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According to Mālik—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—the ‘aqīqah is the same for a girl and a boy: one sheep for each. It has been narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever wishes to offer a sacrifice on behalf of his child, let him do so: two matching sheep for a boy and one sheep for a girl.” “Matching” means alike and similar to one another. A number of scholars adopted this view, including Ibn ‘Umar and ‘Ā’ishah, the Prophet’s wife, peace and blessings be upon him. Whoever follows it has not erred; indeed, he is correct.

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There are four opinions concerning when to begin counting the seven days after a child’s birth.

The first is to count seven days and nights beginning at sunset, disregarding the time before that if the child was born during the day or at night after sunset. The ‘aqīqah is then performed in the morning of the seventh day. This is Ibn al-Mājishūn’s view in his Dīwān.

The second is that if the child is born during the day, after dawn, that day is excluded, and seven days are counted beginning with the following day. If the child is born before dawn, however, even though it is still night, that day is counted. This is Ibn al-Qāsim’s view, which he also narrated from Mālik.

The third is that if the child is born in the early part of the day, before noon, that day is counted; but if the birth does not occur until after noon, that day is excluded. Ibn al-Mājishūn related that this was originally the view of Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—but that he later retracted it.

The fourth is that the day is counted even if the child is born during its remaining portion before sunset. This is the view of ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Abī Salamah. Asbagh preferred to exclude that day. If seven days are counted from the very hour of the child’s birth, that suffices. Success comes through Allah, glorified and exalted is He.