Question Summary:
Can you please elaborate on Aqeeqah? Question Detail:
When a child is born, people offer similar sacrifice. I think it is called aqeeqah. Can you elaborate on this?
Answer :
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The word Aqeeqah refers to that animal which is slaughtered on the seventh day upon the birth of a child[1]. The practice of Aqeeqah is encouraged in Islam. This is understood from following Ahadith
عن ابن عباس ان رسول الله صلي الله عليه وسلم عق عن الحسن والحسين كبشا كبشا
Rasulullah )Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam( carried out the Aqeeqah of Hasan )Radhiyallahu Anhu( and Husain )Radhiyallahu Anhu( by slaughtering one ram each.[2]
من ولد له ولد فأحب أن ينسك عنه فلينسك عن الغلام شاتان مكافئتان وعن الجارية شاة Rasulullah )Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said,” whosoever wishes to slaughter on behalf of his newborn child, should slaughter two sheep for a boy and one sheep for a girl.[3]
كنا في للجاهلية إذا ولد لأحدنا غلام ذبح شاة ولطخ رأسه بدمها فلما جاء الله بالإسلام كنا نذبح شاة ونحلق رأسه ونلطخه بزعفران
Buraidah )Radhiyallahu Anhu( mentions, “prior to Islam when one of us had a newborn boy, he would slaughter one sheep and smear the head of the newborn with its blood. When Allah blessed us with Islam, we began slaughtering one sheep. Thereafter, we would shave the child’s hair and apply saffron”.[4]
The procedure of Aqeeqah[5]
If the newborn is a boy, then slaughter two sheep.
If the newborn is a girl, then slaughter one sheep.
The hair of the child should be shaved.
Saffron should be applied to the head of the newborn after shaving the hair.
Gold and silver equivalent to the shaved hair in weight should be given in charity.
Specification of the day[6]
The ideal situation would be to slaughter on the seventh day after the birth of the child. However, if for some reason one forgot to do so then he can do it on the following seventh day. One easy method of determining the seventh day is by taking note of the day on which the child was born, on the following week one day before this will be the seventh day. For example, if the child was born on a Thursday then the seventh day on the following week would be a Wednesday.
Miscellaneous Masaail [7]
On the seventh day a name should be given to the child.
All the laws pertaining to Qurbani (Udhiyyah) relating to the animal will apply to Aqeeqah.
If per chance only one animal is slaughtered on behalf of a boy then too the Aqeeqah would be fulfilled.
There are no restrictions as to how the meat of the animal should be used i.e he can consume it himself, feed his family, distribute it amongst the poor etc.
While doing Aqeeqah is permissible and encouraged, it is not compulsory to do so[8]. If one does not have the financial means to perform Aqeeqah, one does not have to burden himself to do it. It is unfortunate that in some societies, parents are put under undue pressure by families to do Aqeeqah in spite of not having the means to do so. Such pressure and succumbing to that pressure are both un-Islamic.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Muntasir Zaman
Student Darul Iftaa
New York, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net
[1] احكام القران للجصاص باب ما يحرم من النساء" مِثْلُ الشَّعْرِ الَّذِي يُوَلِّدُ الصَّبِيُّ وَهُوَ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ يُسَمَّى عَقِيقَةً ثُمَّ سُمِّيت الشَّاةُ الَّتِي تُذْبَحُ عَنْهُ عِنْدَ حَلْقِ ذَلِكَ الشَّعْرِ عَقِيقَةً"
اعلاء السنن 120/17 مكتبة إدارة القران نقلا عن الاصمعي إنما سُمِّيت الشَّاةُ الَّتِي تُذْبَحُ عَنْهُ عِنْدَ حَلْقِ ذَلِكَ الشَّعْرِ عَقِيقَةً لأنه يحلق عنه ذالك الشعر عند الذبح
[2] سنن ابي داود رقم 2834 دار المنهاج ت. محمد عوامة
[3]سنن ابي داود رقم 2835 دار المنهاج ت. محمد عوامة
[4] سنن ابي داود رقم 2836 دار المنهاج ت. محمد عوامة
[5] رد المحتار 336/6 يُسْتَحَبُّ لِمَنْ وُلِدَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ أَنْ يُسَمِّيَهُ يَوْمَ أُسْبُوعِهِ وَيَحْلِقَ رَأْسَهُ وَيَتَصَدَّقَ عِنْدَ الْأَئِمَّةِ الثَّلَاثَةِ بِزِنَةِ شَعْرِهِ فِضَّةً أَوْ ذَهَبًا ثُمَّ يَعِقُّ عِنْدَ الْحَلْقِ عَقِيقَةً إبَاحَةً عَلَى مَا فِي الْجَامِعِ الْمَحْبُوبِيِّ، أَوْ تَطَوُّعًا عَلَى مَا فِي شَرْحِ الطَّحَاوِيِّ، وَهِيَ شَاةٌ تَصْلُحُ لِلْأُضْحِيَّةِ تُذْبَحُ لِلذَّكَرِ وَالْأُنْثَى سَوَاءٌ فَرَّقَ لَحْمَهَا نِيئًا أَوْ طَبَخَهُ بِحُمُوضَةٍ أَوْ بِدُونِهَا مَعَ كَسْرِ عَظْمِهَا أَوْ لَا وَاِتِّخَاذِ دَعْوَةٍ أَوْ لَا، وَبِهِ قَالَ مَالِكٌ. وَسَنَّهَا الشَّافِعِيُّ وَأَحْمَدُ سُنَّةً مُؤَكَّدَةً شَاتَانِ عَنْ الْغُلَامِ وَشَاةٌ عَنْ الْجَارِيَةِ غُرَرُ الْأَفْكَارِ مُلَخَّصًا، وَاَللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَعْلَمُ.
بهشتى زيور اداره اشاعت دينيات تيسرا حصه صفحه 164
[8] رد المحتار 326/6 على انه وان قلنا انها مباحة لكن بقصد الشكر تصير قربة
فتاوى محموديه مكتبه محموديه 417/26
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