Jamiatul Ulama KZN Council of Muslim Theologians
Question:
I am expecting and would like to clarify a few things :
1) Are you allowed to buy your baby clothes before they are born?
2) Can you find out the gender of your baby?
3) Do you have to have natural birth or can you opt to have a caesarian?
4) Do you have to remain in the house for 40 days following your birth? as you are considered to be napaak
Answer:
1) It is permissible. We advise that if clothing is going to be purchased before the birth of the child, unisex clothing should be purchased as the gender of the child cannot be determined with certainty until birth.
2) Although this is permissible, you should not place complete faith in the report on the gender of the child. In many cases, technology has been proven to be wrong with regards to the gender of the child.
3) It will be best to have a natural birth if you can manage it and the doctor advises that it is possible without it being harmful to you or the foetus. Only in the case of necessity should you opt for a caesarean.
4) A woman who has given birth to a child does not have to remain in confinement for forty days after childbirth. This is a baseless practice and neither the Qur’an nor Hadith have made mention of such a practice. Yes, a woman’s Nifas (post natal bleeding) may last up to forty days. i.e.; she will be impure due to the post natal bleeding she experiences. The maximum period that she will remain impure is forty days. If the bleeding exceeds forty days, she will be clean from day forty one despite her continuous bleeding.
And Allah knows best
Suhail Tarmahomed (Mufti)
Jamiatul Ulama (KZN) Fatwa Department
