Cultural aspects in Christian and Islamic religions - unesdoc - Unesco

In Islam
Birth
Islam does not impose special ceremonies for
birth and new borns. The Prophet (PBUH) said:
“every child is born with a natural belief in God
and an inborn inclination to worship Him alone
called in Arabic the ‘Fitra’”. His father and mother
are responsible for his good moral and religious
upbringing so that he is capable of facing the many
challenges in life and integrate his environment
and society. With the birth of a newborn, the
parents ought to carry out a number of things:
immediately after his birth and recites the
Islamic call to Prayer (adhan) in his right ear,
then recites the iqaama (that announces
the beginning of prayer) in his left ear so
that the first thing he hears is the mention
of God and His unicity.
momentary – as long as seven days
sometimes with names such as ‘Abd Allah’
or ‘Muhammad’ since it is recommended to
call one a servant of God or call one by the
name of the Prophet. This gives time to find
the appropriate name. A child has the right
to be properly named by his parents.
seventh day and the weight of the hair in
silver ought to be given as alms (sadaqah)
to the needy.
upon his birth.
Aqiqah (offering) should be offered as
sacrifice for the newborn. A sheep – or the
like depending on the means – is bought
and slaughtered. The meat is offered to
the poor neighbors or cooked and a meal
is offered for the loved ones, provided the
parents do not eat from it. It is a sacrifice
and alms of hope that the newborn should
be preserved [against any harm].
age the meaning of Al-Shahadatayn (the
twin testimony of faith in Islam) and taught
how to recite them and recite the blessed
Opening Sura (Fatiha), otherwise known as
the Sura of praise.
becoming of age so that when they reach
the age of responsibility (sinn al-taklif) they
commit to performing prayer. Girls reach
sinn al-taklif when they are eight and boys
when they are thirteen.
offer gifts to the newborn. In some Islamic
institutions a yearly celebration is held for
girls upon their reaching sin al-taklif and
their wearing a hijab (veil).
Circumcision (Khitan)
Circumcision is an old tradition carried out by
Arabs and other Semitic people and is mentioned
in the Islamic Sources as going back to the father
of Prophets, Abraham. The root of the word means
‘to cut’ and usually the male newborn is preferably
circumcised in the first month after his birth with
the removal of some of the foreskin from the male
organ thus protecting him against bacteria and
other causes of infection.
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