Baby’s 7th Day (part II)

Aqiqa

Aqiqa’s literal meaning is to cut. In sharia, Aqiqa means to cut goats or sheep for the baby.

There are many ahadeeth mentioned in the authentic books of ahadeeth about Aqiqa. Some of them are:

Imam Bukhari writes in his “Saheeh” that

Narrated Salman bin 'Amir Ad-Dabbi:

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "'Aqiqa is to be offered for a (newly born) boy, so slaughter (an animal) for him, and relieve him of his suffering." (Note: It has been quoted in Fateh-AL-Bari that the majority of the Religious Scholars agrees to the Hadith narrated in Sahih At-TlRMlZY that the Prophet was asked about Aqiqa and he ordered 2 sheep for a boy and one sheep for a girl and that is his tradition "SUNNA".)

Mentioned in Ibn Majah that

Samura (Allah be pleased with him) reported the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to have said, "Every (recently born) child is pledged with 'Aqiqa. Slaughter the animal on his behalf on the seventh day (after his birth), shave his head and keep his name."

and

A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) is reported to have said, "Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded us to slaughter two goats for a boy and one goat for a girl."

Wajib, Sunna or Mustahab?

There are three opinions on this. Imam Abu Hanifah and his followers do not regard this as Sunna Moukida (emphasized Sunna) but as Mustahab (desirable). Imam Malik, Imam Shafie and their followers, Imam Ahmad and Ishaaq are of the opinion that Aqiqa is not waajib but an act of Sunna and Mustahab (desirable).  and Imam Hasan Basri and Laith bin Saad hold it as a waajib (compulsory) act.

When to perform Aqiqa?

From the ahadeeth mentioned above it is known to perform Aqiqa on the seventh day after a baby is born. But there are other narrations that show that performing Aqiqa on the seventh day is Mustahab and if someone for any reason can not perform it on the seventh day  then they can perform it on any other day. (Many people especially in Indo Pak delay the Aqiqa for years. This practice is not right)

Difference between Aqiqia of a boy and a girl

There is a difference of opinion on how many animals to be slaughtered for a boy and a girl but everyone agrees that aqiqa is for both boys and girls.

Imam Malik’s opinion is that for both boy and girl there is only one goat/sheep to be slaughtered as when he was asked about Aqiqa,

Malik said, "What we do about the aqiqa is that if someone makes an aqiqa for his children, he gives a sheep for both male and female. The aqiqa is not obligatory but it is desirable to do it, and people continue to come to us about it. If someone makes an aqiqa for his children, the same rules apply as with all sacrificial animals - one-eyed, emaciated, injured, or sick animals must not be used, and neither the meat or the skin is to be sold. The bones are broken and the family eat the meat and give some of it away as sadaqa. The child is not smeared with any of the blood .''

Rest of the Ulama agree that two goats/sheep's are to be slaughtered for a baby boy and one for a baby girl. They derive their opinion from ahadeeth like the following mentioned in Ibn Majah

Umm Kurz (Allah be pleased with her) is reported to have said: I heard the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying, "For a boy are two goats of equal age and on behalf of a girl, there is one goat (as a sadaqa)."

and

A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) is reported to have said, "Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded us to slaughter two goats for a boy and one goat for a girl."

So to summarize Sheikh Abdullah Alwaan writes in his “Tarbiyat ul awlaad fil Islaam” that it is desirable to slaughter two goats/sheep for a boy if the father can afford. If he can not afford to slaughter two on behalf of a baby boy then slaughtering one will also give him the benefits of practicing upon Sunna.  Wallahu  Aalam.

Many people may ask why there is a difference between a boy and a girl when it comes to Aqiqa but it is not for us to question about what is commanded by Allaah and His Messenger (saw) as Allaah says in Sura Al Nisa verse 65:

But nay, by thy lord, they will not believe (in truth) until they make thee judge of what is in dispute between them and find within themselves no dislike of that which thou decidest, and submit with full submission.

and may be it is to show that Allaah has given men authority over women as mentioned in Quraan Sura Al Nisa verse 34:

Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women).

Some rulings pertaining to Aqiqa

1. Same rules apply for animals of Aqiqa as for other animals of sacrifice for example sick ,injured animals can't be used, baby animals can’t be used etc.

2. Animals that can be used to slaughter for Aqiqa are goat/sheep/ram. some Ulama are of the opinion that cow and camel are not allowed, but others say they are allowed.

3. According to Hanafia (followers of Imam Abu Hanifah) there can be sharing in animal of aqiqa, for example one cow for the Aqiqa of seven girls is permissible or one cow for one part Aqiaq and six parts for the sacrifice of Eid ul Adhaa etc. according to Shafiees and others there can be no sharing in the animal of Aqiqa, for example 7 people can not share in one cow etc.

4. The rulings for the meat of other animals of sacrifice apply on the meat of Aqiqa animal that is it can be consumed by family, given to neighbours and relatives, given as charity but can not be sold etc.

5. It is desirable if at the time of slaughtering the name of the child for whom the Aqiqa is being done is taken, like O Allaah I slaughter this animal with your name and to gain your pleasure and O Allaah this is for (name of child )’s aqiqa. But if the name of the child was not mentioned still the Aqiqa is right and no need to repeat.

For more rulings of aqiqa consult any book of Fiqh.

Advantages of Aqiqa

There are many advantages which can be understood even by our weak understanding. For example:

As soon as the child is born a slaughter is done on his behalf to increase his bond with Allaah.

To protect the child from the calamities etc, its a kind of offering like a ram was slaughtered in fidyaa of Ismail (as) from Allaah.

It will be a source of Shifaa’a for the parents.

To celebrate the arrival of another Muslim in the world.

To increase the bonds of love and happiness between the ummah.etc!

May Allaah (swt) grant us the true understanding and the will to practce aameen.

Baby’s 7th day (part I)

Shaving Hairs

When the baby is 7 days old, it is Mustahab to shave his/her head and silver equivalent to the weight of the hairs (or amount equivalent to it) should be given to poor.

Imam Malik writes in his “Mowattaa” that Jaafar bin Muhammad narrates from his father that Fatimah (radi Allaahu Anhaa) had weighed the hairs of Hasan, Hussain, Zainab and Umm Kulthoom (radi Allaahu Anhum) and gave its equivalent amount of silver in sadaqah.

There are many health benefits as well as social benefits in this practice. Ibn Qayyim writes in his book “Tauhfatul Maulood” about the health benefits that it strengthens the child and also benefits his/her senses of sight, hearing and smell.

Sheikh Abdullah Alwaan writes in his book “Tarbiyat-ul-Aulaad fil Islaam” about the social benefits of this practice. He says that giving the silver (or its equivalent amount) in charity will fulfill the needs of the needy hence giving rise to a feeling of love and bonding amongst the Ummaah.

A point to be understood her is that it is not permissible to shave off a part of head and leave hairs on some part. For example shaving the centre of the head and leaving hairs around or shaving half of the head and leaving half with hairs. This practice is called Qaza’a and it is prohibited in Islaam. For more information on this refer to “Tarbiyatul Aulaad fil Islaam” by Sheikh Abdullah Alwaan.

Some suggestions on shaving Baby’s head

Clean your baby's head/hair normally as you do everyday.

You can use a manual razor blade or an electric shaver, also called an electric head clipper. Use it without the plastic guard to cut the hair as short as possible.

Make sure the room is warm.Its better to take off baby’s regular clothing and wrap him/her in an old but clean cloth so the hair doesn't stay in the garments and causes itching.

Shave from the hair line to the back, in small sections.

Make sure the shaver is well oiled to avoid hair getting stuck causing the clipper to "chew" your baby's hair.

Give your baby a bath after shaving him to sooth him and clean any hair that reached his body.

When A Child Is Born.… (part III)

Tahnik

Tahnik is an often forgotten and neglected Sunnah. Tahnik means to chew a date, take a tiny amount of the pulp and put it in the newborn child’s mouth. If date is not available then any other sweet thing can be used in its place though using date is preferred. Tahnik should better be performed by a pious person.

It is narrated in Saheeh Bukhaari and Saheeh Muslim:

Narrated Abu Musa:

“A son was born to me and I took him to the Prophet who named him Ibrahim, did Tahnik for him with a date, invoked Allah to bless him and returned him to me. (The narrator added: That was Abu Musa's eldest son.)”

There are lots of benefits in Tahnik. First and foremost is that it is a source of blessing being a Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Secondly this Sunnah is a very neglected one in today's day, so anyone refreshing this sunnah will get even more reward, as stated by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Third the child will get the barakah of having the first thing entering his/her mouth being a date (which was often eaten by Prophet Muhammad (SAW)) and the barakah of it being done by a pious person.

Some people also state the benefits of date for a newborn in terms of health, to which many people agree and many disagree. But being Muslims, for us this practice should be important even if there are no known health benefits as it incurs the blessings of practicing upon Sunnaah.