The first seven days: a checklist

1Before the birth

• Choose who will give the adhānThe father, a grandfather, an imam or a friend. Tell your birth team. (The first hours)
• Pack soft datesTwo or three, in a small clean box, for taḥnīk. Never honey for a newborn. (Hospital checklist)¹
• Decide how you will do the ʿaqīqahLocally or through a charity, and roughly what it will cost. (The seventh day) (ʿAqīqah cost)
• Talk about namesMake a shortlist together; you have until the seventh day. (Choosing a name)

2The day of birth

• Adhān in the baby’s earSoftly, soon after the birth, when the team says it is a good moment. (The first hours)
• TaḥnīkA trace of softened date on the baby’s palate, with your nurse’s OK. (The first hours)¹
• Make duʿāʾ for your babyIn your own words, and with the words of refuge the Prophet ﷺ said over his grandsons. (Duʿāʾ for a newborn)²
• Share the good newsCongratulate for a daughter exactly as for a son, and answer congratulations with a duʿāʾ. (The first hours)
• Rest, motherYour body has done something enormous. Let others carry the rest of this list. (For mothers)

3Days two to six

• Work out the seventh daySchools count it differently; the calculator gives the dates in both calendars. (Seventh-day dates)
• Book the ʿaqīqahConfirm the day, the animal and the price, and give them your baby’s name. (ʿAqīqah cost)³
• Get ready to shave and weigh the hairA gentle baby clipper or razor, a small bag, and a kitchen scale that weighs in grams. (Silver for the hair)⁴
• Choose the nameA good name with a good meaning. (Choosing a name)
• Plan for nifāsWhat it means for your prayer and fasting, and the warning signs to call your doctor about. (For mothers)

4The seventh day

• The ʿaqīqahSlaughtered for your baby; eat some, gift some, give some in charity. (The seventh day)³
• Shave the headGently, by someone with a steady hand. (The seventh day)³
• Give the hair’s weight in silverWeigh the hair and give its value in silver as charity. (Silver for the hair)⁴
• Name your babyIf you have not already. (Choosing a name)³
• If you have a boyKhitān can be on the seventh day or later; talk to your doctor about timing. (Khitān)
• Make a welcome cardShare the name and a duʿāʾ with family. (Welcome card)

5Paperwork

• Birth certificateCheck how your state handles the spelling of the name and marks like ā or ḥ before you sign. (Choosing a name)
• Save your sourcesIf someone asks why you did something, every guide on this site lists its sources at the end.

Sources

1. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5467 Abū Mūsā: a son was born to me and I brought him to the Prophet ﷺ. He named him Ibrāhīm, rubbed his palate with a date, prayed for blessing for him and gave him back to me.
2. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3371 The Prophet ﷺ used to seek refuge for al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn: “I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and harmful creature, and from every envious eye”, saying that Ibrāhīm used to say it over Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq.
3. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2838 Samurah: the Prophet ﷺ said, “Every child is held in pledge by his ʿaqīqah: it is slaughtered for him on his seventh day, his head is shaved, and he is named.” Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 2838; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1165). al-Tirmidhī (1522): ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
4. Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 1519 ʿAlī: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made the ʿaqīqah for al-Ḥasan with a sheep and said, “Fāṭimah, shave his head and give the weight of his hair in silver.” It weighed a dirham or part of one. Grading: Graded differently. al-Tirmidhī: “ḥasan gharīb, and its chain is not connected” (Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī did not meet ʿAlī). al-Albānī: ḥasan (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tirmidhī 1519), with a supporting chain (Irwāʾ 1175). al-Bayhaqī and Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ: munqaṭiʿ (broken). Ibn Bāz: the weighing of the hair is not authentic.

Read next

• The first hoursThe adhān in your baby’s ear, taḥnīk with a date, the first duʿāʾ, and how to congratulate, with each ruling sourced in the four schools.
• The seventh dayThe ʿaqīqah, shaving your baby’s hair and giving its weight in silver, and how to count the seventh day, with each ruling from the four schools’ own books.
• What an ʿaqīqah costsWhat an ʿaqīqah costs in the US, through a charity abroad or a local halal farm or butcher, what the price includes, and the questions to ask before you book.
• Duʿāʾ for a newbornThe duʿāʾs from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah to say in labour, over your new baby, when people admire them, and when friends congratulate you, with what a mother in nifās may recite in each school.