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.
In this fatwa:
1- It is recommended by the sunnah to say the words of the adhan in the ear of the baby.
2- It is a sunnah to shave the hair of the baby on the 7th day of his birth and give its weight of gold in charity.
3- If one is capable, he is recommended to offer `aqiqah on the 7th day of the baby’s birth.
Answering your question, Answering your question, Dr. Wael Shehab, PhD in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University and currently the Imam of the Downtown Toronto Masjid in Canada, states:
It is recommended by the sunnah to say the words of the adhan in the ear of the baby, so that the first words that the baby hears is the name of Allah, and the testimony of faith (that is there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).
It is to be called immediately after the birth, or very soon afterwards as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did with his grandson Al-Hasan, as is related by Abu Rafi` who said, “I saw the Prophet call the adhan in the ear of al-Hasan ibn `Ali when his mother Fatimah gave birth to him.” (Ahmad, At-Tirmithi and Abu Dawud)
The adhan should be given with its usual wording in a voice which is audible to the baby, not so loudly that it risks harm to the baby or alarms it.
According to some scholars, one may say the adhan in the right ear of the baby and iqammah in the left ear.
Ibn al-Qiyyim says the significance of saying the adhan and the iqammah in the ears of the child is that the first words he hears declare the greatness and majesty of Allah. The words of testimony are those which a man recites on embracing Islam.
In other words, this is a pronouncement of the creed of Islam. Besides, at the sound of adhan and iqammah, Satan distances himself. At this early age, the child is thus invited to Allah Almighty, to Islam and to the worship of Allah. This call forestalls temptation by Satan and ensures an unblemished faith. Moreover, it is a forearming against Satan and temptation.
If you are unable to say the adhan and iqammah in Arabic, you may seek the help of a relative, a friend, or an imam to do so on your behalf. If there is no one available to do it, you may say the adhan and the iqammah in your own language.
In addition, you may make use of a recorder, phone call, or a TV channel to let the baby hear the words of adhan and iqammah; but this should be done in a suitable healthy way that does not harm the baby.
Also, it is a sunnah to shave the hair of the baby on the 7th day of his birth and give its weight of gold in charity. It is also a sunnah to name the baby on the 7th day. If one is capable, he is recommended by the sunnah to offer `aqiqah on the same day; if not, one may delay offering it when he becomes capable to.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.