3 – The great majority of scholars hold that the ʿaqīqah is a highly emphasized sunnah and that the duty rests with the father. The Ẓāhirīs, however, deem it obligatory.

As proof, the majority cite the report narrated by Mālik, Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasāʾī from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, in which the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever among you wishes to offer a sacrificial animal on behalf of his child may do so—two sheep for a boy and one sheep for a girl.”

The Ẓāhirīs, on the other hand, rely on the ḥadith of ʿĀʾishah recorded by Aḥmad (24722): “He ﷺ commanded them to perform the ʿaqīqah—two sheep for a male child and one sheep for a female.”

4 – Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Slaughtering the ʿaqīqah is better than giving its price in charity, for it is a sunnah and an ordained offering prompted by Allah’s renewed blessing upon the parents. It thus embodies the meaning of sacrifice, gratitude, charity, ransom, and feeding others in times of joy. If feeding people is prescribed at the time of marriage, then it is even more appropriate at the ultimate goal of marriage—the arrival of offspring.”