Giving Dates To Newborn Babies

When a child is born to Muslim parents that practice their religion, there are certain beautiful customs that take place. One of the first acts is the recitation of the *Adhan* (the Islamic call to prayer) into the newborn's right ear. This signifies that the first words the child hears are a reminder of God's greatness.

Another important tradition is the practice of *Tahneek*, where a small piece of softened date is rubbed on the baby's gums. This act was practiced by Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and is believed to bring blessings to the child.

This custom is the one I want to elaborate a bit more on, or rather share my thoughts.  

Vitamin K administration to newborns is generally standard practice in hospitals in most developed countries. This is done to prevent a condition known as vitamin K deficiency bleeding. In the US it is given after birth as a shot intramuscular, and in Europe it is given orally. Today I had a discussion about the Tahneek tradition (Sunnah) and I thought of this vitamin K that they administer to newborns in Hospitals. I wondered how dates corelated to vitamin K.

DO YOU EAT DATES?

I eat dates for their nutritional benefits because I know it’s a powerhouse of minerals and nutrients. I also knew that it was rich in multiple vitamins, what I didn’t know was that it contained vitamin K. Only after researching it online, did I find out that it contains as much as 2.6 mcg vitamin K. I wondered right away if that was the wisdom behind doing Tahneek to newborns, and I was once again amazed on how we were given a Sunnah that is a guide to life.

We know that there is always wisdom behind anything the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did and advised us to do. Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, got his revelations and wisdom from God, and his advice was, and still is today, indispensable in any aspects of life. So why wouldn’t we want to follow his advice.

ON A SIDE NOTE

More and more parent’s chose to opt out on the vitamin K for their newborns. The CDC in the US goes as far as advising against the oral vitamin K because they say the newborns stomach and intestines cannot adequately absorb it yet. Nevertheless, Europe keeps giving it orally. One might wonder if there are any studies to disprove one over the other, and if so, why is the one disproven still using the method that has less effectiveness. Unless there are no such studies, and these methods are given due to other alternative reasons. I know this makes me doubt the effectiveness of any of the two, and I would rather stick with the natural version, Tahneek.

I just thought I would share this Sunnah and food for thought.

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