In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.

Book of the ‘Aqīqah (Sacrifice for a Newborn)

The ‘aqīqah is the animal slaughtered on behalf of a newborn on its seventh day. There is disagreement over why it bears this name. Abū ‘Ubayd related from al-Asma‘ī and others that ‘aqīqah means the hair on a newborn’s head. The sheep slaughtered on the child’s behalf is called an ‘aqīqah because the child’s head is shaved when it is slaughtered. This hair is the harm that the hadith instructs should be removed from the child. Supporting his explanation is the verse of Imru’ al-Qays:

“O Hind, do not marry a fool—
Reddish-haired, his birth-hair still upon him.”

Thus, ‘aqīqah and ‘iqqah mean the hair with which a child is born. Another interpretation of the verse is that no ‘aqīqah had been offered for him in childhood, and he had grown to adulthood in that state; the poet was disparaging him for this.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “The ‘aqīqah is the act of slaughter itself: cutting the jugular veins and windpipe. Hence, someone who severs his ties with his father and mother is called ‘āqq.” This explanation is imprecise. On his interpretation, the precise explanation is that ‘aqīqah denotes the slaughtered animal itself, since it is its jugular veins and windpipe that are cut. The word therefore follows the pattern fa‘īlah, derived from ‘aqq, meaning cutting, and has a passive sense, like qatīlah (a slain female), rahīnah (something held in pledge), and similar words.

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The ‘aqīqah was among the practices of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance that Islam retained. It is related from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Buraydah, from his father, that he said: “During the age of ignorance, when a boy was born to us, we would slaughter a sheep on his behalf and smear his head with its blood. Then, under Islam, when a boy was born to us, we would slaughter a sheep on his behalf and smear his head with saffron.”

It is therefore one of the established practices of Islam and one of its prescribed rites, although it is not