Source: Excerpt from “Aḥkām wa Masā’il: Kitāb o Sunnat kī Roshni Main” by Shaykh Mubashshir Ahmad Rabbānī
❖ Question:
If a man divorces his wife and later a child is born to that woman, who is responsible for performing the ʿAqīqah — the father or the mother?
❖ Answer:
When a child is born, the responsibility of ʿAqīqah lies upon the father, not the mother. This is because, in Islamic law, the financial responsibility — including that of the wife and children — is upon the man.
❖ Proof from Authentic Ḥadīth:
Sayyidunā Salmān ibn ʿĀmir al-Ḍabbī رضي الله عنه narrates:
مع الغلام عقيقة، فأهريقوا عنه دما، وأميطوا عنه الأذى
“Every child is in pledge for his ʿAqīqah. So shed blood on his behalf and remove the harm from him.”
📚 Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Ḍaḥāyā, Bāb fī al-ʿAqīqah, 2839
The wording “فَأَهْرِيقُوا” (shed blood) is a direct command addressed to men, indicating that this responsibility lies with the father, not the mother.
Another narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ رضي الله عنهما states:
من ولد له ولد فأحب أن ينسك عنه، فلينسك عن الغلام شاتان مكافئتان، وعن الجارية شاة
“Whoever is blessed with a child and wishes to perform a sacrifice on his behalf, let him sacrifice two similar goats for a boy and one goat for a girl.”
📚 Abū Dāwūd, Ḥadīth 2842
This clearly shows that the father of the child is the one who is addressed and responsible for carrying out the ʿAqīqah.
❖ Conclusion:
Even in the case of divorce, if a child is born and the lineage is attributed to the father, then it is the father’s obligation to perform the ʿAqīqah, not the mother’s. This ruling is based on both Sharʿī responsibility and explicit prophetic guidance.
