Muslims--new baby?

[dranzal]

Hello.

This is a question for the devout Muslims here. My Muslim brother just had his second baby, Maryam. He shaved his first baby’s head around 7-8 days. He says they will also shave this baby’s head at the same time and that it is a “religious” thing. Can you tell me about it?

Thanks.

She’s just so adorable with her newborn fuzzy head.

 

[Montalban]

Why do they shave the baby?

Are they very hairy?

 

[kellie]

Hello.

This is a question for the devout Muslims here. My Muslim brother just had his second baby, Maryam. He shaved his first baby’s head around 7-8 days. He says they will also shave this baby’s head at the same time and that it is a “religious” thing. Can you tell me about it?

Thanks.

She’s just so adorable with her newborn fuzzy head.

Aqeeqah & Shaving the head
The Aqeeqah ceremony essentially consists of two acts: the shaving of the hair from the head of the newborn baby and the
sacrifice of an animal (these were also characteristic features of Millat-e-Ibrahim - the religion of Prophet Ibrahim (as).
The hair on the child’s head is shaven and its weight in silver is given as charity. An animal is then sacrificed as a mark of celebration and distributed amongst friends, family, the poor and a portion is kept for ones own consumption.
Ali (RA) reported that the Messenger (saws) of Allah (swt) slaughtered a goat on the occasion of Hasan’s birth, the son of Fatimah (RA) and Ali (RA) and said, “Oh Fatimah! Shave the head of Hasan and pay silver equal to the weight of the hair as charity.” Sahih Sunan at-Tirmithee 2:1226
It is reported by Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As that the Prophet (saws) said, “To whomsoever a child is born, and he wants to perform a sacrifice of Aqeeqah on behalf of it, he should sacrifice two goats for a boy and one for a girl.” Sunan Abu Dawood 2:2836
It is reported by Buraydah (RA), “During the Age of ignorance, when a child was born to anyone of us, we used to slaughter a goat and smear the head of the child with its blood. Later, after the dawn of Islam, our practice became (on the advice of the Prophet (saws)) that we sacrifice a goat of Aqeeqah on the seventh day after the birth of a child, shave the head of the infant, and apply saffron on it.” Sunan Abu Dawood 2:2137

muslimdirectory.co.uk/is_newborn.php

 

[hamba2han]

There is a difference of opinion among the schools of jurisprudence in Islam concerning the advisability of shaving the head of a baby girl as opposed to that of a baby boy.

I think that it would be better if your brother asks the opinion of the imam at the local mosque he goes to before shaving his baby daughter’s head.

 

[KimL]

There is a difference of opinion among the schools of jurisprudence in Islam concerning the advisability of shaving the head of a baby girl as opposed to that of a baby boy.

I think that it would be better if your brother asks the opinion of the imam at the local mosque he goes to before shaving his baby daughter’s head.

I have heard and seen many forums talk about this practice. It seems muhammad took it from his peoples culture and turned it into “Islam”.

 

[dranzal]

There is a difference of opinion among the schools of jurisprudence in Islam concerning the advisability of shaving the head of a baby girl as opposed to that of a baby boy.

I think that it would be better if your brother asks the opinion of the imam at the local mosque he goes to before shaving his baby daughter’s head.

Thanks. I emailed him about it. She’s a real cutie.

 

[Montalban]

Hello.

This is a question for the devout Muslims here. My Muslim brother just had his second baby, Maryam. He shaved his first baby’s head around 7-8 days. He says they will also shave this baby’s head at the same time and that it is a “religious” thing. Can you tell me about it?

Thanks.

She’s just so adorable with her newborn fuzzy head.

Did you notice if the first sound the baby made was “Ah”?

A Moslem told me that a proof of Islam is that the first sound we make is “Ah” and the last sound we make (as we expire) is “Lah”
Thus we are born, and die, within the word al-lah.

 

[LilyM]

Did you notice if the first sound the baby made was “Ah”?

A Moslem told me that a proof of Islam is that the first sound we make is “Ah” and the last sound we make (as we expire) is “Lah”
Thus we are born, and die, within the word al-lah.

Umm … babies generally cry first thing, don’t they? Doesn’t sound like ‘Ah’ to me! And people have died saying all sorts of things - there was a general in the American civil war who was watching enemy soldiers firing on his own. His last sounds were ‘they couldn’t shoot an elephant at this dist…’

 

[Montalban]

Umm … babies generally cry first thing, don’t they? Doesn’t sound like ‘Ah’ to me! And people have died saying all sorts of things - there was a general in the American civil war who was watching enemy soldiers firing on his own. His last sounds were ‘they couldn’t shoot an elephant at this dist…’

Maybe they go Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! But seriously, actually two Moslems have told me this.

Moslems believe we’re all born Moslem and then we’re made something else. If you’re Catholic, and you become Moslem they say you don’t so much convert, as revert

 

[Kadaveri]

Greetings Dranzal.

The shaving of the head is out of charity. When the baby’s hair is shaven off on the 7th day the hair is weighed and the hair’s weight in silver is given to the poor.

This is what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did when his grandchildren were born.

 

[Montalban]

Greetings Dranzal.

The shaving of the head is out of charity. When the baby’s hair is shaven off on the 7th day the hair is weighed and the hair’s weight in silver is given to the poor.

This is what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did when his grandchildren were born.

Given the *weight *of a baby’s hair, this isn’t much by way of charity

 

[Valke2]

Sounds like a lovely tradition to me. Not sure why anyone feels the need to criticize or mock it.

Since people who have no money also have children, the amount of charity should be very small so that everyone can still participate in the tradition.

 

[Montalban]

Sounds like a lovely tradition to me. Not sure why anyone feels the need to criticize or mock it.

'Cause it’s so insignificant

Since people who have no money also have children, the amount of charity should be very small so that everyone can still participate in the tradition.

In Islam you can give charity to your relatives, so it’s a small amount that’s not going very far.

 

[KarenNC]

'Cause it’s so insignificant

And lighting a candle in front of an icon or image is not an objectively insignificant act, particularly when you have the electric lights on? Or the practice of tonsuring during baptism?

There are more than enough things that all of us do in the name of religion (whatever that religion might be) that look either insignificant or absurd to one who does not practice that religion.

Rituals and traditions, large and small, have their place and work together to form the fabric of the life of the follower of a particular religion. They also form the fabric of a culture, which may or may not be intertwined with the religious practice.

In Islam you can give charity to your relatives, so it’s a small amount that’s not going very far.

In any religion that I know of you can give charity to your relatives. I certainly don’t see anything in these lessons on charity from the Orthodox Church that say “give to anyone in need as long as they aren’t related to you.”
dce.oca.org/Sections/MiniUnits/MiniUnits.asp?referenceID=charityMini1

I would hazard a guess that the majority of folks on this board would be able to come up with at least one relative who would benefit from even a small bit of charity from time to time.

Perhaps it is different in the Orthodox Church, but I was always taught that charity was not measured by the amount, but by the intent.

 

[dranzal]

Please forgive me if I’m wrong, but I would infer from the passage given earlier that the intent of the gesture is to follow Mohammed’s example.

 

[Montalban]

And lighting a candle in front of an icon or image is not an objectively insignificant act, particularly when you have the electric lights on? Or the practice of tonsuring during baptism?

Well for one thing I don’t propse that anything is good of itself. So something done for God is good (as potentially lighting a candle would be - depending of course on why the person’s doing it) whereas shaving a baby for Muhammed is not for God - the fact that people are thinking its cute, or whatever doesn’t take away from this.

There are more than enough things that all of us do in the name of religion (whatever that religion might be) that look either insignificant or absurd to one who does not practice that religion.

See above

Rituals and traditions, large and small, have their place and work together to form the fabric of the life of the follower of a particular religion. They also form the fabric of a culture, which may or may not be intertwined with the religious practice.

If all religions are equal, you’d have a point.

Perhaps it is different in the Orthodox Church, but I was always taught that charity was not measured by the amount, but by the intent.

Exactly!

Welcome aboard.

 

[Montalban]

Please forgive me if I’m wrong, but I would infer from the passage given earlier that the intent of the gesture is to follow Mohammed’s example.

It is indeed. Some people are of the opinion that something’s by someone evil, such as Muhammad, appear harmless.

Even Hitler owned a dog.

 

[Linnyo]

I think it sounds like a lovely tradition. What happens if you have a baldy baby? Apparently I was a baldy baby right up until I turned 2 years old! My parent’s thought they would have to get me a wig!

 

[KarenNC]

Well for one thing I don’t propse that anything is good of itself. So something done for God is good (as potentially lighting a candle would be - depending of course on why the person’s doing it) whereas shaving a baby for Muhammed is not for God - the fact that people are thinking its cute, or whatever doesn’t take away from this.

I see nothing instrinsically harmful in it either, and any amount of charity is better than none, correct?

As far as I can determine it is an action that is done as a religious ritual, something that these Muslims see as an integral part of their required behavior as good Muslims. So, yes, I would say that it is indeed being done as something they believe is part of living their life for God.

If all religions are equal, you’d have a point.

Hasn’t got a thing to do with whether or not you judge that their religion is equal to yours.

 

[Montalban]

I see nothing instrinsically harmful in it either, and any amount of charity is better than none, correct?

No. Anything that is not of God is not good. For instance people here may think “Oh, isn’t Islam sweet” and be misguided about what is in effect a very evil ideology. As I said (almost too flippantly) to another poster “Even Hitler owned a dog.” That can not be divorced from who he was and what he did.

As far as I can determine it is an action that is done as a religious ritual, something that these Muslims see as an integral part of their required behavior as good Muslims. So, yes, I would say that it is indeed being done as something they believe is part of living their life for God.

I agree with this - they are doing it for their god, and that’s the problem

Hasn’t got a thing to do with whether or not you judge that their religion is equal to yours.

Yes, it has. What they do; it’s done for a false religion.