Introduction
Through studying the teachings of the holy infallibles (a.s.) regarding the rights of a newborn, one can conclude that a child in this stage has eight rights upon his family. These rights are as follows:
1- Honoring the Birth
The day that Allah Almighty bestows a blessing upon a person is an auspicious and blessed day of festivity1 . A newborn is a great bounty for a family, and in reality a birthday party is a form of expressing gratitude for this great divine blessing. To congratulate and give a banquet in honor of the newborn is also something highly recommended to do.
This festivity is, in fact, honoring the first divine blessing which is the creation of a human being. The newborn is brought into this world by Allah as a glorious blessing upon its family.
The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) once asked Imām ‘Ali (a.s.): “What is the first blessing that Allah gave you?”
Imām ‘Ali (a.s.) answered: “That He, may His tribute be glorified, created me and I was nothing to be mentioned.”
Therefore, it is appropriate and good to repeat the celebration of such occasions with the purpose of expressing gratitude to Allah for His blessing. Although there is no particular evidence (from traditions) to indicate that it is religiously recommended (mustahab) unlike the celebration of reaching the age of maturity (taklif) for which there are a number of traditions.
2- Bathing the Newborn2
There are a few notable points in regards to washing a newborn child:
1.. The Arabic word ‘id is derived from the root ‘awada which means ‘to return’, so the day on which missed out blessings are return to a person or to the society is called a festive day. However, this word gradually became used for any auspicious or blessed day. The greater the blessing of Allāh is, the festive is more magnificent and glorious with greater joy and happiness. Based on this definition, each day that a man does not commit a sin is counted a day of festivity for him. In this regard Imām ‘Ali (a.s.) has said: “Every day in which Allāh is not disobeyed in is a festive id day.”
2.. Some jurists have presumed that what is meant is the general washing and cleaning of the newborn. Refer to: Jawāhir al-Kalām, vol. ۵, p. ۷۱.
