I have a question which I would like to know the answer of as I am debating this with my family…
Elders in my family are saying that a Muslim woman cannot go out after having her baby for 40 days as she is unclean, so she has to stay at home for 40 days while her husband/relatives and so forth go out and do whats needed for her.
i know that a woman for health reasons should be more careful about her health after child birth as she is more fragile during this period.
is this more cultural then islamic?
Also - the elders say that the clothes the newborn child wears during the first 40 days should not be used again after the 40 day period. something mentioned about being “paak” as well , is there any basis of this in islam or is this again cultural.
The 40 days are significant in that you as a new mom are recovering from the stress of labor and delivery. It's a time to heal and get back on your feet. In the old days, new moms would be pampered with post-delivery massages, yakhnis and healthy nutritious meals to facilitate breastmilk production, and also given privacy to establish the bond with her new baby. These days, when not everyone has the luxury of relatives at home, the new mom needs to get up and take charge of her new life pretty much right away.
But clean or unclean is a state of mind. Don't let yourself feel any different otherwise you'll go into depression. Being a new mom comes with enough challenges as it is. The last thing you need is for someone to make you feel that way. Allow your folks to help you, but think positive and be happy.
I highly doubt there is any religious significance to it. I remember the wife of our imam visiting the masjid a week or two after her baby was born. So there goes the religion theory out the window.
You can't argue with elders as they have these issues confused and engraved in their minds now. All you can do it set the right practices with your upcoming generations.
How old are these elders ? 100 , 80 , 70 ,65 anyone younger than this should not have those kind of beliefs , religious or cultural. Specially if they are edumacated.
6 days after my c section I went to the walmart to buy some stuff and 8 days later I was driving around..I was later told not to drive for at least 2weeksbut I had no choice..hubby at work n having too many post partum issues I had to be going around to see docs,lc etc!
Babies don't fit into newborn clothes after 40 days anyway so they are not going to wear them.
I don't buy into such cultural rituals..there is nothing Islamic about them!
Niksik - your right, you deffo cant argue with elders, always get the response "im elder so i know better" lol
Mirch - Older then 65 deffo, but rubbing off on my mum and aunts! I asked my dad the other day, he agreed with me so thats the end of that debate hehe
GTG - Yeah not fitting into the clothes is a different matter but the cultural shizzle some ppl come out with makes me laugh and im not buying into it either.
