“My Lord! Grant me, by your grace, righteous offspring. You are certainly the Hearer of ˹all˺ prayers. “
We all pray to become a parent. Having a healthy baby is every couple’s desire. But it would be more beneficial if our attributes will be according to Allah’s command as well.
In this regard, we had a detailed yet insightful conversation with Sharmin Zshan. Sharmin is a Quran Hafiza and she is teaching in a well reputed Madarsa as well. She also runs a page “Quran Talks.”
CONSUMMATION IN
Starting from very beginning, if we talk about wedding, if there is any Sunnah way to consummate a marriage ?
The answer is; there are certain ways prescribed in Deen. Some of those are to calm the bride and both spouses should pray for each other. There are certain Duas for consummation as well. One of those is :
“O Allah, keep the shaytaan away from us and keep the shaytaan away from what You have blessed us with. “
After consummation, post coitus bath (ghusl e janabat) is mandatory. The procedure according to Islam is, to wash hands first, wipe off impure (najasat), do istinja and rest procedure is similar to ghusl. This is how ghusl e janabat is advised.
FAMILY PLANNING:
It is allowed in certain cases if the issue is genuine. Like if husband or wife is too young to take care of baby, income is extremely low to brought up a baby with even basic necessities.
Contraceptives can be used for this purpose. But at the end, it is the niyyat (intention) that counts.
TEST TUBE BABIES:
Test tube babies are also allowed in Islam but in extreme cases. If couple is 100% sure that sperm and egg both are of husband and wife themselves.
PREGNANCY & SAUM O SALAT:
There is no relaxation for Namaz during pregnancy and even right before delivery. If you can’t stand, offer salat in sitting position, if unable to sit, pray while laying on bed, and if it is also not possible; pray with gesture(hint) only. But try not to skip salah. On the contrary, Roza can be skipped in certain conditions but has to be completed later.
SPECIFIC SURAH’S DURING PREGNANCY:
There are no specific surahs to be recited during pregnancy. It is all made up that Surah Yousuf has to be recited for a beautiful child and Surah Maryam for ease in delivery and so on. There is no authentic Hadith related to these. One should recite whole Quran during pregnancy period to give a positive impact on baby.
Just keep reciting prayers for a healthy and Sualeh child. There are various Duas for that. One of which is already shared at the beginning of the article.
ULTRASOUND AND PRE TESTS:
Pre tests and Ultrasound (for gender identity) is allowed but depends upon intentions. If there is an intention to abort a child based on his/her gender, it is strictly prohibited.
Similarly, anomaly scan is only allowed when there is high risk of life and death.
MALE DOCTORS FOR DELIVERY:
Only if female doctors or staff is not available and there is an emergency then it is permissible to get the delivery done under a male gynaecologist supervision. Otherwise, pardah of satar has to be kept on priority.
Islam is a religion of relaxation. But one should not forget the obligations and it’s teachings as well.
NFAS (Lochia):
It starts from the second the baby delivered and can lasts from only 1 hour till 40 days. Varies from condition to condition.
There is no limitations in Islam of not going out during NFAS. Going to doctor or for other important tasks can be opted easily during NFAS. The only condition is, if your health allows.
Ghusl (Bath) after NFAS is same as above specified ghusl methods. No further addition or reduction according to Islam. Additional steps are cultural inheritance only. Nothing to do with Deen.
BREAST FEEDING (NURSING):
There is no obligation on woman to breast feed her child. No one can stop or force her to do so. But it is beneficial for herself and the child. Whole nutritional responsibility is upon father from the second the child born.
For breast feeding cut off age; according to Surah Baqarah ayat 33, it is 2 years for baby boy and girl both. Later than this age is haram.
RAZAAT :
Razai mother (milk donor) can charge for her service from child’s family. She can also stays with child for her comfort of arriving on time. RAZAAT can be taken from a non muslim as well. There is no evidence of it being prohibited.
Voluntarily milk donations are even also allowed in Islam if it is 10o% surely a human milk.
NAMES:
Islamic instructions about baby’s name is to keep beautiful meaning names because names create an impact on child’s personality. It can be names of Sahaba Karam R.A. Keeping random names from Quran isn’t appreciated.
AQEEQA:
AQEEQA is recommended to be done after 7 days. It was initially very first day but later it changed into 7 days keeping in consideration that mother herself can also cherish these memories of her own child. It is the time spam when mother starts recovering after delivery.
At the end, motherhood is the biggest blessing from Allah. Mother has given high rankings in Islam. Allah himself acknowledges motherhood. It is said if a mother passes away while giving birth to a child, she gets the rank of a martyr. Subhan Allah! such a great acknowledgement by our creator himself.
By: Anila Razzaq