ʿAqīqah: Definition, Virtue, and Sharʿī Ruling
Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Definition of ʿAqīqah
ʿAqīqah refers to the animal sacrificed on behalf of a newborn child on the seventh day after birth.
- Al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ defines it:
والعقيقة: صوف الجذع ، والشاة التى تذبح عند حلق شعر المولود
“ʿAqīqah refers to the wool of a young lamb, and the goat sacrificed at the time of shaving the newborn’s head.”
[al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ p.839] - al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ defines it:
العقيقة: شعر كل مولود من الناس والبهائم ينبت وهو فى بطن أمه والذبيحة التى تذبح عن المولود يوم سبوعه عند حلق شعره
“ʿAqīqah refers to:
➊ The hair of every newborn (human or animal) that begins to grow while still in the womb.
➋ The animal slaughtered for the newborn on the seventh day after birth when the hair is shaved.”
[al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ p.616] - Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله:
“ʿAqīqah refers to the animal sacrificed on behalf of the newborn.”
[al-Mughnī 13/393] - Ibn al-Athīr رحمه الله:
“It refers both to the sacrifice offered for a newborn and to the hair that grows on the child’s head while still in the womb.”
[al-Nihāyah 3/276-277]
Virtue and Sharʿī Status of ʿAqīqah
➊ Salman ibn ʿĀmir رضي الله عنه narrates:
مع الغلام عقيقة فأهريقوا عنه دما وأميطوا عنه الأذى
“Every boy has an ʿAqīqah, so sacrifice on his behalf and remove the harm from him (i.e., shave his head).”
[Bukhārī 5472; Abū Dāwūd 2839; al-Tirmidhī 1515; Ibn Mājah 3164; Musnad Aḥmad 4/17; al-Dārimī 2/81; al-Bayhaqī 9/299]
➋ Samurah رضي الله عنه narrates:
كل غلام رهينة بعقيقته تذبح عنه يوم سابعه ويسمى فيه ويحلق رأسه
“Every child is held in pledge for his ʿAqīqah, which is sacrificed on the seventh day, when he is named and his head is shaved.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Abū Dāwūd 2463, 2838; al-Tirmidhī 1522; Ibn Mājah 3165; al-Nasāʾī 7/166; al-Ḥākim 4/237; Musnad Aḥmad 5/17]
➌ Another narration states:
من ولد له ولد فأحب أن ينسك عنه فلينسك
“If anyone has a child born to him and he wishes to sacrifice on his behalf, let him do so.”
[Ḥasan: Abū Dāwūd 2468, 2842; Musnad Aḥmad 2/182; al-Nasāʾī 7/162; al-Ḥākim 4/238]
Opinions of Scholars
✿ Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله:
“The conclusion is that ʿAqīqah is one of the Sunnahs of Islam.”
[al-Sayl al-Jarrār 3/251]
✿ Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله:
“ʿAqīqah is Sunnah according to the general body of scholars, including Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn ʿUmar, ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنهم, the jurists among the Tābiʿīn, and the Imams of various cities. However, the Ḥanafīs held that it is not Sunnah but merely a pre-Islamic practice.”
[al-Mughnī 13/393]
✿ Ibn Jibrīn رحمه الله:
“ʿAqīqah is a Sunnah muʾakkadah (emphasized Sunnah). Some scholars considered it obligatory because of the Hadith that ‘every child is held in pledge for his ʿAqīqah,’ but the Hadith indicates emphasis rather than obligation.”
[Fatāwā Islāmiyyah 2/324]
✿ Ibn ʿUthaymīn رحمه الله:
“Scholars have differed whether ʿAqīqah is Sunnah or obligatory, but the majority consider it a Sunnah muʾakkadah.”
[Fatāwā Islāmiyyah 2/324]
Summary of Juristic Opinions
- Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Ahl al-Ẓāhir: ʿAqīqah is obligatory.
- Jumhūr (majority): ʿAqīqah is Sunnah (recommended, not obligatory).
- Ḥanafīs: Neither Sunnah nor obligatory; merely permissible.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 3/499; Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 5/69; al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr 2/126; al-Qawānīn al-Fiqhiyyah p.191; al-Mughnī 8/645; Bidāyat al-Mujtahid 1/448; al-Majmūʿ 8/447]
✅ Conclusion:
The strongest opinion is that ʿAqīqah is a Sunnah muʾakkadah. Whoever has the means should perform it for their children as an expression of gratitude and obedience to the Sunnah.
