Islaam is a complete way of life. Not only does it teach us the correct way of worship, it also teaches us the correct way of living.
One of the biggest favours of Almighty Allaah is that not only He gave us certain rules to live by, but HE also explained them in great detail, sometimes in Quraan and sometimes through the Blessed life of His Messenger (may peace be upon Him). Bringing up children is no exception. We have got such clear rules to follow that if practiced upon, everyone can succeed in the difficult and sensitive responsibilty of rearing pious children.
Hence everyone embarking upon the journey of bringing up children should know and practice upon the basic rules and guidance provided by Islaam. Most of the times we take parenting for a normal part of life, coming to us automatically and instinctively. While many of the elements of parenting do come naturally to us, alot has to be learned, and who can be a better teacher than our beloved Prophet peace be upon him. In this blog, we will try to take one parenting problem/responsibility at a time and explain the solution/duties in the light of shariah as given to us by Almight Allaah and explained by our beloved Nabi peace be upon him, inshAllah.
Shaving Hairs
When the baby is 7 days old, it is Mustahab to shave his/her head and silver equivalent to the weight of the hairs (or amount equivalent to it) should be given to poor.
Imam Malik writes in his “Mowattaa” that Jaafar bin Muhammad narrates from his father that Fatimah (radi Allaahu Anhaa) had weighed the hairs of Hasan, Hussain, Zainab and Umm Kulthoom (radi Allaahu Anhum) and gave its equivalent amount of silver in sadaqah.
There are many health benefits as well as social benefits in this practice. Ibn Qayyim writes in his book “Tauhfatul Maulood” about the health benefits that it strengthens the child and also benefits his/her senses of sight, hearing and smell.
Sheikh Abdullah Alwaan writes in his book “Tarbiyat-ul-Aulaad fil Islaam” about the social benefits of this practice. He says that giving the silver (or its equivalent amount) in charity will fulfill the needs of the needy hence giving rise to a feeling of love and bonding amongst the Ummaah.
A point to be understood her is that it is not permissible to shave off a part of head and leave hairs on some part. For example shaving the centre of the head and leaving hairs around or shaving half of the head and leaving half with hairs. This practice is called Qaza’a and it is prohibited in Islaam. For more information on this refer to “Tarbiyatul Aulaad fil Islaam” by Sheikh Abdullah Alwaan.
Some suggestions on shaving Baby’s head
Clean your baby's head/hair normally as you do everyday. You can use a manual razor blade or an electric shaver, also called an electric head clipper. Use it without the plastic guard to cut the hair as short as possible. Make sure the room is warm.Its better to take off baby’s regular clothing and wrap him/her in an old but clean cloth so the hair doesn't stay in the garments and causes itching. Shave from the hair line to the back, in small sections. Make sure the shaver is well oiled to avoid hair getting stuck causing the clipper to "chew" your baby's hair. Give your baby a bath after shaving him to sooth him and clean any hair that reached his body.
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