Giving Charity Equal to the Weight of the Baby’s Hair is Recommended
Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
The Practice of Charity with the Baby’s Hair
When a newborn’s head is shaved, it is prescribed to give charity in silver equal to the weight of the hair. This is established from authentic Ahadith.
✿ ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه narrates:
عق رسول الله عن الحسن بشاة وقال: يـا فـاطـمـة احـلـقـي رأسه و تصدقي بزنة شعره فضة
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed ʿAqīqah for al-Ḥasan رضي الله عنه with one goat and said: ‘O Fāṭimah! Shave his head and give charity in silver equal to the weight of his hair.’”
[Ḥasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 1175; al-Tirmidhī: 1519, Kitāb al-Aḍāḥī, Bāb al-ʿAqīqah bi-Shāh; Musnad Aḥmad 6/390; al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī 9/304]
Shaykh Muḥammad Ṣubḥī Ḥasan Ḥallāq graded it ḥasan. (al-Taʿlīq ʿalā al-Sayl al-Jarrār 3/252)
Scholarly Opinions
✿ Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله:
“Among the practices related to ʿAqīqah is to give charity in silver equal to the weight of the child’s hair.”
[al-Sayl al-Jarrār 3/252]
✿ Imām Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله:
“If someone gives charity in silver equal to the weight of the child’s hair, it is better.”
[al-Mughnī 13/397]
✿ Sayyid Sābiq رحمه الله:
“The Sunnah also includes giving the child a good name, shaving the head, and giving in charity silver equal to the weight of the hair, if one is able.”
[Fiqh al-Sunnah 3/199]
✅ Conclusion:
- It is Sunnah and recommended to shave the baby’s head on the day of ʿAqīqah.
- Charity in silver equal to the weight of the baby’s hair should be given.
- This is a practice proven from the Prophet ﷺ and endorsed by classical and contemporary scholars.
