Aishah (radhiyallahu anha) said:
Babies were brought to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and he blessed them, and after having chewed something, e. g. DATES or ANY OTHER SWEET THING) he rubbed it against their soft palates.”
“Sahih Muslim”, 286a]
This Sunnah is called ‘تحنيك’ (tahnik): rubbing something sweet inside the baby’s mouth.
Science:
BBC: ‘Sugar gel’ helps premature
babies
Date: 25/09/2013
A DOSE OF SUGAR given as a gel RUBBED INTO THE INSIDE OF THE CHEEK is a cheap and EFFECTIVE WAY to protect premature BABIES AGAINST BRAIN DAMAGE, say experts.
Andy Cole, chief executive of premature baby charity Bliss, said:
This is a very interesting piece of new research and we always welcome anything that has the potential to
improve outcomes for babies born premature or sick.
Jaalhaque 