“Every child is held in pledge for its ‘aqiqah. On the seventh day an animal is to be slaughtered for it, its head is to be shaved, and it is to be named.”
As in other Shari’ah matters, after examining the various evidences, the scholars differed slightly on this issue. Some scholars among the early generations of the Ummah, taking into account certain narrations, issued a ruling that ‘aqiqah is also prescribed on the fourteenth and twenty-first days, in addition to the seventh day. Whether the narrations about the fourteenth or twenty-first day are established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ or from the Companions is a separate discussion; they could not be established. Therefore, only the view that ‘aqiqah is prescribed on the seventh day is preponderant.
This difference was merely about combining the fourteenth and twenty-first days with the seventh. As for performing ‘aqiqah before the seventh day or after the twenty-first day, this is definitely not established from the early generations of the Ummah, namely the Companions, the Successors and the Imams of the religion. To our knowledge, up to the beginning of the fifth century AH, even after the best of generations, no scholar held or practised ‘aqiqah before or after the seventh day other than on the fourteenth and twenty-first days.
In the fifth century AH, some scholars of the Zahiri school, deriving from the apparent wording of the ‘aqiqah hadiths the ruling that it is obligatory, issued a fatwa on that basis: since ‘aqiqah is obligatory, it must be performed whether or not the child survives until the seventh day; however, ‘aqiqah cannot be performed before the seventh day. If ‘aqiqah was not performed on the seventh day, it should be performed whenever possible during one’s life. This was the fatwa of Allamah Ibn Hazm al-Zahiri, may Allah have mercy on him (368-463 AH).
This was a shadh (anomalous) view contrary to the teachings of the early generations of the Ummah. When this fatwa was issued, Allamah Ibn Abd al-Barr, may Allah have mercy on him (368-463 AH), the muhaddith of al-Andalus of the same era, refuted it in harsh words and said:
وأجاز بعض من شذ أن يعن الكبير عن نفسه .
“Some anomalous people have permitted that a grown person may perform ‘aqiqah for himself.”
Some distinguished and respected scholars also incline toward the view that a person of advanced age may perform ‘aqiqah. In support, they cited the fatwa of Hafiz Ibn Hazm, may Allah have mercy on him, and said: “No one opposes this view; rather, Ibn al-Qayyim and others are among its supporters.”
For their information, respectfully: Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, came three centuries after Ibn Hazm. His agreement with Ibn Hazm will not be of any benefit, because three centuries before him there was Ibn Abd al-Barr, may Allah have mercy on him, a contemporary of Ibn Hazm, from the same region, who died seven years after him, who rejected this fatwa as a shadh view and, giving hadith evidences (which we will also mention later), said:
وذلك كله سواء دليل على أن العقيقة عن الغلام، لا عن الكبير.
“All these hadiths clearly prove that ‘aqiqah is only for the child, not for the adult.”
Secondly, Shaykh al-Islam the second, Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, did not agree with Ibn Hazm. Rather, just as Ibn Hazm, through a shadh ijtihad, issued the shadh fatwa of ‘aqiqah for the entire life after the seventh day, for which he had no predecessor, so too Ibn al-Qayyim, through his own shadh ijtihad, issued the shadh fatwa of performing ‘aqiqah even before the seventh day, for which he too had no predecessor. The only difference between these two scholars is that Ibn Hazm extended the period of ‘aqiqah to the entire life after the seventh day, while Ibn al-Qayyim granted permission even before the seventh day. The common ground between them is that in the matter of ‘aqiqah, neither of them held on to the practice of the Companions, the Successors and the Imams of the religion.
Our respected scholars, declaring Ibn Hazm’s view to be correct, have also said: “On the correctness of this view there is consensus (to our knowledge).”
◈ This claim of consensus is very strange. After the explicit fatwa of Ibn Abd al-Barr, a contemporary of Ibn Hazm, mentioned above, there is no room for this claim.
◈ The statement of another contemporary and fellow-regional scholar of Ibn Hazm, the commentator on Bukhari, Allamah Ibn Battal (may Allah have mercy on him), is like adding gold to gold. He writes:
لا يعق عن الكبير، وعلى هذا أئمة الفتوى بالأمصار.
“‘Aqiqah cannot be performed on behalf of an adult. This is the position of the muftis and imams of all regions.”
◈ After this, in the ninth century AH, Allamah Ayni al-Hanafi also declared that the non-validity of ‘aqiqah on behalf of an adult is the position of all the imams and muftis.
◈ Then, in the twelfth century AH, Shaykh Abd al-Wahhab Najdi, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote:
العقيقه عن الكبير، ما علمت له أصلا
“I am not aware of any evidence for ‘aqiqah on behalf of a person of advanced age.”
◈ Then, in the thirteenth century AH, Allamah Muhammad bin Ali al-Shawkani, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 1250 AH), wrote:
إن وقت العقيقة سابع الولادة، وأنها تفوت بعده.
“Indeed, the time for ‘aqiqah is the seventh day after birth; after that its time passes.”
◈ Then in the fourteenth century Hijri, Allamah Sharf al-Haq Azimabadi (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 1329 AH) wrote:
إن وقت العقيقة سابع الولادة، وأنها لا تشرع قبله ولا بعدہ.
” The time for the ‘aqiqah is only the seventh day after birth. Performing it before or after that is not prescribed.”
◈ Then in the same century, Allamah Abd al-Rahman Mubarakpuri (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 1353 AH) also wrote that:
والظاهر أن العقيقة مؤقتة باليوم السابع
” The preferred view is that only the seventh day is fixed for the ‘aqiqah.”
◈ In other words, before Hafiz Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him), no scholar issued a fatwa permitting ‘aqiqah in old age, and from his time until today, scholars have continued to declare ‘aqiqah in old age impermissible with evidence, considering ‘aqiqah to be specific to the child.
◈ This discussion also establishes that until Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him), there was a consensus among scholars that the ‘aqiqah is only for the child. The isolated fatwa he gave against this consensus has no weight, because for scholars, such anomalous views of Ibn Hazm do not affect the status of consensus in matters of consensus. To confirm this point, please see:
◈ Allamah Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahim ibn Husayn, known as Ibn al-Iraqi (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 826 AH), writes:
ومن تبرع بصدقة عن حمل رجاء حفظه وسلامته، فليس عليه فيه بأس، وقد نقل الاتفاق على عدم الوجوب قبل مخالفة ابن حزم . . . . . . ثم قال والدي رحمه الله : ومع كون ابن حزم قد خالف الإجماع فى وجوبها على الجنين فقد تناقض كلامهٔ . . . . . .
” Whoever voluntarily gives Sadaqat al-Fitr on behalf of the unborn child in hope of its protection and safety, there is no harm in it. Before the opposition of Hafiz Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him), there is a reported consensus that Sadaqat al-Fitr is not obligatory for the fetus…… Then my father (Hafiz al-Iraqi, may Allah have mercy on him) said: When Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) opposed the consensus by issuing a fatwa that Sadaqat al-Fitr is obligatory on the fetus, his statement is also self-contradictory……”
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) (773-852 AH) writes:
ولم يعتبر ابن قدامة مخالفته هذه، فحكي الاجماع . . . . .
” Allamah Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) did not consider Ibn Hazm’s opposition and reported only the consensus.”
Arguments of those who prohibit
A hadith declaring ‘aqiqah in old age impermissible has already been mentioned at the beginning of this article. Since it states that the time of ‘aqiqah is the seventh day, it follows that ‘aqiqah should be performed in early childhood. For further clarification, please see after this hadith:
❀ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من ولد له ولد، فأحب أن ينسك عنهٔ فلينسك، عن الغلام شاتان وعن الجارية شاة
” Whoever has a child born to him and wishes to sacrifice on its behalf, let him do so: two sheep for a boy and one sheep for a girl.”
◈ This hadith states in two places that ‘aqiqah is only for the child. The words “whoever has a child born to him” clearly indicate that the time of ‘aqiqah is close to the birth of the child, and this is explained by the mention of the seventh day in the first hadith we cited.
① Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مع الغلام عقيقة، فأهريقوا عنه دما، وأميطوا عنه الأذى
” ‘Aqiqah is with the child, so shed blood on its behalf and remove the harm from it (i.e., shave its hair and circumcise it).”
◈ In some narrations of this same hadith, these words appear:
في الغلام عقيقة/عن الغلام عقيقة
” ‘Aqiqah is for the child.”
◈ In this hadith too, ‘aqiqah is linked specifically to the child, and the sacrifice of an animal on the child’s behalf is emphasised. Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) ‘s chapter heading on this hadith also points in the same direction, that this is a matter concerning the child:
باب إماتة الأذى عن الصبي فى العقيقة.
” Chapter on removing the harm from the child in the ‘aqiqah.”
◈ The commentator on Sahih al-Bukhari, Allamah Ibn Battal (d. 449 AH), in his commentary on this hadith, writes:
وقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ”مع الغلام عقيقتهٔ“ حجة لقول مالك انه لا يعق عن الكبير، وعلي هذا ائمة الفتوي بالامصار
” The Prophet ﷺ’s saying that ‘aqiqah is with the child is evidence for the view of Imam Malik (?) that ‘aqiqah is not performed on behalf of an adult. And the jurists of the cities are upon this view.”
◈ Allamah Badr al-Din al-Ayni Hanafi (d. 855 AH) also derived this same ruling from this hadith.
② The narrator of this hadith, the companion Sayyiduna Salman ibn Amir al-Dabbi (may Allah have mercy on him), says:
العقيقة مع الولد
” ‘Aqiqah is with the child.”
③ Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to say:
عن الغلام وعن الجارية شاة شاة .
” For both a boy and a girl, one sheep should be slaughtered for each in the ‘aqiqah.”
④ Hisham ibn Urwah narrates about his father, the Tabi’i Urwah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah have mercy on him):
إنه كان يعق عن الغلام والجارية شاة شاة .
” He used to perform ‘aqiqah with one sheep each for a boy and a girl.”
⑤ Imam al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say:
يعق عن الغلام والجارية شاة.
” It is sufficient that one sheep be sacrificed as ‘aqiqah for a boy and one for a girl.”
⑥ Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to say:
على الغلام شاتان، وعلٰي الجارية شاة .
” Two sheep should be sacrificed as ‘aqiqah for a boy and one sheep for a girl.”
◈ In all these hadiths and all these narrations, the words غلام (“boy”) and جارية (“girl”) loudly and clearly say that the aqiqah is only for the boy, not for the grown-up, because غلام and جارية are words used for a small child. In this regard, look at the wording of an authentic hadith: فإنه يغسل بول الجارية، ويرش من بول الغلام
“Indeed, the urine of a girl is to be washed, and the urine of a boy is to be sprinkled upon.”
◈ Just as in the matter of sprinkling urine, the difference between غلام and جارية, that is, between boy and girl, exists only at a young age and this difference ends in adulthood, in the same way, for the aqiqah too only the young age (the seventh day) is necessary, and in adulthood the time for aqiqah ends.
The Arguments of Those Who Permit It
Now, dear readers, look at the arguments of the scholars who issue the ruling permitting aqiqah in adulthood:
➊ عن أنس أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم عق عن نفسه بعد ما بعثت نبيئا .
Sayyidina Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ performed aqiqah for himself after he was made a Prophet.
◈ After mentioning this hadith, the scholars who permit it have written:
“It is clearly established from this hadith that if, for some reason, aqiqah could not be done on the seventh day, then performing it later when an opportunity arises (for example, forty years later) is permissible, and declaring it impermissible is wrong.”
◈ The Prophet ﷺ performing aqiqah for himself was a special act. How can it be that aqiqah in adulthood is permissible for the ummah, yet until the beginning of the fifth century AH not a single scholar can be found who held and practised aqiqah in adulthood, and then, if someone in the fifth century did issue such a ruling, the scholars strongly rejected it and declared it shadh (anomalous)? Nowhere in the aforementioned hadith is it stated that the Prophet ﷺ’s aqiqah had not taken place or that it had been left out for some reason. If someone says that there was no custom of aqiqah in the Jahiliyyah, or that the Prophet ﷺ did not consider the aqiqah of that era valid, then why did the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), most of whom were born in that very era, not perform their own aqiqah after becoming Muslims and finding the opportunity? The correct position is that this act was specific to the Prophet ﷺ.
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
ویحتمل أن يقال: إن صح هذا الخبر كان من خصائصه صلى الله عليه وسلم، كما قالوا فى تضحيته عمن لم یضح من أمته.
“It may also be said that if this hadith is authentic, then it is among the special features of the Prophet ﷺ, just as when he sacrificed on behalf of those in his ummah who had not sacrificed, the scholars said that this was specific to him.”
◈ Hafiz al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), while also mentioning this possibility, has written:
اؤ هو من خصائصه صلى الله عليه وسلم، كما ضحي عمن لم يضح من أمته، و قد عدهٔ بغضهم من خصائصه.
“Or this hadith is among the special features of the Prophet ﷺ, just as he sacrificed on behalf of the needy of his ummah; and some (scholars) have counted it among his special features.”
◈ Allamah Abd al-Rahman Mubarakpuri has also mentioned this possibility.
Note: Muhaddith of the age, Allamah al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) (1332–1914 AH), after mentioning the narration of the Prophet ﷺ’s aqiqah after the commencement of his prophethood, writes:
وقد ذهب بغض السلف إلى العمل به .
“Some of the early generation (salaf) acted in accordance with this hadith…”
◈ Let us now examine the narrations of the salaf that he mentioned and other narrations from the salaf:
It is attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him), a Tabi’i, that he said:
لو أعلم أنه لم يعق عني، لعققت عن نفسي.
“If I knew that my aqiqah had not been performed, I would perform my own aqiqah.”
◈ However, its chain is weak (da’if) due to Hafs ibn Ghiyath’s tadlis and because it cannot be determined which Ash’ath is meant.
It is also narrated about Muhammad ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) in this way:
كان لا يرى باسا ان يعق قبل السابع أو بعده، وكان يقول : اجعل لحم العقيقة كيف شئت
“He did not consider it wrong to perform aqiqah before or after the seventh day, and he would say: Use the meat of the aqiqah as you wish.”
◈ This statement is not explicit regarding the aqiqah of adults, and in addition it is also weak (da’if).
◈ Sulayman ibn Tarkhan al-Taymi is a mudallis (one who commits tadlis), and his hearing (sama’) from his sources is not established by explicit statement.
From Imam Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him), a Tabi’i, a statement is narrated that:
إذا لم يعق عنك، فعق عن نفسك، وإن كنت رجلا.
“If aqiqah was not performed on your behalf, then perform your own aqiqah, even if you have already reached adulthood.”
◈ Imam Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) did not mention the full chain of this narration, but began the chain of transmission from Imam Waki’ ibn al-Jarrah. Imam Waki’ (may Allah have mercy on him) had passed away nearly two centuries before Ibn Hazm was born. Therefore this chain is severely broken (munqati’). Allamah al-Albani’s declaring its chain “hasan” is surprising!
Regarding Imam Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah, a Tabi’i (may Allah have mercy on him), it is narrated:
حدثني ابو بكر بن محمد بن هاني : حدثنا ابو بكر بن الاسود : حدثنا خالد بن الحارث : حدثنا طريف بن عيسيٰ، قال : قلت لعطاء في العقيقة، قال : شاة فى الغلام وشاة فى الجارية، قال : فإن لم يعق عنه فكسب الغلام، عق عن نفسه.
“Tarif ibn Isa reports that I asked Imam Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah (may Allah have mercy on him) about aqiqah, and he said: One sheep suffices for a boy and one sheep for a girl. If aqiqah could not be performed on behalf of the boy and he grows up and earns, then he should perform aqiqah on his own behalf.”
◈ But the narrator Tarif ibn Isa al-Anbari’s circumstances could not be found. Apart from Imam Ibn Hibban (al-Thiqat: 327/8), no one has declared him reliable. Since he declares unknown narrators reliable, his lone declaration of reliability carries no weight. This narrator is merely unknown in his state (majhul al-hal). There may perhaps be another defect in its chain as well.
◈ It is established that none of the early generations (salaf) held the legitimacy of an aqiqah in old age, nor practised it. The abstention of the Companions, the Successors and the leading scholars from this act is evidence that it is a special privilege of the Prophet ﷺ. The method of the salaf and the approach of the muhaddithun is this: when the Companions, the Successors and the leading scholars refrain from acting upon a hadith, it is to be regarded as a special privilege of the Prophet ﷺ, just as the Companions’ seeking blessings from the Prophet ﷺ is established; yet after the Prophet ﷺ, no such act is established from the Companions, the Successors or the leading scholars concerning anyone other than a Prophet. Therefore, Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah have understood blessed relics to be specific to the Prophet ﷺ. Regarding this, Allamah al-Shatibi (538-590 AH) writes:
ان الصحابة رضي الله عنهم بعد موته صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يقع من احد منهم شيء من ذلك لم يثبت لواحد منهم من طريق صحيح معروف ان متبركا تبرك به على احد تلك الوجوه او نحوها، بل اقتصروا فيهم على الاقتداء بالأفعال والأقوال والسير التى اتبعوا فيها النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم، فهو إذا إجماع منهم على ترك تلك الأشياء كلها.
“No such act occurred from the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ after his death. None of them is recorded to have sought blessing in this manner from anything. Rather, they confined themselves in this matter only to guidance from the sayings, actions and noble conduct of the Prophet ﷺ. Thus, the Companions’ conduct amounts to a consensus on abandoning all those things.”
➋ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
كل غلام مرتهن بعقيقته
“Every boy is held in pledge by his aqiqah.”
Those scholars who permit aqiqah in old age, drawing evidence from this hadith, have written: “Since every boy is held in pledge by his aqiqah, every pledge should be released, and people who were prevented by a legitimate excuse or otherwise should, when the opportunity arises, perform the aqiqah and free the child from that pledge.”
◈ We have already explained that this hadith is in fact our evidence. From this hadith it appears that only the child is held in pledge by the aqiqah, not the adult; therefore, when a person becomes an adult, he is automatically freed from that pledge.
Moreover, in the above passage, the pen of our respected scholars has also acknowledged that only the child is held in pledge, and that when the opportunity arises the aqiqah should be performed for the child. We too say that the aqiqah is only for the child, not for the adult. The limitation to the seventh day for the child has already been established from the hadiths. The concession given by some of the earlier scholars of the Ummah up to the fourteenth and twenty-first days is due to some “da’if” narrations. For this reason, no example of anyone holding or practising aqiqah after the twenty-first day is found in the best era of the early generations (khayr al-qurun).
◈ And this is why Imam al-Tirmidhi, after mentioning this hadith, writes:
والعمل على هذا عند أهل العلم، يستحبون أن يذبح عن الغلام العقيقة يوم السابع، فإن لم يتهيا يؤم السابع، فيوم الرابع عشر، فإن لم يتهيا عق عنه يوم حاد و عشرين.
“The people of knowledge act upon this hadith. They consider it recommended to slaughter an animal for the child on the seventh day; if that is not possible, on the fourteenth day; and if that is not possible, on the twenty-first day.”
◈ That is, the Companions, the Successors and the leading scholars who acted upon this hadith held aqiqah for a child only on the seventh, fourteenth and twenty-first days. From the statement of the Imam it is as clear as broad daylight that up to his time no scholar held aqiqah after the twenty-first day; and according to the Imam, acting upon the hadith required exactly this. No one from the Companions or the Successors granted a concession for performing aqiqah for those of advanced age. Why did this happen? Simply because in the hadith the mention of aqiqah concerns only the child, not the adult.فليتدبر
◈ As a reminder, it should be stated that for the hadiths from which we have derived aqiqah only for the child, we do not have priority in drawing evidence from them; rather, as we have mentioned, the understanding of Imam al-Tirmidhi, other leading scholars, Hafiz Ibn Battal, Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr and others has remained before us. But those who permit aqiqah in old age have no predecessor from the salaf in deriving evidence from these hadiths. As for Hafiz Ibn Hazm and Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on them, they cannot be made into predecessors for this view. Ibn Hazm, because he holds aqiqah to be obligatory and, using that obligation as evidence, adopted the position that it may be performed at any age; moreover, he also considers obligatory the aqiqah of a child who dies before the seventh day. Ibn al-Qayyim, because he does not regard any fixed period for aqiqah at all, and for this reason he permitted aqiqah even before the seventh day. Our respected scholars disagree with both of them; rather, they regard both the obligation of aqiqah and the permission of aqiqah before the seventh day as shudhudh (anomalous views). Even if they were to accept these two hafiz as their predecessors on this issue, what standing at most would the anomalous view of these two personalities have against their own predecessors, namely the Companions, the Successors and the leading scholars?
◈ It is evident that the claim of our respected scholars, that: “If, due to some excuse, the Sunnah of performing the ‘aqiqah on the seventh day cannot be fulfilled, then whenever an opportunity arises during one’s lifetime, one should perform the ‘aqiqah, and this is the preferred and correct view,” is not correct.
◈ Moreover, this point also deserves consideration: why is there a condition of an excuse for performing ‘aqiqah in old age? If a person’s parents did not perform his ‘aqiqah without any legitimate excuse, and he then reached adulthood, is he not still held in pledge? If not, why not? If he is, then what is the benefit of this condition?
In summary: in the light of the textual evidences of the Shariah, ‘aqiqah is prescribed in childhood and on the seventh day itself. This is what has been reported from our pious predecessors. Although some of the salaf granted a concession to perform it on the fourteenth and twenty-first days, in view of certain narrations, those narrations are “da’if” (weak), so that position is marjuh (less preferred). As for performing ‘aqiqah in old age, no one among the salaf held or practised it. This is the way of the People of Truth: they follow the methodology of the salaf in acting upon the Shariah. It is not possible to attain the truth apart from the understanding of the salaf. May Allah keep us alive upon the footsteps of the salaf. Ameen.
