Tahnik — Rubbing Dates on a Newborn's Palate
Tahnik is the blessed Sunnah of softening a date — or a small piece of one — and gently rubbing it on the upper palate (roof of the mouth) of a newborn before any other feeding. The Companions would bring their newborns to the Prophet (ﷺ) specifically for him to perform tahnik and supplicate for them. Ibn al-Qayyim noted that the natural sugars in dates nourish, warm, and strengthen the newborn's brain and digestive system from the very first moments of life — a remarkable Prophetic wisdom that modern nutrition continues to affirm.
"The Prophet (ﷺ) would take a date, chew it, take some of it out of his mouth and put it in the child's mouth."
Sahih al-Bukhari
Category: Newborn Care