UAE Stories and Cultural Learning: Birth Customs
For an Emirati, having children is a blessing and a very important life task to be accomplished by all married couples. In the UAE, giving birth is at the core of the family life and the family is the pillar of the society. In the UAE, according to Islam, there are simple ways of welcoming a newborn child into the community.
The first words a Muslim newborn should hear is the adhaan, or the call to prayer. Those words are whispered into the baby’s right ear by the father. The baby’s first taste should be something sweet, parents used to soften a date and then rub the gums of the new-born with it shorter after the birth. Many events take place on or after the seventh day. At a gathering of family and friends, the child is formally given a name.
The aqeeqah is also traditionally carried out on the seventh day. It is a celebration which involves the slaghter of one or two sheep or goats. Animals are sacrificed by the father or close relatives; the meat is distributed to family members and neighbors. It is traditional, but not required that after one week the baby’s head is shaved. Along with islamic beliefs, it is prescribed for Muslim baby boys to be circumcised; this practice can take place any time before puberty.
Even today, the old traditions flourish and parents are proud to continue them, even though most of the babies come into the world in modern hospitals rather than in tents.
- Article from the book: UAE 101 Stories and Cultural Learnings
