Taḥnīk (تَحْنِيكِ) is an Islamic ceremony of rubbing the palate of a newborn baby with honey, sweet juice or pressed dates.
[1][2] Originally the date was softened by mastication by the pious person and rubbed on the infant's palate.
aḥnāk (احناك), means 'palate', from which the word taḥnīk (تَحْنِيكِ) is derived.
[4] During the lifetime of Muhammad, Muslims would bring their newborns for him to perform taḥnīk upon them.
[5][6] In the collected Ḥadīth books, Sahih Muslim, by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Kitab al-Adab (كتاب الآداب) "Book of Etiquette", contains the account of the origin of the ceremonial ritual performed by the newborn's mother or father:[7] Anas bin Malik reports this account: The taḥnīk also exercises the muscles of the mouth and helps with the circulation of blood in the mouth - this may help the baby to be able to suck and take mother's milk.