55.3. CHAPTER AL-AQIQAH
It is Sunnah to slaughter two sheep as ‘aqiqah for a boy and one sheep if it is a girl. The animals are slaughtered on the seventh day. If it is not done on that day, then the fourteenth day. If it is not done on this day, then one slaughters on the twenty first day.
“It is Sunnah … [to perform] ‘aqiqah“: This is the third act of sacrifice that draws one close to Allah. Al-aqiqah is the act of slaughtering to commemorate the birth of a newborn in gratitude to Allah. (See al-Darar al-Naqi (3/792).) It is also a form of blessing for the newborn. ‘Aqiqah is classified as Sunnah muakkadah as well. The Prophet performed ‘aqiqah for Hasan and Hussain. (Reported by Ahmad (5/355,361), al-Nasa’i (7/164) from the narration of Buraidah.) He(pbuh) said, “Each child is obliged with ‘aqiqah.” (Reported by Ahmad (5/7-8,17), Abu Dawud (2838), al-Tirmidhi (1522), al-Nasa’i (7/166) and Ibn Majah (3165) from the narration of Samrah ibn Jundub.) It is a mustahabb act in conjunction with childbirth and an act of obedience to Allah. It is also an act of gratitude one shows to Allah for bestowing him the child. There is also a secret advantage. The newborn baby is blessed by this act of obedience done on his or her behalf.
“It is Sunnah to slaughter two sheep as aqiqah for a boy and one sheep if it is a girl”: This is the requirement in performing ‘aqiqah for the male and female child. The disparity is due to the fact that in some edicts, the female is portioned half of that of a male. The ‘aqiqah is one of four such edicts. The other edicts are: Inheritance law, Allah says: {The male will have the share of two females.} (Al-Nisa: 176) Pertaining to the law of indemnity, the blood money for a female is half of that for a male. A male witness is equivalent to two female witnesses. Allah says: {And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses.} (Al-Baqarah: 282)
“The animals are slaughtered on the seventh day. If it is not done on that day, then the fourteenth day. If it is not done on this day, then one slaughters on the twenty first day”: The time for slaughtering the animal for ‘aqiqah is any day after the baby is born. However, the best time to do so is on the seventh day after the birth of the child as the Prophet(pbuh) ordered it on the seventh day. (Reported by Ahmad (5/7-8,17), Abu Dawud (2838), al-Tirmidhi (1522), al-Nasa’i (7/166) and Ibn Majah (3165) from the narration of Samrah ibn Jundub.) The baby boy’s hair is shaved while that of the girl is not shaved, though ‘aqiqah is performed on her behalf. If ‘aqiqah is not performed on the seventh day, then it may be performed on the fourteenth day after the birth. If it is not performed on this day, then it can be done on the third week or the twenty-first day after the birth.
It is cut according to the body parts. Its bones should not be broken. Its laws are similar to that of udhiyyah except that there is no shared ownership.
“It is cut according to the body parts. Its bones should not be broken”: In the hope that it bodes well for the well-being of the child. However, there is no evidence for this.
“Its laws are similar to that of udhiyyah”‘. The laws pertaining to ‘aqiqah are similar to that of udhiyyah for example a third of the meat is eaten, a third gifted and a third given away in charity. Likewise, the owner may benefit from its skin but should not sell it. Another similarity is that the butcher should not be given any part of its meat as wages for his work.
“Except that there is no shared ownership”: I.e. seven people cannot share in purchasing the camel or cow for sacrifice as permitted in udhiyyah. It is not permissible as there is no precedent for this from the Prophet(pbuh). If one decides to sacrifice a camel or a cow, then he should do so and dedicate all of its meat for ‘aqiqah. However, slaughtering a sheep is better than slaughtering a camel or a cow for that was the commandment of the Prophet(pbuh).
It is neither Sunnah to slaughter a camel’s first-born nor to perform sacrifice in the month of Rajab.
“It is neither Sunnah to slaughter a camel’s first-born”: In the days of ignorance, people used to slaughter a camel’s first-born (al-far’ah) in line with their rituals. It was said that they slaughtered it for their idols in the hope of receiving blessings. The Prophet(pbuh) forbade this practice. (Reported by al-Bukhari (7/110) and Muslim (6/82 -83) from the narration of Abu Hurairah.)
“Nor to perform sacrifice in the month of Rajab”: Known as al-‘atirah in Arabic. There is no injunction in Islam to make a sacrifice particularly in the month of Rajab. However, this practice was a norm in the days of ignorance. They used to slaughter their animals during the first week of Rajab. The Prophet(pbuh) forbade the practice of al-‘atirah. (Ibid.)
No form of worship is exclusive to the month of Rajab as it was not specified by the Prophet(pbuh) In fact, it is a month like the rest of the months. Special fasts and prayers should not be performed in this month exclusively. No animals should be slaughtered exclusively in the month of Rajab as well. Furthermore, one should not perform ‘Umrah just because it is the month of Rajab. What is termed as ‘Umrah al-Rajabiyyah is baseless as there is no evidence to substantiate it.
The Prophet(pbuh) performed all of his ‘Umrah’s in the month of Dhul Qa’dah except ‘Umrah al-Ja’raniyyah’ which was performed in the month of Shawwal when the Prophet(pbuh) arrived at Makkah from Hunayn. (Refer to al-Bukhari (3/3) and Muslim. It mentions that the Prophet(pbuh) performed ‘Umrah four times, all in the month of Dhul Qa’dah except the ‘Umrah he paired with his Hajj.”) Hence, all of the ‘Umrah’s performed by the Prophet(pbuh) were in the sacred months of Hajj and none were performed in Rajab. This is proof that performing any act of worship exclusively in the month of Rajab is baseless and a refutation for that which is practiced in present times by those who are deluded (al-khurafiyun i.e. extreme Sufis).The events of Isra and Miraj should not be commemorated as is the practice of al-khurafiyun in the current era. The Prophet(pbuh) did not practice this. In fact, he did not even relate that these events took place in the month of Rajab. Allah and His Messenger did not reveal to us when Isra and Miraj occurred. If there was a pressing need for us to know the exact date of these events, then Allah and his Messenger would indeed have indicated it. The act of assuming the exact day and night of the occurrence of Isra and Miraj and commemorating these events as a festival is an innovation and acts that Allah did not prescribe for us. The Prophet(pbuh) said, “He who performs a deed that was not commanded by us will indeed have it rejected.” (Reported by al-Bukhari (3/241) and Muslim (5/132) from the narration of ‘Aishah.) He(pbuh) also said, “Woe to you with regards to the novel things. Verily all novel things are innovated and all innovated things are astray.” (Reported by Ahmad (4/126), Abu Dawud (4607), al-Tirmidhi (2676) and Ibn Majah (42) from the narration of al-’Irbad ibn Sariyah.)
By Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan
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