obligatory according to Mālik—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—and all his companions. They regard it as one of the sunnahs whose observance is meritorious and whose omission is not sinful. The evidence for this is that “the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about the ‘aqīqah and said: ‘I do not like filial disobedience.’” It seems that he merely disliked the name. He also said: “Whoever has a child and wishes to offer a sacrifice on the child’s behalf, let him do so.”

The report that “the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘A boy is held in pledge for his ‘aqīqah: it is slaughtered on his behalf on his seventh day, his head is shaved, and he is named’” indicates that it is obligatory. Our interpretation is that this applied in the early days of Islam, but was subsequently abrogated by his statement, “Whoever wishes to offer a sacrifice on his child’s behalf, let him do so.” Its obligatory status was thus lifted.

Some scholars adhered to the obligation indicated by this and other hadiths, and therefore held the ‘aqīqah to be obligatory. They maintained that anyone for whom no ‘aqīqah was offered in childhood must offer one for himself as an adult, relying on the report that “the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered an ‘aqīqah for himself after receiving prophethood.” Mālik—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—did not regard this report as authentic. He rejected it, saying: “Consider the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for whom no ‘aqīqah had been offered during the age of ignorance: did they offer it for themselves after embracing Islam? These are falsehoods.”

As for naming the newborn on the seventh day, as mentioned in the hadith, this was Mālik’s position—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—although there is latitude in this matter. It is related that, when his son Ibrāhīm was born, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “A boy was born to me last night, and I named him after my forefather Abraham.” It is also related that “‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī Talhah was brought to him on the morning following the night of his birth. He rubbed his palate with ‘ajwah dates, prayed for him, and named him ‘Abd Allāh,” as part of a lengthy hadith.

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Mālik’s well-known position is that the ‘aqīqah for a newborn is to be offered only on the seventh day. Ashhab related from him that, if someone cannot obtain an animal to sacrifice on the child’s behalf on the seventh day, he should not offer the ‘aqīqah afterward unless it is soon thereafter. Ibn Wahb related from him that, if it is not offered on the seventh day, it should be offered on the fourteenth; if that is not done, then on the twenty-first. Once that has passed, the time for the ‘aqīqah has elapsed,