Q. Salaam. Please can you advise if a female can give the azaan into a baby’s ear once they are born or does it have to be a male?
A. It is Sunnah to recite the Azaan and Iqaamah in the ear of a new-born baby.
‘Ubaidullah bin Abi Rafi’ narrates that his father said: “I saw Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam say the Adhan in the ear of Al-Hasan bin ‘Ali – when he was born to Fatimah – the Adhan of Salat.” (Tirmidhi)
A male should recite the Azaan and Iqaamah in the ear of the baby. However, if there are no males present or available, then it will be permissible for a female to recite the Azaan and Iqaamah in the ear of the baby. In this case, the mother of the new-born baby may also recite the Azaan and Iqaamah in the ear of the new born baby on condition that she is not in the state of Nifaas (post-natal bleeding). (Fataawa Mahmoodiyya 5/455)
Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ismaeel Bassa