QnA snapshots: The rules of Aqeeqah (3/9)

On the seventh day there are several Sunnah that need to be performed. The baby’s head needs to be shaved where all the hair is removed. After this is done, saffron is mixed with water and applied on the baby’s head. This was done as a refutation, to demolish the custom of paganistic ritual during the times of Jaahiliyah where they would take the blood of an animal and smear it on the baby’s head. Islam abolished this act and made it a good practice to use the saffron. Aqeeqah is the second practice to be performed where one goat/sheep is slaughtered for the birth of a baby girl and two sheep/goats are slaughtered for the birth of a baby boy. The leg or thigh of the sheep is given to the midwife. Charity can also be given to the poor. These are Sunnahs that many overlook. Often the number of animals slaughtered for the different genders is questioned. It’s similar to the situation of inheritance in Islam. A daughter must be sustained by her father from the day of her birth until the day of her nikah. A son must be sustained until he is 16 or 17, which is until he can stand on his own feet, whatever is done for him after that is done as a favour. On the seventh day the baby is also given a name. The most beloved names to All Mighty Allah SWT are Abdullah and Abdurrahman for a boy and Ammatullah and Ammaturrahman for a girl. Choose good names, 25 Prophet’s names are mentioned in the Noble Quraan. The Aqeeqa can be eaten by the family but it’s best to do what one does during Qurbani where the meat is divided in three portions – one for oneself, second for relatives and the third for the poor. This is not compulsory. Shafi scholars said regarding the Aqeeqah that the meat is cut in big chunks not small pieces; this is Tafaul – a good omen to keep the baby protected and is a good etiquette not a Sunanh.

Aqeeqah does not need to be repeated if a baby’s name is changed.