Saying 'Bismillah' when a child starts eating

QUESTION :

What is the ruling on saying 'Bismillah' each time that a child who does not speak yet starts eating, that is, saying 'Bismillah' on his behalf?

ANSWER :

Praise be to Allah

We put this question to our Shaykh, ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan al-Barraak (may Allah preserve him) and he replied:

Say Bismillah for your action, not on behalf of the child. In other words, you say Bismillah for feeding him, not on his behalf. This should be done when beginning the action, and not with every morsel you feed him. End quote.

And Allah knows best.

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