The Sunnah Way of Giving Du’a for a Newborn in Islam New

The Sunnah Way of Offering Du’a for Newborns: Blessings & Prayers

Children are a great blessing from Allah, and it is natural to feel happiness for this blessing. Thanking Allah, the Lord of all worlds, is a requirement in response to this blessing. Those who are blessed with children should share their happiness with other Muslims and pray for the child’s health, well-being, and blessings. The Prophet ﷺ used to pray for children when they were born to his companions. The practice of making du’a (supplication) is vast, and it is appropriate to make du’a for the newborn as much as possible, but it is important to follow the Sunnah while making these du’as. The Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ was to make a du’a for blessings when a child was presented to him. Here are a few hadiths to help understand the correct way of making du’a for a newborn:

First Hadith: عَنْ أَسْمَاءَ بِنْتِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا: أَنَّهَا حَمَلَتْ بِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ بِمَكَّةَ، قَالَتْ: فَخَرَجْتُ وَأَنَا مُتِمٌّ، فَأَتَيْتُ المَدِينَةَ فَنَزَلْتُ قُبَاءً، فَوَلَدْتُ بِقُبَاءٍ، ثُمَّ «أَتَيْتُ بِهِ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَوَضَعْتُهُ فِي حَجْرِهِ، ثُمَّ دَعَا بِتَمْرَةٍ فَمَضَغَهَا، ثُمَّ تَفَلَ فِي فِيهِ، فَكَانَ أَوَّلَ شَيْءٍ دَخَلَ جَوْفَهُ رِيقُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ حَنَّكَهُ بِالتَّمْرَةِ، ثُمَّ دَعَا لَهُ فَبَرَّكَ عَلَيْهِ» وَكَانَ أَوَّلَ مَوْلُودٍ وُلِدَ فِي الإِسْلاَمِ، فَفَرِحُوا بِهِ فَرَحًا شَدِيدًا، لِأَنَّهُمْ قِيلَ لَهُمْ: إِنَّ اليَهُودَ قَدْ سَحَرَتْكُمْ فَلاَ يُولَدُ لَكُمْ(صحيح البخاري:5512)
Translation:
Ayesha bint Abi Bakr (RA) narrated that she was pregnant with Abdullah ibn Zubair in Makkah. She said, “I went to Madinah, and when the time of delivery was near, I settled in Quba. I gave birth to Abdullah ibn Zubair in Quba. I then brought him to the Prophet ﷺ and placed him in his lap. The Prophet ﷺ asked for a date, chewed it, and placed the chewed date in the child’s mouth. The first thing that entered his stomach was the blessed saliva of the Prophet ﷺ. Then, he rubbed the child’s palate with the date and prayed for him, blessing him.” This was the first child born in the Islamic era after migration, and the companions were overjoyed because they had heard rumors that the Jews had cast a spell on them, and no child would be born to them. (Sahih Bukhari: 5512)

Second Hadith: عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: «وُلِدَ لِي غُلاَمٌ، فَأَتَيْتُ بِهِ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَسَمَّاهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، فَحَنَّكَهُ بِتَمْرَةٍ، وَدَعَا لَهُ بِالْبَرَكَةِ، وَدَفَعَهُ إِلَيَّ»، وَكَانَ أَكْبَرَ وَلَدِ أَبِي مُوسَى(صحيح البخاري:5510)
Translation:
Abu Musa (RA) narrated, “I had a son, so I brought him to the Prophet ﷺ, and he named him Ibrahim. The Prophet ﷺ chewed a date and rubbed it on the child’s palate. He then prayed for blessings for the child and handed him back to me.” He was the eldest son of Abu Musa (RA). (Sahih Bukhari: 5510)

Third Hadith: عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا، قَالَتْ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُؤْتَى بِالصِّبْيَانِ فَيَدْعُو لَهُمْ بِالْبَرَكَةِ.(صحيح أبي داود:5127)
Translation:
Ayesha (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to be presented with children and would pray for blessings for them. (Sunan Abu Dawood: 5127)

Du’as for Blessings for Children:

From these three hadiths, we learn that the Prophet ﷺ used to make du’a for blessings for newborns. This type of prayer for blessings is mentioned in many hadiths. In Musnad Bazzaar (Hadith 7310), I found a special du’a for blessings when a child was born. The Prophet ﷺ instructed Anas ibn Malik (RA) to go to his mother and say:
بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لَكِ فِيهِ، وَجَعَلَهُ بَرًّا تَقِيًّا
Translation:
“May Allah bless you with him and make him righteous and pious.”
Imam Haythami has declared the narrators of this hadith authentic except for Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Ramadi, who is trustworthy. (Majma’ al-Zawa’id: 9/264)

Thus, we can also make this du’a, and in addition, we can make other du’as from authentic sources that ask for blessings for children, such as:
اللهم أكثِرْ مالَه، وولدَه، وبارِكْ له فيما أعطَيتَه (Sahih Bukhari: 6344)
Translation:
“O Allah! Increase his wealth, his children, and bless him in what You have given him.”

اللهمَّ ! بارِكْ لهم في ما رزقتَهم واغفرْ لهم وارحمْهم (Sahih Muslim: 2042)
Translation:
“O Allah! Bless them in the sustenance You have provided, forgive their sins, and have mercy upon them.”

The Impact of Du’a for Children:

One should pray to Allah for righteous offspring, and after a child is born, one should pray for further blessings for them, as du’a has an effect. Just as a person prays for their own children, they should also pray for the children of others. Here is an inspiring incident related to patience in the face of a child’s death and the impact of du’a:
Anas ibn Malik (RA) narrated:
اشتكى ابنٌ لأبي طلحةَ ، قال : فمات وأبو طلحةَ خارجٌ ، فلمَّا رَأَتِ امرأتُهُ أنَّهُ قد ماتَ ، هَيَّأَتْ شيئًا ، ونَحَّتْهُ في جانبِ البيتِ ، فلمَّا جاءَ أبو طلحةَ قال : كيف الغلامُ ؟ قالت : قد هَدَأَتْ نَفْسُهُ ، وأرجو أن يكونَ قد استراحَ . وظَنَّ أبو طلحةَ أنَّها صادقةٌ . قال : فبَاتَ ، فلمَّا أصبحَ اغتسلَ ، فلمَّا أراد أن يخرجَ أَعْلَمَتْهُ أنَّهُ قد ماتَ ، فصلَّى مع النبيِّ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ ، ثم أَخْبَرَ النبيَّ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ بما كان منها ، فقال رسولُ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ : لعلَّ اللهَ أن يُبَارِكَ لكما في ليلتكما . قال سفيانٌ : فقال رجلٌ من الأنصارِ : فرأيتُ لهما تسعةَ أولادٍ ، كلُّهم قد قرأَ القرآنَ .(صحيح البخاري:1301)
Translation:
Abu Talhah’s (RA) son fell ill and died while Abu Talhah was not at home. His wife, seeing that the child had passed away, prepared the child and placed him in a corner of the house. When Abu Talhah returned, he asked about the child, and his wife replied, “He has rested, and I hope he is at peace.” Abu Talhah thought she was speaking the truth. That night, he stayed with her, and in the morning, after bathing, he was about to leave when she told him the child had died. Abu Talhah prayed with the Prophet ﷺ and then informed him of what had transpired. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Perhaps Allah will bless you in this night.” An Ansari man later said, “I saw that they had nine children, all of whom became Hafiz of the Qur’an.”

Another incident:
Ma’awiyah ibn Qurrah (RA) said:
لمَّا وُلِدَ لي إِياسٌ دَعَوْتُ نَفَرًا من أصحابِ النبيِّ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ ؛ فَأَطْعَمْتُهُمْ ، فَدَعَوْا ، فقُلْتُ : إِنَّكُمْ قد دَعَوْتُمْ فَبارَكَ اللهُ لَكُمْ فيما دَعَوْتُمْ ، وإنِّي إنْ أَدْعُو بِدُعَاءٍ فَأَمِّنُوا
Translation:
When my son Iyas was born, I invited some of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, fed them, and they made du’a. I then said, “You have made du’a, may Allah bless your du’a, and now when I make my du’a, say Ameen.” He made many du’as for the child, and he said, “I can feel the impact of those du’as in my son Iyas.”

A noteworthy point: The du’a of a father for his children is accepted, so one should not make bad du’a for their children, as such du’a could also be accepted.

Du’as for a Newborn from the Salaf:

Some du’as from the Salaf for newborns are narrated, and the following summarizes them:

Aisha (RA)’s practice:
Kathir ibn Ubaid narrated:
كانت عائشةُ رضي اللهُ عنها إذا وُلِدَ فيهم مولودٌ ( يعني من أهلِها ) لا تسألْ : غلامًا ولا جاريةً ،

تقول : خُلِقَ سويًّا ؟ فإذا قيل : نعم ، قالت : الحمدُ لله ربِّ العالمينَ(صحيح الأدب المفرد:951)
Translation:
Whenever a child was born among her family, Aisha (RA) would not ask whether it was a boy or a girl. She would ask, “Was the child born healthy?” If they said yes, she would say: “Alhamdulillah, Lord of the worlds.”
In our society, the first question asked after birth is whether the child is a boy or a girl, but this hadith serves as an important reminder for us.

The Correct Du’a for the Birth of a Child from Hasan al-Basri and Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani

It is reported from Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani that upon the birth of a child, he used to present the following congratulatory prayer:
“جعله الله مباركا عليك وعلى أمة محمد”
This is mentioned by Ibn Abi Dunya in his work al-Nafaqah ‘ala al-‘Ayal (Hadith no. 202).

This same phrasing is also attributed to Hasan al-Basri. Sari ibn Yahya narrates that a person from Hasan’s circle had a child, and when someone congratulated him by saying, “May you be blessed with a rider (warrior) from Persia,” Hasan al-Basri (RA) replied, “How do you know it will be a rider? Perhaps he will be a tailor or a merchant.” When asked what to say, Hasan al-Basri suggested saying:
“جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ مُبَارَكًا عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ”
This narration is found in al-Du’a by al-Tabarani (Chapter: How to Congratulate for a Newborn, Hadith No. 872).

Some scholars have considered this du’a as a correct and authentic du’a transmitted from the Salaf, such as Sheikh Yahya bin Ali al-Hajouri al-Yemeni and Sheikh Abu Khalid Walid bin Idris al-Sakandari.

A Weak Du’a Widely Circulated Among People:

A widely circulated and well-known du’a among people is:
“بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لَكَ فِي الـمَوْهُوبِ لَكَ، وَشَكَرْتَ الوَاهِبَ، وبَلَغَ أشُدَّهُ، وَرُزِقْتَ بِرَّهُ”
Translation: “May Allah bless you in the gift He has given you, and may you thank the Giver. May your child reach maturity and may you be granted righteousness through him.”
This du’a is attributed to Hasan al-Basri, but due to its weak chain of narration, it is considered weak.

Another Weak Narration from Tarikh Asbahān:

In his Tarikh Asbahān, Abu Nu’aym mentions from Aisha (RA) that when a newborn was presented to the Prophet ﷺ, he would say:
“اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ بَارًّا تَقِيًّا رَشِيدًا ، وَأَنْبِتْهُ فِي الإِسْلامِ نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا”
(Al-Akhbar al-Asbahān, Kitab al-Sulh Asbahān, Chapter: The Eye, Hadith No. 1717).
However, this narration is also weak due to the unreliable chain of narrators, and it is not considered an authoritative hadith.

Summary of the Article:

The main point of the article is that the Prophet ﷺ used to make a du’a for blessings upon newborns, so we should revive this Sunnah in our communities, which appears only in books. We can make any beneficial du’a for the child without specifying whether the child is a boy or a girl. At a minimum, one can say “اللهم بارك فيه” or “بارك الله فيه” (May Allah bless him). We can even make du’a in our own language.

The du’as mentioned in the article, which have been shown to be weak, should be recognized as such. There is no harm in reciting them occasionally, as they do not contain any doctrinal issues. However, they should not be regarded as the primary du’a for congratulating a newborn. Additionally, it is important to avoid extravagance, whether in the form of invitations or gifts, and refrain from non-Islamic practices such as music or imitating the celebrations of disbelievers. Similarly, rejoicing over the birth of a boy and expressing sadness over the birth of a girl or considering it an ill omen is a practice of the disbelievers.