Question:
salam `alaykum,
Is it required for Naqshbandis to shave their newborn babies’ hair? My grandmother was objecting since we have a girl.
Answer:
wa `alaykum salam,
Shaving head of the babies is not a Naqshband rule, it is an Islamic Shari`ah rule. When baby is born after 7 days one should shave the hair, as the hair is connected with womb of mother, and in Shari`ah when you touch that hair which is growing it requires you to make new wudu. That is why shaving is necessary. And the Prophet (s) said you have to shave head of your children, boys and girls, and then weigh the hair and whatever the weight comes give that amount of silver equals to the weight of the hair as sadaqa. That might be 1 or 2 grams of silver. That is a Sunni and Shi`a rule, not a Naqshbandi rule.
Now if you don’t want to make the grandmother upset, just cut from top of the hair here and there a little and that is enough to fulfill this rule.
Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
