Chap 04: ‘Tahnik’ and hair cutting ceremony

21 July 2018

Today we will be doing the hair cutting ceremony for Aishah. Traditionally, it is highly recommended to shave the baby’s hair after birth as it is believed that the hair is not clean. We will also be doing ‘Tahnik’ ceremony for Aishah at the same time at Darul Ghufran mosque.

Taḥnīk (تَحْنِيكِ) is an Islamic ceremony of touching the lips of a newborn baby with honey, sweet juice or pressed dates. Originally the date was softened by mastication by the pious person and rubbed on the infant’s palate. The Arabic word ḥanak (حنك), pl. aḥnāk (احناك), means ‘palate’, from which the word taḥnīk (تَحْنِيكِ) is derived.

Getting ready to go. She don’t seem happy that we are going to shave off all her hair lol.

We decided to have it at the mosque so that there will be more barakah. Plus, it is hassle free. We invited only our immediate family members to witness it with us.

Upon arrival at the mosque.

We were brought into a smaller room in the mosque and I am glad it could fit everyone! Also thankful that the ceremony is facilitated by the experienced Ustaz Abdul Aziz.

Aishah was sleeping in the beginning of the ceremony. We were hoping she would not cry and she really didn’t!

The process of shaving her hair. Ustaz started by washing her head with soap first. She was awake and was very still throughout! Perhaps she thought she was in a spa lol.

The taḥnīk (تَحْنِيكِ) part of the ceremony after shaving and cleansing her head.

Almost done.

We are done! She is back into our arms. A certificate as evidence of ceremony. Alhamdulilah everything went smoothly.

It was done within an hour. Alhamdulilah. We went over to Tampines Hub which was 5 minutes walk away for breakfast. Before that, a group photo of the family who made time this morning to be with us.

A wefie with everyone. All the beautiful photos were take by my brother in law, Azmi who is always ready with his camera. A wefie was the only way to include him in our photos lol.

He was busy snapping photos throughout the ceremony and this is one of the photos capturing him in action lol.

Thank you everyone, we really appreciate it. We can sense how much everyone loves Aishah. She was such a good girl throughout the ceremony. Alhamdulilah for that.

May you continue to grow into a well mannered muslimah who will make us, your parents and family proud.