The Adhan in a Newborn's Ear: Sunnah, Evidence and How

The baby is here. The room is a blur of midwives, monitors and happy tears, and somewhere in the bag is a list your mum or your imam gave you: adhan, tahnik, name. You may be wondering whether to say the adhan now, who should do it, and whether it is even a sunnah at all.

This guide sets out what the evidence actually says, where scholars differ, and how to do it gently if you choose to, without turning the first hour of your baby’s life into a test.

What it is and why families do it

The adhan in the newborn’s ear is the ordinary call to prayer, said quietly into the baby’s right ear, usually soon after birth. Some families also say the iqamah (the shorter call that starts the prayer) into the left ear.

The reason most often given is a beautiful one: that the first words a child hears in this world are about Allah. Allahu akbar, Allah is greater. La ilaha illallah, there is no god but Allah. Scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim wrote about this meaning: the call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) reaching the child before anything else.

Whatever view you follow on the evidence, that wish is sound. Your baby was born on the fitrah, the natural disposition to know Allah, and you want to welcome them in that spirit.

The evidence and its grading

The practice rests mainly on one narration.

Evidence · Hadith

رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَذَّنَ فِي أُذُنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ - حِينَ وَلَدَتْهُ فَاطِمَةُ - بِالصَّلاَةِ

Abu Rafi’ (RA) said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ give the call to prayer in the ear of al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali when Fatimah gave birth to him.”

At-Tirmidhi recorded the same report (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 1514) and called it hasan sahih, a sound hadith. So why is it discussed at all?

• The chain. Every route of this report passes through one narrator, ‘Asim ibn ‘Ubaydullah. Some hadith critics considered him weak; others, such as Ibn ‘Adi, said his narrations are accepted, and major narrators like Sufyan al-Thawri narrated from him.
• The supporting report. Some scholars strengthened the hadith with another narration (cited by Ibn al-Qayyim from al-Bayhaqi’s Shu’ab al-Iman). That supporting chain is itself very weak.
• Al-Albani changed his view. He first graded the hadith hasan and held the practice to be sunnah. Later, after examining the supporting chain, he concluded it was too weak to strengthen anything, retracted, and said the Abu Rafi’ hadith stays weak.

Where that leaves us:

Right ear, left ear, iqamah

Here it helps to separate what is in the texts from what grew around them.

• The adhan. The Abu Rafi’ hadith says “in the ear”, without saying which one. The right ear is the common practice and fits the general sunnah of starting with the right.
• The iqamah in the left ear. This comes from a different narration, attributed to al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali (RA) and recorded in the Musnad of Abu Ya’la. Scholars describe it as weaker than the adhan hadith. IslamQA, for example, says nothing establishes it, citing al-Albani’s collection of weak narrations. Hanafi muftis, on the other hand, still consider the iqamah recommended on the strength of these weaker reports and the practice of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz.

So: adhan in the right ear is the widespread practice; the iqamah in the left is optional at most. If your family tradition includes both, you are following a recognised position. If you only say the adhan, you have not left anything out.

Who can do it

No text names who must say it. In many families it is:

• The father, often the first thing he does when he holds the baby.
• A grandfather, uncle or respected relative, especially in South Asian and Arab families where this is an honour.
• Any Muslim present, if the family wishes.

What about the mother? Many scholars point out that this is not the public call to prayer, so a mother saying it softly to her own baby raises none of the usual questions. If you would like a firm answer for your situation, ask a scholar you trust.

How to do it

1. Wait until your baby is settled. Skin-to-skin, the first feed and the midwife’s checks come first. There is no rush; a few hours later is fine.
2. Hold the baby close. Cradle them so your mouth is near the right ear.
3. Speak softly. Say the words of the adhan in a low, gentle voice, not the full volume you would use to call people to prayer. Newborn ears are sensitive.
4. Turn to the left ear for the iqamah, if you follow that view.
5. Make dua. Ask Allah to bless your child, protect them and make them among the righteous. This is a lovely moment to do it in your own words.

In hospital. Midwives in most countries are used to this. A simple “We’d like to say a short prayer in the baby’s ear” is enough. If your baby is in the neonatal unit, ask the nurses when you can hold them; it can wait until then. After a caesarean, the father or a relative can do it while the mother recovers, or you can wait until she is ready to be there.

At home or in a Muslim-majority country, the adhan is often part of a small family gathering, sometimes alongside tahnik. Keep it calm and keep the circle small; the baby and mother need rest more than an audience.

If you missed it

Babies arrive fast, in cars and in operating theatres. Phones die, fathers get stuck in traffic. If the adhan didn’t happen:

• Nothing needs to be made up. Even scholars who recommend it don’t treat it as obligatory.
• Some families say it later that day or in the following days. If you’d like to, ask your scholar whether they see a benefit in it.
• Don’t carry guilt. Your child’s faith is built over eighteen years of love, example and dua, not decided in the first hour.

The adhan is one of several things families do in the first week. For the rest, from naming to the aqiqah, see our guide to what to do when a Muslim baby is born.