Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
There are no specific supplications that are uttered to ease the woman’s labor pains. However, we can cite this Hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his daughter Fatimah and her husband, `Ali ibn Abi Talib, a great supplication.
It was narrated that Fatima went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about the bad effect of the stone hand-mill on her hand. She heard that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had received a few slave girls. But (when she came there) she did not find him, so she mentioned her problem to Aishah. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came, `Aisha informed him about that. `Ali added, “So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us when we had gone to bed. We wanted to get up (on his arrival) but he said, ‘Stay where you are.’ Then he came and sat between me and her and I felt the coldness of his feet on my abdomen. He said, ‘Shall I direct you to something better than what you have requested? When you go to bed say subhan Allah thirty-three times, al-hamdulil-llah thirty three times, and Allahu Akbar thirty four times, for that is better for you than a servant.’ (Al-Bukhari)
Also some Muslim scholars state there are some Qur’anic supplications that may help ease child delivery.
Some of them state that Surat Adh-Dhaldhalah or Surah No. (99) of the Qur’an should be written on a paper and then mixed with a saffron liquid in certain container. Also, there is nothing wrong with writing other Qur’anic verses that speak about Allah’s knowledge of the pregnancy such as “ …And no fruits burst forth from their sheaths, and no female carrieth or bringeth forth but with His knowledge…” (Fussilat 41:47)
And the verse, “Allah knows that which every female bear and that which the wombs absorb and that which they grow. And everything with Him is measured.” (Ar-Ra`d 13:8)
The aforementioned verses should be written on a paper and then the paper can be mixed with saffron in a container. After doing that one should implore Allah earnestly to ease the labor pains while touching the woman’s belly gently.
Also, those verses can be recited in a cup of water, for example, make the woman experiencing the throes of childbirth drink it, and one may then rub the woman’s belly with water that remains in the container.
Another possibility, those around the woman at the time of the throes of childbirth can read the aforementioned verses on the woman with the intention of easing her difficulty.
All the woman’s relatives and people who are present at that time should implore Allah earnestly to ease the woman’s delivery. It stands to reason that Allah Almighty answers the supplications of the wronged if they implored Him earnestly.
Referring to this, Allah Almighty says, “Is not He (best) who answers the wronged one when he cries unto Him and removes the evil, and hath made you viceroys of the earth? Is there any God beside Allah? Little do they reflect!” (An-Naml 37:62)
As to the second point you have raised concerning the newborn baby, we would like to say that there are no specific supplications that are uttered to help make the newborn baby a righteous one. However, you can implore Allah while using any words.
For example, you can implore Allah while uttering what is mentioned in the Qur’anic verse that reads, “And who say: Our Lord! Vouchsafe us comfort of our wives and of our offspring, and make us patterns for (all) those who ward off (evil).” (Al-Furqan 25:74)
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.