ISLAMABAD: Religious scholars on Wednesday passed a fatwa that the azaan can be recited to newborns before they have been bathed.

The religious verdict was passed after reports of 200,000 newborns dying in a year due to pneumonia due to the misconception that the azaan can only be recited to them after they are bathed.

Briefing religious scholars at a National Ulema Conference, Dr Atif Butt of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) said five million children are born in Pakistan every year and that 55 out of every 1,000 babies die in the first month.

“There are three main reasons for their deaths including diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia. Just like mountaineers have to acclimatise themselves before starting their climb, babies also need to acclimatise to the environment after birth,” he said.

The religious verdict was passed to prevent thousands of newborn deaths from pneumonia

He explained that it takes babies about six hours to acclimatise and that giving them a bath so soon changes their body temperature.

“It is not mentioned anywhere in Sharia that babies need to be given a bath just after birth. We need to save their lives by removing misconceptions,” he said.

IIUI President Dr Ahmed Yousif Al-Deriweesh said Islam accords first priority to saving human lives which comes before performing religious practices such as reciting the azaan in a newborn’s ear. He said all religious scholars should make efforts to dispel the misconception about bathing newborns which will help control the high infant mortality rate in the country.

Religious scholar Dr Gulzar Naeemi said there has never been controversy about saving human lives in Islam and said the high infant mortality rate in the country is due to the lack of awareness, especially in prayer leaders in rural and remote areas. He stressed on replacing prayer leaders with scholars who can effectively guide people about religion related issues.

The fatwas of renowned scholars from all schools of thought were read out during the conference, which were supported by other scholars including Dr Raghib Naeemi and Ehtesham Akram.

Scholars from all schools of thought unanimously passed a resolution with the decree that there is no harm in not bathing newborns due to medical reasons before the azaan is recited in their ears.

The resolution suggested a focused approach in disseminating this decree throughout the country so that any misconceptions about the bathing of newborns are discouraged.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2018