Aqiqa — Rawzat

The Hadith Foundation

The Prophet (SAW): “Every child is pledged by his Aqiqa, slaughtered on his behalf on the seventh day, and named and his head shaved.” — Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja (sound/hasan)

‘A’isha narration: “The Prophet (SAW) did Aqiqa for Hasan and Husayn on the seventh day, and gave them names and ordered the harm removed from their heads.” — Hakim (on the shaving being part of Aqiqa)

The ‘pledging’ hadith: “The child is pledged by his Aqiqa” — the word rahina (pledged) indicates that the child’s spiritual welfare is in some sense connected to the performance of Aqiqa; classical scholars interpret this as meaning the child’s intercession for parents in the Akhira is connected to this act, or that the child is in a spiritually precarious state until the Aqiqa is performed.

See also: Sunnat Al Nabi, Sadaqa

The Legal Status

The scholarly positions:

Sunnah Mu’akkada (Confirmed Sunnah, majority view — Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali): Aqiqa is a highly recommended Sunnah, not obligatory, but abandoning it without reason is blameworthy
Obligatory (a minority Hanbali view and some Shafi’i scholars): Based on the force of the prophetic command

The Hanafi position: Aqiqa is Sunnah mu’akkada — its abandonment without valid reason is disliked, but it does not become a debt that must be made up

Does it lapse?: If the Aqiqa is not performed in childhood, some scholars hold it can be done at any time; others hold that it specifically belongs to the seventh day and thereafter lapses.

The Aqiqa Animal

The numbers:

For a boy: Two sheep or goats (preferred)
For a girl: One sheep or goat
Rationale: The gender differentiation is based on the Prophetic practice (as in the ‘A’isha hadith) and the principle that a male child is considered to have greater future communal responsibility

The animal requirements: The same conditions as Udhiyya (Eid sacrifice) apply:

Minimum age: one year for sheep/goats
Free from obvious defects (blindness, severe lameness, obvious disease, extreme thinness)
The animal belongs to the Halal species

The cow and camel: Some scholars permit sharing a larger animal (seven shares of a cow or camel) — each share substituting for one sheep/goat. Others hold that only sheep or goats are valid for Aqiqa.

The Seventh Day and the Practices

The seventh day: The ideal day for Aqiqa. If this is missed, the fourteenth and twenty-first are also mentioned in narrations.

On the same day as Aqiqa (traditional):

The naming: The child should receive a good Muslim name. The Prophet (SAW): “The most beloved names to Allah are ‘Abdallah and ‘Abd al-Rahman.” — Muslim. Names of prophets, angels, and righteous people are encouraged. Names with meanings of servitude to the divine (‘Abd + divine name) are preferred.
Shaving the head (Halq): The child’s head is shaved on the seventh day. The weight of the hair in silver is given as sadaqa (charity) — a practice narrated from the Prophet’s practice with his grandchildren.
The slaughter: The animal is slaughtered with the Bismillah and a specific du’a’:

“Bismillah, wa billah. Allahumma hadhihi ‘aqiqatu [name of child], lahmaha bi-lahmihi wa damaha bi-damihi wa ‘azmuha bi-‘azmihi. Allahumma j’alha fida’an li-[name of child] min al-nar.”

“In the name of Allah, and with Allah. O Allah, this is the Aqiqa of [name of child] — its flesh for their flesh, its blood for their blood, its bone for their bone. O Allah, make it a ransom for [name of child] from the Fire.”

The circumcision (khitan): Performed on the seventh day according to many jurists. Some communities do it later (by the fortieth day or before puberty, at minimum).

The Distribution of the Aqiqa Meat

The meat of the Aqiqa is distributed like that of Udhiyya:

One third eaten by the family
One third gifted to relatives and friends
One third given to the poor as sadaqa

The cooking tradition: Classical scholars recommend cooking the meat rather than distributing it raw — for ease of distribution and to facilitate communal sharing. The bones should ideally not be broken (narrated as a sign of blessing for the child’s limbs).

Aqiqa in Bohra Practice

In the Dawoodi Bohra tradition, Aqiqa is performed with specific du’as from the tradition’s corpus, followed by communal meals at which guests are fed, Quran is recited, and the Da’i’s baraka is sought for the child. The naming of the child often involves the Da’i’s blessing — a new Bohra child is formally introduced to the community’s spiritual chain through these acts.

Aqiqa — The Islamic Birth Ceremony