al-Mawdud — Rawzat

al-Mawdud — The Newborn and Child: Islamic Rights, Responsibilities, and Sacred Potential

المَولُودُ — حُقُوقُ الطِّفلِ وَمَسؤُولِيَّاتُ الوَالِدَينِ فِي الإِسلَام

2 min read · 321 words

Al-Mawdud (المَولُود — the newborn, from *walada* — to give birth; the newborn child as the sacred new arrival in the world) is treated in Islamic tradition with a theology of innocence and potential: every child is born on *al-fitra* (the primordial nature of recognition of Allah), and it is the environment — family, community, education — that shapes the child's subsequent path. The Prophet: *'Every child is born on the fitra — then its parents make it Jewish, Christian, or Zoroastrian.'* (Bukhari) — the hadith that established the Islamic doctrine of the child's original spiritual wholeness. Birth rites: *al-adhan* in the right ear (the first words the child hears should be Allah's name and the proclamation of prophethood); *tahnik* (the Prophet's practice of touching a date to the newborn's mouth with a prayer); *aqiqa* (the sacrifice of one or two animals on the 7th day of birth); *tasmiyya* (naming — the Prophet encouraged names that reflect spiritual beauty, honoring the divine or the prophetic); *tahara* (circumcision, conducted in the early days for boys). The Quran on parental responsibility: *'O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire.'* (66:6) The Ismaili dimension: the child of a mu'min household is brought into the da'wa covenant from the earliest moments — through the adhan, through the parents' walayah, and through the eventual *misaq* at adulthood. The child grows into a pre-existing covenant.

The Theology of the Child

Fitra and original wholeness: The hadith of fitra (Bukhari) establishes that no child is born with original sin or spiritual defect. Every newborn arrives in a state of fitra — the Quranic term (30:30) for the primordial constitution of divine recognition that Allah built into human nature. Islam’s starting point for childhood is potential, not corruption.

Adhan as the first teaching: The practice of reciting the adhan (call to prayer) in the newborn’s right ear — ‘Allahu Akbar, la ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun rasul Allah’ — means the first sounds the child hears are the declaration of divine greatness, divine oneness, and prophetic leadership. The child’s acoustic formation begins with the core of Islamic belief.

Rights of the Child

Islamic child rights: Classical fiqh establishes the child’s rights: haql al-nasab (right to known parentage); haqq al-rada’a (right to nursing, minimum two years per 2:233); haqq al-hadana (right to custody and care); haqq al-nafaqa (right to financial maintenance); haqq al-tarbiyya (right to education and moral formation). The modern Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) covers much of the same ground that Islamic jurisprudence had addressed centuries earlier.

See also: Al Nasab, Nikah, Adl, Akhlaq, Birr Al Walidayn

The Child in the Ismaili Community

Born into walayah: In the Ismaili Bohra tradition, the child of a mu’min is considered to be within the walayah community from birth — through the parents’ covenant. The adhan, aqiqa, and naming ceremonies are conducted with the Da’i’s blessing or following the Da’i’s guidelines. The child grows up within a living da’wa environment — attending majalis al-‘ilm, learning the Lisan al-Dawat language, and eventually taking the misaq at maturity, formally entering the covenant as an adult.

al-Mawdud — The Newborn and Child: Islamic Rights, Responsibilities, and Sacred Potential

The Theology of the Child

Rights of the Child

The Child in the Ismaili Community

More in Practical Guide