The seventh day

1What the seventh day is

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Every child is held in pledge by his ʿaqīqah. It is slaughtered for him on his seventh day, his head is shaved, and he is named” (Abū Dāwūd 2838, ṣaḥīḥ; al-Tirmidhī 1522)^1,2. He also said: “With a child comes an ʿaqīqah, so shed blood on his behalf and remove the harm from him” (Bukhārī 5472)³.

What does “held in pledge” mean? Imām Aḥmad understood it as held back from interceding for the parents. Ibn al-Qayyim preferred another meaning: the ʿaqīqah frees the child from Shayṭān’s hold, as the ram ransomed Ismāʿīl⁴. Either way, it is a sacrifice of thanks offered for your child at the very start of life.

A small correction: one narration of this ḥadīth reads “and his head is smeared with blood”. Abū Dāwūd explained that this was a narrator’s mistake for “and he is named”⁵.

2Is the ʿaqīqah required?

The ʿaqīqah is not an obligation in any of the four schools. When the Prophet ﷺ was asked about it, he said: “Whoever has a child and would love to offer a sacrifice for him, let him do so” (Abū Dāwūd 2842, ḥasan)⁶. He tied it to the parents’ wish, and the scholars took this to mean it is recommended, not required⁷.

Al-Shāfiʿī said: “Two men went to extremes about the ʿaqīqah: one said it is obligatory, and one said it is an innovation”⁸. The schools sit between those two. Ibn al-Qayyim, whose book on the newborn is our main guide, concludes that it is a sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ⁹.

3One animal or two?

Umm Kurz heard the Prophet ﷺ say: “For a boy, two matching sheep; for a girl, one” (Abū Dāwūd 2834, ṣaḥīḥ)¹⁴. ʿĀʾishah reported the same (al-Tirmidhī 1513)¹⁵. “Matching” means close to each other in age and kind¹⁴, and either males or females may be used (al-Tirmidhī 1516)¹⁶.

The Prophet ﷺ made the ʿaqīqah for al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn. One narration says one ram each (Abū Dāwūd 2841)¹⁷; al-Nasāʾī’s narration says two rams each, which al-Albānī judged the sounder (al-Nasāʾī 4219)¹⁸. The Mālikīs and Ḥanafīs give one animal for each child, and Ibn ʿUmar gave one sheep each for his sons and daughters¹⁹.

A daughter has an ʿaqīqah just as a son does. Some early scholars gave none for girls, and Ibn al-Qayyim rejects that view as contrary to the Sunnah²⁰.

4The animal

The ʿaqīqah animal must meet the same conditions as the Eid sacrifice (uḍḥiyah). Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr reported scholarly agreement on this, apart from an odd view²¹. In practice: a sheep of at least the minimum age, or a goat of at least the minimum age, and no animal that is clearly one-eyed, lame, sick or emaciated⁷. A sheep or goat is the norm²¹.

5When: the seventh day, and if you miss it

All who hold the ʿaqīqah agree that the seventh day is best⁷. How the seventh day is counted differs slightly between the schools; the calculator on this site works it out for you (see “How the seventh day is counted” below).

If the seventh day passes, the schools differ. The Ḥanbalīs recommend the fourteenth, then the twenty-first, then any day after that¹³. A Shāfiʿī authority also recommends the fourteenth and twenty-first, and in that school the ʿaqīqah never expires, though it should not be delayed past puberty¹². The relied-upon Mālikī view is that its time ends at sunset on the seventh day¹¹.

The fourteenth and twenty-first come from a report of Buraydah and a saying of ʿĀʾishah, and both are graded differently by the scholars (see below). The Ḥanbalīs reason that ʿĀʾishah would not have named such days from her own opinion⁷. Ibn al-Qayyim adds that the days are a recommendation: an ʿaqīqah on the fourth, eighth or tenth day is still valid²².

What if no ʿaqīqah was ever done for you, and you are now an adult? The Shāfiʿīs say the recommendation for your parents ends at puberty, and you may choose to do it for yourself¹². Imām Aḥmad said “that is on the father”. The Kashshāf says doing it yourself is not disliked, though it does not take the ruling of an ʿaqīqah, while a group of Ḥanbalī scholars recommend it^13,23. The report that the Prophet ﷺ did an ʿaqīqah for himself as an adult is disputed (see below).

If the seventh day falls on Eid al-Aḍḥā, the Ḥanbalīs say one animal, intended for both, counts as the ʿaqīqah and the Eid sacrifice¹³. Imām Aḥmad was reported with more than one answer on this²⁴.

6At the slaughter

Say “Bismillāh” at the slaughter, as with any slaughter. The intention that this animal is your child’s ʿaqīqah is what makes it an ʿaqīqah¹², and it is good to name the child aloud as well. A wording reported through ʿĀʾishah, which Ibn al-Mundhir called ḥasan, is below²⁹. Ibn al-Mundhir added that if you intend the ʿaqīqah without saying the child’s name, that is enough³⁰.

You do not have to slaughter it yourself. The ʿaqīqah follows the rules of the uḍḥiyah^12,13, so a butcher, a farm or a charity can do it on your behalf. Tell them it is an ʿaqīqah, and give them the child’s name.

7The meat: cook it, share it, enjoy it

Ibn al-Qayyim preferred cooking the meat to handing it out raw. Cooked food spares the poor and your neighbours the work, and a ready meal brings more joy³¹. The Shāfiʿīs recommend something sweet in the cooking, as a good omen for the child’s character¹².

Eat from it, give some as gifts, and give some in charity, as with the Eid sacrifice⁷. Several schools mention sending a share to the midwife. In a hospital birth, that could be your midwife or doula, if she would welcome it^12,13.

Some scholars recommend cutting the animal at the joints without breaking the bones, as a good omen for the child’s soundness. Others allow breaking them freely. No authentic ḥadīth from the Prophet ﷺ forbids it^12,11.

8Through a charity abroad, or locally in the US?

Both are valid. The ʿaqīqah follows the Eid sacrifice, which may be delegated¹². Choose what suits your family this week.

A charity abroad is simple and usually cheaper, and the meat reaches families in need. For example, on 9 October 2026 Penny Appeal USA listed $190 per goat³³, and Human Appeal USA listed $320 for a boy and $160 for a girl³⁴. We list these prices as examples only; we do not endorse any charity. Ask whether the charity slaughters on your baby’s seventh day, and for one or two animals. Some choose the country themselves³³.

A local ʿaqīqah, through a halal farm or butcher, lets you do what the books describe: eat from it, cook it, and gift it to neighbours and friends^31,12. It is more work in a busy week, but it can bring your community to your door with food and duʿāʾ.

If you follow the Mālikī school, check that the slaughter happens by day on the seventh day, since in that school its time ends at sunset¹¹. A charity working in another time zone may not be able to promise this.

1. Decide early

   Before the birth, choose local or abroad, and one or two animals.^14,10

2. Abroad: ask the date

   Ask the charity which day it will slaughter, and give them your baby’s name.²⁹

3. Local: book a halal slaughter

   Use a licensed halal farm or butcher, and tell them it is an ʿaqīqah.¹²

4. Share the meat

   Cook some for your family, gift some to neighbours, and give some to people in need.⁷

9Shaving the hair and giving its weight in silver

ʿAlī reported that the Prophet ﷺ made the ʿaqīqah for al-Ḥasan and said: “Fāṭimah, shave his head and give the weight of his hair in silver as charity.” It weighed a dirham or a little less (al-Tirmidhī 1519)³⁵. Al-Tirmidhī himself noted that the chain is broken. Al-Albānī graded it ḥasan with a supporting report, while al-Bayhaqī and others called it broken³⁵.

Fāṭimah’s own practice is reported in the Muwaṭṭaʾ, through a chain that does not reach back to her directly: she weighed the hair of Ḥasan, Ḥusayn, Zaynab and Umm Kulthūm, two sons and two daughters, and gave its weight in silver³⁶. That is why many scholars include girls. Ibn al-Qayyim gathers these reports in his chapter on the hair³⁷.

You do not need to know the exact weight. A newborn’s hair weighs very little. The Mālikīs say that if the hair is not shaved, you estimate its weight¹¹, and a Ḥanbalī scholar advises the same when no one can shave a newborn safely³⁸. Many families simply give a generous amount.

1. Find a gentle barber

   Ask a barber or experienced relative used to newborns. A baby’s scalp is soft, so safety comes first.³⁸

2. Weigh or estimate

   Weigh the hair on a kitchen scale in grams, or simply estimate it.¹¹

3. Work out the silver

   Multiply the weight by today’s silver price, or use the silver calculator on this site.³⁵

4. Give it

   Give the amount to the poor. Many families round it up generously.³⁶

10Saffron, not blood

Before Islam, people smeared a newborn’s head with the sacrifice’s blood. Islam replaced it with something clean and fragrant. Buraydah said: “When Allah brought Islam, we would slaughter a sheep, shave the baby’s head and anoint it with saffron” (Abū Dāwūd 2843)³⁹. ʿĀʾishah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Put a perfume of saffron in place of the blood” (Ibn Ḥibbān 5308, ṣaḥīḥ)⁴⁰.

So the scholars disliked any blood on the baby⁴¹, and saffron on the shaved head is the Sunnah alternative. Newborn skin is delicate, and many doctors advise against perfumed products in the first weeks, so ask your baby’s doctor before putting anything on the scalp.

11If you cannot afford it

Allah does not burden a soul beyond its means (al-Baqarah 2:286)⁴². The ʿaqīqah is a sunnah for those who can, not a debt hanging over your child. Imām Aḥmad encouraged a father to borrow for it, hoping Allah would replace the money⁷. The Ḥanbalī scholars add that this applies only to someone able to repay; otherwise he should not borrow¹³. In the Mālikī school it is recommended “for the father, from his own wealth”¹¹.

You can still shave the hair and give what silver you can, name your child, and make duʿāʾ. If your circumstances change, the Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī schools allow the ʿaqīqah later^12,13.

12How the seventh day is counted

The schools differ only for babies born in the daytime. In the Islamic reckoning the night comes before its day, so a baby born after sunset belongs to the next day. The Shāfiʿīs count the day of birth as day one. A baby born on a Saturday afternoon therefore has the ʿaqīqah on Friday, and a baby born on Saturday night has Sunday as day one and the ʿaqīqah on Saturday¹². Ibn ʿUthaymīn gives the same rule from the Ḥanbalī school: “born on Saturday, slaughter on Friday”³⁸.

The Mālikīs do not count the day of birth if the baby was born after dawn (fajr). For them, a baby born on a Saturday afternoon has Sunday as day one, so the ʿaqīqah is on the following Saturday. A baby born before dawn counts that day¹¹.

Sources

1. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2838 Samurah: the Prophet ﷺ said, “Every child is held in pledge by his ʿaqīqah: it is slaughtered for him on his seventh day, his head is shaved, and he is named.” Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 2838; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1165). al-Tirmidhī (1522): ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
2. Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 1522 Samurah’s ḥadīth: “slaughter for him on the seventh day, name him, and shave his head.” Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (Darussalam on sunnah.com); al-Tirmidhī: ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
3. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5472 Salmān ibn ʿĀmir: “With a child comes an ʿaqīqah, so shed blood on his behalf and remove the harm from him.” It also confirms that al-Ḥasan heard the ʿaqīqah ḥadīth from Samurah.
4. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §11, pp. 69–75 The purposes of the ʿaqīqah: an offering for the child at the start of life, a ransom like the ram that ransomed Ismāʿīl, and a meal of thanks at a great joy. On “held in pledge”, Aḥmad said: held back from interceding for his parents. Ibn al-Qayyim prefers: freed by it from Shayṭān’s hold.
5. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2837 The same ḥadīth in Hammām’s wording “and smeared with blood” (wa-yudammā). Abū Dāwūd: this is Hammām’s mistake; the others narrated “and he is named” (wa-yusammā), and this wording is not acted upon. Grading: ṣaḥīḥ except the words “wa-yudammā”; the preserved wording is “wa-yusammā” (al-Albānī).
6. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2842 Asked about the ʿaqīqah, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah does not love ʿuqūq”, as if disliking the word, and: “Whoever has a child and would love to offer a sacrifice for him, let him do so: for a boy two matching sheep, and for a girl one.” Grading: ḥasan (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 2842); ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Nasāʾī 4223).
7. Ibn Qudāmah, al-Mughnī (Ḥanbalī) 9/459–463 A sunnah per most scholars; not obligatory. Better than giving its value in charity. Two matching sheep for a boy and one for a girl; one for a boy is valid. On the seventh day, then the fourteenth, then the twenty-first (from ʿĀʾishah); before or after is still valid. Shave the boy’s head and name him on the seventh; giving the hair’s weight in silver is good; naming before the seventh is allowed. Smearing with blood is disliked. Its meat is like the uḍḥiyah’s, cooked in pieces without breaking bones.
8. al-Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ 8/447 Al-Shāfiʿī: “Two men went to extremes about the ʿaqīqah: one said it is obligatory and one said it is an innovation.” Recommended per Mālik, Abū Thawr, the majority, and the sound position of Aḥmad.
9. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §§1–7, pp. 36–61 The ʿaqīqah is a sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, practised in Madīnah; the reports against it “are nothing”. Obligation versus recommendation: Aḥmad would not call it obligatory, but said, “I would not like one who is able to leave it.” If he must borrow, “I hope Allah replaces it for him; he has revived a sunnah.”
10. Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī) 6/336 Name the child on his seventh day, shave his head, and (according to “the three imams”) give the hair’s weight in silver or gold. Then the ʿaqīqah, as something permitted (ibāḥah) or voluntary (taṭawwuʿ): one sheep fit for an uḍḥiyah, for a boy and a girl alike. Raw or cooked, bones broken or not, with an invitation or without. Al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad hold it a confirmed sunnah: two sheep for a boy, one for a girl.
11. al-Dardīr, al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr, with al-Dasūqī’s Ḥāshiyah (Mālikī) 2/126 Recommended for the father, from his own wealth: one animal valid as an uḍḥiyah, boy or girl alike, on the seventh day, by day. The day of birth is not counted if the baby was born after dawn. Its time lapses at sunset of the seventh (a weaker view allows the second and third weeks). Shave the head even of a girl, and give its weight in gold or silver. Breaking the bones is allowed. Making it a walīmah that people are invited to is disliked; it is cooked and eaten by the family and others in their own places. Smearing the baby with its blood is disliked.
12. al-Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ (Shāfiʿī) 8/429–433 A confirmed sunnah: two sheep for a boy and one for a girl; one for a boy achieves the basic sunnah. Same conditions as the uḍḥiyah; a cow or camel may be shared by seven. Joints separated without breaking bones (if broken, it is against the better course, not disliked). Cooked, ideally sweet; sending it to the poor is better than inviting them, but both are allowed. The day of birth is counted among the seven; if born at night, the following day. It does not lapse, but should not be delayed past puberty; then the person may do it for himself. Smearing with blood is disliked; saffron is recommended. Shave on the seventh and give the hair’s weight in gold, else silver, boy and girl alike.
13. al-Buhūtī, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ (Ḥanbalī) 3/25–31 A sunnah for the father; if two sheep are not possible, one; he may borrow if able to repay. The child does not do it for himself when grown (Aḥmad), but if he does it is not disliked, and a group of Ḥanbalīs recommend it. Seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, then any day; “it is not limited to childhood”. Shave a boy’s head, not a girl’s, on the seventh, and give its weight in silver. Saffron is fine; blood is disliked. Cooked with water and salt, no bones broken; give the midwife a thigh.
14. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2834 Umm Kurz: “For a boy, two matching sheep; for a girl, one.” Aḥmad explained “matching” as equal or close (in age). Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 2834).
15. Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 1513 ʿĀʾishah: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed them: for a boy two matching sheep, and for a girl one. Grading: al-Tirmidhī: ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ. al-Albānī: ṣaḥīḥ (Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1166).
16. Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 1516 Umm Kurz: “For a boy two sheep and for a girl one, and it does not harm you whether they are male or female.” Grading: al-Tirmidhī: ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
17. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2841 Ibn ʿAbbās: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered the ʿaqīqah for al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, a ram for each. Grading: ṣaḥīḥ, though al-Nasāʾī’s wording “two rams each” is sounder (al-Albānī).
18. Sunan al-Nasāʾī 4219 Ibn ʿAbbās: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered the ʿaqīqah for al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn with two rams each. Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (Darussalam; al-Albānī judged this wording the sounder).
19. Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik, Kitāb al-ʿAqīqah 26/1 and 26/4 The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever has a child and wants to sacrifice for him, let him do so” (26/1). Ibn ʿUmar gave one sheep each for his sons and his daughters (26/4). Grading: 26/1 is mursal (from a man of Banū Ḍamrah from his father); its meaning is in Abū Dāwūd 2842, which al-Albānī graded ḥasan.
20. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §10, pp. 65–68 The ʿaqīqah is for girls as well as boys, against those who limited it to boys. Two for a boy and one for a girl, per the ḥadīths of Umm Kurz and ʿĀʾishah; Mālik and Ibn ʿUmar: one for each.
21. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §§14–16, pp. 80–84 Only what is valid as an uḍḥiyah is valid as an ʿaqīqah (Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr reports consensus). One animal per child; Aḥmad did not favour one camel for seven children. Mālik: sheep are dearest to him.
22. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §8, pp. 62–63; §22, pp. 94–96 Aḥmad: on the seventh day, otherwise the fourteenth, otherwise the twenty-first. Mālik: the day of birth is not counted unless the baby was born before dawn. “The restriction is one of recommendation: if he slaughtered on the fourth, eighth, tenth or later, it is valid.”
23. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §19, pp. 87–88 Aḥmad: “that is on the father”, yet he approved of one doing it for himself as an adult if it was not done: “whoever does it, that is good.” Aḥmad called the Ibn Muḥarrar report of the Prophet ﷺ doing it for himself munkar.
24. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §18, pp. 86–87 When the ʿaqīqah and the uḍḥiyah coincide, three reports from Aḥmad: one animal counts for both, it counts for whichever was intended, or no answer.
25. al-Ḥaṭṭāb, Mawāhib al-Jalīl (Mālikī) 3/256–257 The ʿaqīqah is slaughtered by day; the preferred time is mid-morning to noon, it is disliked from just after noon (zawāl) until sunset, and between dawn and sunrise; at night it is not valid.
26. Buraydah (marfūʿ), al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ 4882; al-Bayhaqī, al-Sunan al-Kubrā 19771 “The ʿaqīqah is slaughtered on the seventh, the fourteenth or the twenty-first.” Grading: Disputed. al-Albānī: ḍaʿīf in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1170, but ṣaḥīḥ in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ 4132. al-Ṭabarānī: only Ismāʿīl ibn Muslim narrated it from Qatādah. al-Suyūṭī: ṣaḥīḥ.
27. ʿĀʾishah (her own saying), al-Ḥākim, al-Mustadrak 7804; Ibn al-Mundhir “The sunnah is two matching sheep for a boy and one for a girl, cut at the joints with no bone broken; one eats, feeds and gives charity; on the seventh day, or else the fourteenth, or else the twenty-first.” Grading: Disputed. al-Ḥākim: ṣaḥīḥ al-isnād. al-Albānī: the chain looks sound but has defects: a break, irregularity and an inserted phrase (Irwāʾ 4/395; maʿlūl, Irwāʾ 1179). Ibn Ḥazm: not authentic (al-Muḥallā 7/529).
28. Anas, al-Bayhaqī, al-Sunan al-Kubrā 9/300; al-Ṭabarānī, al-Awsaṭ 994 The Prophet ﷺ made an ʿaqīqah for himself after he became a prophet. Grading: Disputed. al-Bayhaqī: munkar. al-Nawawī: bāṭil (al-Majmūʿ 8/431). Ibn Ḥajar: not established (Fatḥ al-Bārī 9/509). Its well-known narrator ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥarrar is abandoned. al-Albānī: “its chain is ḥasan” through another route (al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah 2726).
29. ʿĀʾishah, via Ibn al-Mundhir; quoted in Kashshāf al-Qināʿ 3/31 At the slaughter say: “In the name of Allah. O Allah, for You and to You: this is the ʿaqīqah of so-and-so.” (In Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, Ibn al-Mundhir narrates it from ʿĀʾishah from the Prophet ﷺ: “Slaughter in his name and say…”) Grading: Ibn al-Mundhir: ḥasan. al-ʿIrāqī (Ṭarḥ al-Tathrīb 5/212): one chain has a weak narrator, and it was also narrated with a ḥasan chain.
30. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §21, pp. 93–94 Say “Bismillāh” and name the child whose ʿaqīqah it is. Ibn al-Mundhir: “this is ḥasan; and if he intends the ʿaqīqah and does not say it aloud, it suffices.” Aḥmad: say Bismillāh and slaughter with the intention.
31. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §§12–13 and 17, pp. 75–80, 84–86 Cooking it is better than giving it raw: it spares the poor and the neighbours the work, and cooked food brings more joy. Not breaking the bones is a good omen for the child’s soundness (Aḥmad); Mālik and al-Zuhrī allowed breaking them. Eat, gift and give in charity, and send something to the midwife.
32. Muḥammad al-Bāqir (mursal), Abū Dāwūd, al-Marāsīl 379 About the ʿaqīqah Fāṭimah made for al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn: “Send a leg to the midwife, eat and feed others, and do not break any of its bones.” Grading: mursal (a Successor reporting from the Prophet ﷺ): Ibn Ḥazm, Ibn al-Qayyim (Zād al-Maʿād 2/303); Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ: broken chain.
33. Penny Appeal USA, Aqiqah Program (price page, viewed 2026-10-09) “The sunnah is to sacrifice two goats for a boy and one goat for a girl. The current price of a goat is $190 but is subject to change.” The country is chosen by the charity.
34. Human Appeal USA, Aqiqa (price page, viewed 2026-10-09) Aqiqa (boy) $320; Aqiqa (girl) $160.
35. Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 1519 ʿAlī: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made the ʿaqīqah for al-Ḥasan with a sheep and said, “Fāṭimah, shave his head and give the weight of his hair in silver.” It weighed a dirham or part of one. Grading: Graded differently. al-Tirmidhī: “ḥasan gharīb, and its chain is not connected” (Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī did not meet ʿAlī). al-Albānī: ḥasan (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tirmidhī 1519), with a supporting chain (Irwāʾ 1175). al-Bayhaqī and Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ: munqaṭiʿ (broken). Ibn Bāz: the weighing of the hair is not authentic.
36. Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik, Kitāb al-ʿAqīqah 26/2–3 Fāṭimah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, weighed the hair of Ḥasan, Ḥusayn, Zaynab and Umm Kulthūm, and gave its weight in silver in charity. Grading: A report of Fāṭimah’s practice through Muḥammad al-Bāqir, who did not meet her (mursal).
37. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 7, pp. 97–100 Scholars recommended shaving the baby’s head at the ʿaqīqah (Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr). Aḥmad: recommended on the seventh day, “no harm” in giving its weight in silver. Fāṭimah did so for her children. The Prophet ﷺ forbade qazaʿ, shaving part of a child’s head and leaving part (Ibn ʿUmar, in Bukhārī and Muslim); al-Nawawī classes it as disliked (karāhat tanzīh).
38. Ibn ʿUthaymīn, al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ ʿalā Zād al-Mustaqniʿ (Ḥanbalī) 7/493–495 Slaughter on the seventh day: “if born on Saturday, slaughter on Friday, one day before the weekday of birth; this is the rule.” If no barber can shave a newborn safely, estimate the hair’s weight in silver.
39. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2843 Buraydah: before Islam, when a boy was born we slaughtered a sheep and smeared his head with its blood. When Allah brought Islam, we slaughtered a sheep, shaved his head and anointed it with saffron. Grading: ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 2843).
40. Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 5308 ʿĀʾishah: before Islam they dipped cotton in the ʿaqīqah’s blood and put it on the shaved head of the baby. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Put perfume (khalūq) in place of the blood.” Grading: ṣaḥīḥ: al-Albānī (al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah 463; Irwāʾ 4/389), Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ, and Ibn Ḥajar (“isnāduhu ṣaḥīḥ”).
41. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 6 §3, pp. 43–45; §11, p. 71 Smearing the baby with blood was a Jāhiliyyah practice. The Prophet ﷺ replaced it with saffron; al-Zuhrī, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad and Isḥāq disliked smearing with blood. The “wa-yudammā” wording is Hammām’s mistake.
42. Qurʾān, al-Baqarah 2:286 Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear.
43. al-Mawsūʿah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaytiyyah 30/278–279, “ʿAqīqah” The majority count the day of birth among the seven; if born at night, the following day is counted. The Mālikīs do not count the day of birth for one born after dawn.

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