The Holy Prophet ﷺ giving the first bite of food (usually a date) to a newborn

Social Conduct of the Holy Prophet ﷺ

Hadith

وَعَنْ عَائِشَةَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَأٰى فِي بَيْتِ الزُّبَيْرِ مِصْبَاحًا فَقَالَ: يَا عَائِشَةُ مَا أُرَى أَسْمَاءَ إِلَّا قَدْ نُفِسَتْ وَلَا تُسَمُّوهُ حَتّٰى أُسَمِّيَه فَسَمَّاهُ عَبْدَ اللّٰهِ وَحَنَّكَهٗ بِتَمْرَةٍ بِيَدِهِ.

مشکاۃ المصابیح۔ (حدیث6343)

Translation

It is narrated from Sayyidatuna Aisha رضي الله عنها that the Beloved Prophet ﷺ once saw a lamp in the house of Zubair and said, “O Aisha, I think that a child will be born to Asma. Do not name the child until I name him.” So the Holy Prophet ﷺ named him Abdullah and performed tahneek for him with a date using his blessed hand.

Narration

It is narrated from Sayyidatuna Asma bint Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنها that she became pregnant with Abdullah ibn Zubair in Makkah. She says that she gave birth in Quba, then I brought him to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and placed him in his lap. He ﷺ asked for a date, chewed it, then placed it in his mouth. Then he performed tahnik, then prayed for blessings for him. And he was the first child born in Islam, meaning that the Holy Prophet ﷺ chewed a date or dried date and applied it to his palate with the tip of his tongue. This is tahnik. The Beloved Prophet ﷺ himself named him.

Key Points

•Tahnik (giving the 'ghutti') is when a respected elder chews a date or some other sweet thing in their mouth and then applies it to the palate of a newborn child so that the first thing to reach the child's mouth is the saliva and sweetness of a person accepted by Allah.
•The first food has a great impact on the child; elders traditionally have the first feed given by respected elders.