Naeem's Blog

All Praises and Thanks to Allah (swt), Who blessed us with a healthy baby daughter yesterday. Please pray that Allah (swt) guide her and make her amongst the righteous in this life and especially in the after-life.

With respect to the other details, I’ve decided to take Br. Tariq’s advice and be a man. Fatherhood is on the rebound starting with this father (smugly pointing to myself). So no more of the girly info on the baby’s weight and height and time of birth and all that feminine nonsense. This will be my new style of raising the kids. (h/t to Tariq for the vid clip)

Anyways, I just wanted to share some quick thoughts on having a baby in a Muslim country (both Maryam and Humza were born in the US).

First thing that really gave me a nice jolt was when we stepped into the delivery room. Next to the chair I found a book of wird (litanies) compiled by Sh. Ibn Uthaymeen written specifically for the time of childbirth. With various verses from the Quran, dua’as of the Prophet (saw), and different adhkar, it really provided me and my wife a most needed injection of dhikr-Allah with which to start the delivery.

Subhan’Allah!

Twelve hours later, when Ayah finally decided to bless us with her presence, I was so excited that I totally forgot the Sunnah of calling the Adhan in her right ear and Iqama in her left ear. It was only after they had taken her upstairs to the Neo-Natal ward that the OB doctor reminded me. And she’s not even a Muslim! Obviously she had witnessed this practice by all her prior patients that she knew I had forgotten.

Subhan’Allah!

When I got upstairs to see Ayah, they informed me that they were feeding her some form of glucose drink. And it immediately dawned on me that the Sunnah of our dear Prophet (saw) informed us 1400 years ago of this vital step immediately after the birth of the infant. Did not the Prophet (saw) teach us to gently rub tiny parts of a chewed date into the mouth of the newborn?

Subhan’Allah!

Finally, about 20 minutes after Ayah’s birth, in the room next door another lady was delivering. All I could hear was her shrieking ‘Bismillah’ louder and louder and louder with each push. Her screaming so loud that the entire floor could hear wasn't particularly noteworthy. Rather I found her specifically calling out the name of Allah (swt) at the time of childbirth to be immensely profound.

It truly gave me goosebumps to hear the power behind the remembrance of Allah (swt) and how a woman in the most weakest of states turns to Allah (swt) for support. And she wasn't merely yelling out 'Ya Allah!' as some may exclaim 'Oh God!' or 'Jesus!'. I felt she was yelling out 'Bismillah' so her child would enter this world by and with the name of its Creator and Sustainer.

It reminded me of the state of our dear mother Maryam (AS) when she was suffering the pangs of delivery all by her lonesome and how she most definitely sought assistance with the dhikr of Allah (swt).

"Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day, there are indeed messages for all who are endowed with insight, [and] who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and when they lie down" (3:190-191)

Subhan’Allah!