Sunnahs of the Newborn & Aqiqah in the Quran & Sunnah

1. Every newborn is pledged by his aqiqah — sacrifice, shave and name on the seventh day.

“Every child is pledged by his ‘aqiqah: it is slaughtered for him on the seventh day, his head is shaved, and he is given his name.” Three rites meet on one day of gratitude.

2. Two sheep for a boy, and one sheep for a girl.

Umm Kurz asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the ‘aqiqah, and he said: “For the boy, two sheep of equal quality; and for the girl, one sheep.”

3. The Prophet ﷺ performed the aqiqah of his own grandsons.

He sacrificed for al-Hasan and for al-Husayn — the grandfather himself carrying out the Sunnah he taught, and the sounder narration says two sheep for each.

4. The first words to reach the baby’s ears: the adhan.

Abu Rafi‘ said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ call the adhan in the ear of al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali when Fatimah gave birth to him.” Before every other voice, the child hears the call to Allah.

5. Tahnik: soften a date and rub the newborn’s palate with it, then pray for blessing.

Abu Musa said: “A son was born to me, so I brought him to the Prophet ﷺ; he named him Ibrahim, made tahnik for him with a date, and prayed for blessing for him, then handed him back to me.”

6. Choose the most beloved names: ‘Abdullah and ‘Abdur-Rahman head the list.

“The most beloved of your names to Allah are ‘Abdullah and ‘Abdur-Rahman.” A name is the first gift — and the first dua — a parent gives a child.

7. Change a bad name to a good one, as the Prophet ﷺ did.

The Prophet ﷺ changed the name of a woman called ‘Asiyah (“disobedient”) and named her Jamilah (“beautiful”). A name is a call a person answers to all his life — let it carry a meaning he can be proud to answer to.

8. And never give a name that belongs to Allah alone, like “King of kings.”

“The most abased name in Allah’s sight on the Day of Resurrection is a man who calls himself Malik al-Amlak (King of kings) — there is no king but Allah.”

9. Shave the baby’s head — and give the hair’s weight in silver as charity.

When al-Hasan was born, the Prophet ﷺ told Fatimah: “Shave his head, and give in charity the weight of his hair in silver.” The child’s first days begin with an act of giving.

10. Leave the way of ignorance: the baby’s head is shaved, not smeared with blood.

Buraydah said: “When a boy was born to one of us in the days of ignorance, we sacrificed a sheep and smeared his head with its blood. But when Allah brought Islam, we sacrificed a sheep, shaved his head, and smeared it with saffron.” Islam kept the sacrifice and the joy — and removed every trace of the old ways.