Imam Ahmad (1) said: It means that he is prevented from interceding for his parents. Linguistically, a pledge signifies confinement. Allah Most High says:

“or stay behind (37). Every soul” [al-Muddaththir: 38].

The apparent meaning of the hadith is that the child himself is held in pledge, barred and withheld from some good intended for him. This does not necessarily mean that he will be punished for it in the Hereafter, even if, because of the failure (2) of his parents to offer the ‘aqīqah, he is withheld from what a child whose parents offered it receives. A child may miss out on some good because of his parents’ negligence, even though it was not his own doing. Likewise, if his father mentions Allah’s name during intercourse, Satan will not harm his child; if he omits mentioning Allah’s name, the child does not receive this protection.

Moreover, this merely indicates that the ‘aqīqah is binding and cannot be dispensed with (3). Its binding nature, and the newborn’s inability to be released from it, are thus likened to a pledge. Those who consider it obligatory, such as al-Layth, al-Hasan, and the Zāhirīs, may cite this as evidence (4). Allah knows best.

If it is asked: How, then, do you account for Hammām’s narration from Qatādah, in which this hadith reads: “and his head is smeared with blood”? Hammām said: Qatādah was asked about the words “and his head is smeared with blood”: How should the blood be applied? He replied: When the ‘aqīqah animal is slaughtered, a tuft of wool is taken from it and held against its jugular veins to catch the blood. It is then placed on the soft spot of the child’s head until the blood runs down his head like a thread; then his head is washed