If a person offers the far‘ah with an intention like that of the people of the Age of Ignorance, then it is unquestionably prohibited shirk. But if he offers it as gratitude to Allah for this offspring—the first of its kind—and in hope of blessing in the future, then there is nothing wrong with it.

But is it a sunnah? The author says: “It is not recommended.”

His statement, “Nor the ‘atīrah”: ‘atīrah is a passive noun, derived from ‘atr, and refers to a sacrifice offered at the beginning of the month of Rajab. In the Age of Ignorance, they revered Rajab, because it is one of the four sacred months: Rajab, Dhu al-Qa‘dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram. They would venerate this month and single it out for ‘umrah as well. They also had acts of worship during this month, among them the ‘atīrah, which they would sacrifice at the beginning of Rajab.

The author says, “It is not recommended,” citing as evidence the hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, in which the Messenger ﷺ said: “There is no far‘ah and no ‘atīrah.” (1) Another narration states: “There is no far‘ah and no ‘atīrah in Islam.” (2) Specifying Islam in this way suggests that they were practices of the Age of Ignorance. For this reason, some scholars considered the ‘atīrah disliked, unlike the far‘ah, concerning which the sunnah has been reported. The ‘atīrah—that is, the sacrifice offered at the beginning of Rajab—is thus more deserving of being considered disliked, particularly since, if it is sacrificed at the beginning of Rajab and people are told that there is nothing wrong with it, people’s inclinations