Is it from the Sunnah that when a man wants to name a newborn, he should take him to a righteous and pious man to have him perform tahnik and name him?

The questioner : The questioner asks: Is it from the Sunnah that when a man wants to name a newborn, he should take him to a righteous and pious man to have him perform tahnik and name him?

The Shaykh : Tahnik is done at the time of birth, so that the first thing the child eats is what he is given for tahnik. However, is this prescribed for anyone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? There is disagreement on this. Some scholars said that tahnik is specific to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) for the sake of seeking blessing in his saliva (peace and blessings be upon him), so that the first thing to reach this child's stomach is the saliva of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mixed with the date. This is not prescribed for anyone else. Others said that it is prescribed for others as well, because the intention is to feed the date as the first thing the child eats. So whoever does this, there is no blame on him. That is, whoever performs tahnik on a newborn at his birth, there is no harm in it. And whoever does not perform tahnik on him, he is safe.