Short answer
Praise Allah, then follow the newborn sunnahs: the adhan in the right ear, tahnik with a date, a good name, and on the seventh day the aqiqah, shaving the head with silver given in charity. Circumcision for boys follows, often in the first weeks. All of these are sunnah or mustahabb in the Hanafi school, none fard.
The newborn sunnahs are recommended, not obligatory: adhan and iqamah in the ears, tahnik, naming, aqiqah, and shaving the head with charity, are mustahabb. Circumcision for boys is a stressed sunnah.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Holds circumcision to be wajib (obligatory) and aqiqah to be a stressed sunnah.
- Hanbali
- Holds circumcision to be wajib and aqiqah to be a stressed sunnah on the father.
Explanation
A child is a gift from Allah, and the sunnah gives the first week a simple shape. None of it needs a scholar or a ceremony; parents and family can do it all.
Right after birth:
- Thank Allah and make dua for the child and the mother. See dua for a new baby.
- Adhan in the right ear, and the iqamah in the left. See adhan in the baby's ear.
- Tahnik: rub a little softened date on the baby's palate. See tahnik.
- A good name, now or on day seven. See naming the baby.
On the seventh day:
- Aqiqah: two goats or sheep for a boy, one for a girl, or shares in a cow. See the aqiqah day.
- Shave the head and give its weight in silver to the poor. See shaving the head.
In the following weeks: circumcision for boys when the doctor advises; see circumcision. Visitors may congratulate the family; see congratulating new parents. The mother is in nifas (post-birth bleeding), so she does not pray or fast until it stops, and the family should help her rest.
If any of these was missed, it is not a sin, and most can still be done later. Use the aqiqah calculator to find the seventh day.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:36
فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَضَعْتُهَآ أُنثَىٰ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ ٱلذَّكَرُ كَٱلْأُنثَىٰ ۖ وَإِنِّى سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وَإِنِّىٓ أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ ﴿٣٦﴾
But when she delivered her, she said, "My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah]."
Maryam's mother named her daughter and sought Allah's protection for her at birth.
Sunan Abi Dawud 5105
Graded hasan... أذن في أذن الحسن بن علي حين ولدته فاطمة ...
"The Prophet gave the adhan in the ear of al-Hasan ibn Ali when Fatimah gave birth to him."
The basis for the adhan at birth.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2838
Graded sahih... كل غلام رهينة بعقيقته تذبح عنه يوم سابعه ويحلق ويسمى ...
"Every child is held in pledge for its aqiqah, which is slaughtered on its seventh day, and its head is shaved and it is named."
The sunnahs of the seventh day.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Udhiyah, closing discussion on aqiqah. Hanafi rulings on aqiqah, shaving and naming.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the adhan. The adhan in a newborn's ear among the recommended adhans.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.