1184 – Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Every newborn is held in pledge for his ʿaqīqah: it is slaughtered for him on the seventh day, his head is shaved, and he is given a name.” Narrated by Aḥmad and the Four Sunan compilers, and al-Tirmidhī declared it authentic.(1)

Grade of the ḥadith
The ḥadith is ṣaḥīḥ. It was recorded by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, and others, all through the chain of Qatādah → al-Ḥasan → Samurah. Al-Tirmidhī said, “A ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ ḥadith.” Al-Ḥākim judged its chain sound, and al-Dhahabī agreed. ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq also graded it ṣaḥīḥ. Al-Bukhārī, in his Ṣaḥīḥ, transmits—through the route of al-Ḥasan—that he heard the ḥadith on the ʿaqīqah from Samurah; no other instance of direct hearing by al-Ḥasan from Samurah is known besides this narration.

Vocabulary of the ḥadith
– murtahan bi ʿaqīqatihi (held in pledge by his ʿaqīqah): The newborn’s liability for the ʿaqīqah and his inability to be released from it are likened to property pledged in the hands of a creditor. Al-Khaṭṭābī said: Scholars have differed over its meaning, and the best explanation is that of Imām Aḥmad: “This concerns the child’s intercession; if he dies before an ʿaqīqah is offered on his behalf, he will not intercede for his parents.”

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – The narration highlights the emphatic status of the ʿaqīqah and that it should not be neglected under any circumstances,