I said: The regions to which Abū ʿAbd Allāh never travelled were Herat, Sijistān, Kirmān, Gurgān, Rayy, Qazwīn, Yemen, and other areas, including Basra. He did, however, journey to Khurāsān, Transoxiana, Iraq, the Ḥijāz, Egypt, and Syria.
Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mandah said: I heard Aḥmad ibn al-Jahm al-Mustamlī say to a companion of his while I was present, “I asked his father, when ʿAbd al-Raḥmān was born to him, ‘Is the ḥadīth on the ʿaqīqah authentic (1)?’ He seemed to grasp my intent and replied, ‘Wait until the next child is born, for I saw my grandfather in a dream and he pointed out four to me.’”
A trustworthy narrator told us—passing it on from one equally reliable—on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Mandah, who said: “I heard my uncle ʿAbd…"
(1) The textual and practical hadiths that prescribe the aqiqa—namely, the sacrifice of two sheep for a male infant and one for a female—are soundly reported from Aisha, Umm Kurz, Abd Allah b. Amr b. al-As, and Ibn Abbas.
– Hadith of Aisha: recorded by Ahmad (Musnad, 6:31, 158); al-Tirmidhi (no. 1513), Ibn Majah (no. 3163) – declared authentic by al-Tirmidhi – and by Ibn Hibban (no. 1058).
– Hadith of Umm Kurz: recorded by Ahmad (6:381, 422); Abu Dawud (no. 2835); al-Nasa i (7:164–65); al-Tirmidhi (no. 1516); al-Humaydi (nos. 345, 1451); al-Tayalisi (no. 1634); Ibn Majah (no. 3162); al-Darimi (2:81); Abd al-Razzaq (no. 7954); al-Tahawi, Sharh mushkil al-athar (1:457). Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban (no. 1059) and al-Hakim (4:237) judged it authentic.
– Hadith of Abd Allah b. Amr b. al-As: recorded by Ahmad (nos. 6313, 6822); Abu Dawud (no. 2842); al-Nasa i (7:162); Abd al-Razzaq (no. 7962); al-Tahawi (1:461). Its chain is hasan; al-Hakim (4:238) declared it sahih and al-Dhahabi concurred.
– Hadith of Ibn Abbas: recorded by al-Nasa i (7:165–66) with a strong chain; also by al-Tahawi (1:458) with the wording: “For a boy, two animals; for a girl, one.”
There are likewise practical reports (ahadith fi l-fi l) from Ibn Abbas, Anas, Aisha and Ali stating that the Prophet performed an aqiqa for both al-Hasan and al-Husayn with one ram each:
• Ibn Abbas: Abu Dawud (no. 2841); Ibn al-Jarud (no. 911); al-Bayhaqi (9:299, 302); al-Tabarani, al-Mu jam al-kabir – chain sahih.
• Anas: al-Tahawi (1:456); authenticated by Ibn Hibban (no. 1061).
• Aisha: al-Tahawi (1:460); Ibn Hibban (no. 1056); al-Hakim (4:237).
• Ali: al-Tirmidhi (no. 1519); al-Hakim (4:237).
For the juristic debate on whether a single sheep or two are required for a male infant on the seventh day, see Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuhfat al-mawdud; al-Baghawi, Sharh al-sunna (11:264-65); and al-Tahawi, Sharh mushkil al-athar (1:456, 458).