Babies Are The Best! 👩🏽‍🍼

Have you ever wondered what was said and done when you were born? I have no idea and I’m a little afraid to ask my mom! For most of us, our births were cause for great happiness, relief and possibly thanks to a good God. 

I was curious what customs surround the birth of Muslim babies. As you know, it’s a fool’s errand to say, “Muslims do this.” There’s just too much diversity. Some Muslims may follow all of these practices, others some or even none. 

Five things Muslims customarily do when a baby is born.

1. Someone whispers the Adhan and Iqamah, the call to prayer and notice that prayer is starting, into the baby’s right and left ear. This is done “to emphasize upon Muslims that the main object of human life is to worship God and from the time of birth a child should be made aware of this.” Wow.
2. Some one chews up a date or other sweet thing and rubs the juice in the baby’s mouth. (Even before she nurses the first time!) This is called tahneek. Muhammad did this and Muslims trust God knows why. I cheekily suspect it’s so the dad can say years down the road, “Oh, yeah sure, your mom nursed you for two years, but I fed you first!”
3. At seven days old, a baby’s head is shaved! The hair is weighed and gold or silver (or the currency equivalent) is given to charity. I think this is crazy, but cool!
4. Baby boys are circumcised, sometimes on the seventh day, other times as late as puberty.
5. Aqiqah is observed on the seventh day. An animal is sacrificed and the meat passed around to the neighborhood. Well, two animals if the baby is a boy and one if it is a girl! 

Thank you, Father, for every baby born as I write this and my friends read it. May they grow up in the abundant life of Jesus and follow him wholeheartedly.

PS. Can I ask you to pray for our 15 year old daughter and her school mates? A fellow student killed himself last night. As last week’s Muslim Connect ended, “Death is brutal.”