The recommendation of other things like feeding the baby with rain water, warm water, dates and honey before anything else have also been mentioned in some traditions. Therefore, if possible, it is better to combine and mix honey, dates and some rain water or water from the Euphrates and then give to the baby.¹
This also indicates that the first food given to the newborn, like the first voices the newborn hears, play an effective role in the fate of the child.

5- Choosing a Good Name:

According to the traditions, choosing a good name for the newborn is considered as the first benevolent act the family performs for the child. It is imperative that through the guidelines set out by the Leaders of Islam, Muslim families choose the best names for their children. These guidelines are:
A) Families can choose any good name for their child.
B) The best names are those which indicate the servitude and relation of a person to his Creator.
C) The best names are the names of the holy prophets, the infallibles and religious figures in Islam, and the best of all is the name Muhammad.
D) For those who Allah Almighty has granted four sons, it is blameworthy if they do not name one of them Muhammad.
E) Choosing a name for a child should be done before its birth, and if it is not known what the sex of the expected child is, they may choose a name which is appropriate to both.² Of course, there is no problem in changing the name after the delivery.
F) After a boy is born, it is recommended to name him Muhammad for the first seven days, and then the parents may choose any other name they wish.

A) What is meant here by bathing is not simply washing, but a ritual religious bathing. Accordingly, the person who bathes the baby must observe the rulings of ritual bathing, such as the intention and the order of washing the parts.
B) This bathing is recommended, provided it does not harm the newborn in any way.¹
C) The act of bathing the newborn is recommended to be done at the time of birth, and it is permissible to delay it for up to three days.²
D) Some of the early jurists viewed that the ritual bathing of a newborn is obligatory.³

3- Reciting Adhān and Iqāmah in the Newborn’s Ears:

Here are some important points in this regard:
A) The Adhān must be recited in the right ear of the newborn, and the Iqāmah in the left ear.
B) It is stated in some narrations that the time of reciting the Adhān and Iqāmah in the ears of the newborn is after hearing it cry, and, in some other narrations it says that it is recommended to be done before the umbilical cord is cut.
C) This Islamic tradition indicates that the first sounds a baby hears play an important role in the nature of the child, and which also has many effects on his upbringing and future.

4- Feeding the Newborn for the First Time:

This means that it is recommended to mix a very small amount of the soil of Karbalā with some water from the Euphrates⁴ and put in the newborn’s mouth.
The reason for doing so is that performing such an act will influence the child’s aspiration to seek truth, justice and love for Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), penetrating in newborn’s soul from the very beginning of his life, as has been mentioned in some traditions.⁵