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Can a female call out the Azaan in the ear of the baby at the hospital?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by TheMufti.com

Q. I will be having a caesarean at hospital and my husband will only be allowed for 1 hour in the hospital. When my baby is born and my husband is not allowed in the hospital, can I, as the mother, give the Azaan in my baby’s ears? How do I do it?


A. In normal circumstances, it is Sunnah for a maleto call out the Azaan and Iqaamah in the ear of the baby.

However, in the enquired case, if a male is not present or available to call out the Azaan and Iqaamah in the ear of the baby, then it will be permissible for a female to do so provided that she is not in the state of major impurity (menstruation/post-natal bleeding).

If she is in a state of major impurity (which is normally the case), then a female besides the mother of the child may also call out the Azaan and Iqaamah in the ear of the baby.

The Azaan should be called out in the right ear of the child and the Iqaamah should be called out in the left ear of the child. This should be done after the child has been cleaned and given a bath.

At the time of calling out the Azaan and Iqaamah in the ears of a child, the child may be held in one’s hands. It is Mustahab (preferable) to face the Qiblah in doing so. However, it is not necessary. It is also not necessary to keep the fingers in the ears, turn to the right and left or call out the Azaan audibly as is normally the case.

The Azaan should be called out at a slow pace and the Iqaamah should be called out at a moderate pace to differentiate between Azaan and Iqaamah. It may be given standing or sitting. If there is a delay for some reason, the Azaan and Iqaamah should not be left out and it should be done at a later stage. (Fataawa Mahmoodiyya 5/455 – Fataawa Darul Uloom Zakariyyah 6/503)

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

This answer was collected from TheMufti.com, which is a fatwa portal managed by Mufti Ismaeel Bassa from South Africa.

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