Question:
Can one hold a baby while praying?
Answer:
It is permissible to hold a baby while making salah. (Sharh Sahih Muslim v. 5, p. 789-90)
Both Bukhari (v. 1, p. 138) and Muslim (v. 5, p. 789) related on the authority of Abu Qatadah that the Prophet Muhammad prayed while holding Zaynab’s daughter Umamah. In the hadith, it is mentioned that when he made sajdah he would set her down, and when he stood he would hold her.
This is also related by Ibn Khuzaymah (v. 2, p. 41), Bayhaqi (v. 2, p. 262), and Tabarani (v. 22, p. 438).
Hafiz Busayri related it. (Ithaf al-Khayrah al-Maharah v. 2, p. 248) Also, he related that Husayn came and climbed onto the Prophet Muhammad’s back while he was in sajdah. Then, he picked him up when he stood. (Ibid) Tabarani related a hadith wherein Hasan and Husayn would climb on the Prophet Muhammad’s back while he was in prayer. (Mu’jam Kabir v. 3, p. 51) Also, Abu Ya’la related it in his Musnad. (v. 8, p. 434)
And Allah knows best.
Shafiifiqh.com Fatwa Dept.