned the baby (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

Supplicating for the newborn’s righteousness is vital, as raising pious children serves as an ongoing spiritual benefit for the parents. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stated:

When the son of Adam dies, all his good deeds come to an end, except for three things: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, and a righteous son who prays for him” (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

Choosing a Righteous Name

Giving the baby a good, meaningful name is a fundamental right of the child. It is an established Islamic guidance to select a noble name shortly after birth, reflecting the honorable identity the child will carry throughout their life.

Historical accounts confirm that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the welcoming feast and gave names to his grandsons on the seventh day after their birth (Sahih Ibn Hibban).

The ‘Aqeeqah Sacrifice and Circumcision

The ‘Aqeeqah is a highly emphasized Sunnah. It serves as a welcoming feast and a ransom for the child.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stated, “Every child is mortgaged to his ‘Aqeeqah” (Sunan Abi Dawud).

Furthermore, it is commanded:

For the boy there should be an ‘Aqeeqah. Slaughter (an animal) for him and remove the harmful thing [i.e., the foreskin] from him” (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, Sunan an-Nasa’i, Sunan Abi Dawud, and Sunan Ibn Majah). It is recommended that this sacrifice, along with naming and shaving the head, occurs on the seventh day after birth (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, Sunan an-Nasa’i, and Sunan Abi Dawud).

Prominent scholars outline several spiritual and social benefits of the ‘Aqeeqah:

  • It is a sacrifice by means of which the child is brought close to Allah soon after entering this world.
  • It acts as a ransom for the newborn, enabling the child to intercede for their parents.
  • It mirrors the historic sacrifice through which Allah ransomed Prophet Isma’il with a ram.
  • It provides a valuable opportunity to gather relatives and friends for a communal feast (Waleemah).

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recommended sacrificing two sheep for a boy and one for a girl. This reflects historical financial responsibilities, not spiritual inequality; both genders hold equal Islamic worth. However, slaughtering just one sheep for a boy is completely valid and fulfils the Sunnah. The single-sheep practice is standard in accordance with the Maliki school of jurisprudence.

In addition to the sacrifice, circumcision is obligatory for boys, as it directly connects to matters of purity—an essential condition for the validity of prayer. It is classified as part of the natural human inclinations (Sunan Al-Fitrah).

A prophetic tradition explicitly lists five things related to the Fitrah: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, plucking the armpit hair, cutting the nails, and trimming the moustache (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

The Adhan and Shaving the Head

To ensure the words of Islamic monotheism (Tawheed) are the first sounds an infant registers in this world, it is recommended to recite the Adhan (the call to prayer) gently into the baby’s right ear. However, scholars note that reciting the Iqamah (the commencement call) into the baby’s left ear lacks authentic proof in the prophetic traditions.

Finally, it is a recommended practice to shave the newborn’s head and subsequently anoint it with saffron. Following this, parents should give charity in gold or silver equivalent to the exact weight of the removed hair. If weighing the hair proves too difficult, it is completely sufficient to estimate the weight and donate paper currency equivalent to the current market price of that amount of gold or silver.