Abdullah bin Buraydah heard his father, Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him), say: In the Jahiliyyah, when a boy was born to one of us, he would slaughter a goat and smear the child's head with its blood. When Allah Almighty brought Islam, we would slaughter a goat, shave the child's head and smear it with saffron.
(b) Yazid bin Abdullah al-Muzani narrates from his father (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "For camels there is the fara' (sacrifice of the firstborn), and for sheep there is the fara'; the aqiqah is performed for a boy, but his head is not touched with blood."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19288
Amrah (may Allah have mercy on her) narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), in the hadith of the aqiqah, that in the Jahiliyyah people would soak cotton in the blood of the aqiqah animal and put the blood on the child's head. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) "ordered that khaluq (a saffron-based perfume) be applied in place of the blood."
Al-Faqih (may Allah have mercy on him) says: In the hadith of Salman bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) it says: "Remove the impurity from the child's head." This may mean shaving the head and forbidding that the child's head be touched with blood.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19289
Sayyiduna Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Every child is held in pledge for his aqiqah; on the seventh day an animal is slaughtered on his behalf, his head is shaved and he is smeared with blood." In the narration of al-Hawdi there is the addition that Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about applying the blood, and he said: When the aqiqah animal is slaughtered, take some of its wool, hold it against its veins to take the blood, then place it on the crown of the child's head so that the blood runs down like a thread. Then the head is washed and shaved.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19290
Sa'id bin Abi Arubah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) that on the seventh day the child's head is to be shaved and he is to be given a name.
Abu Dawud said: The word 'yudamma' (he is smeared with blood) is an error from Hammam; 'yusamma' (he is given a name) is more correct. Sallam bin Abi Muti' narrated it thus from Qatadah, and so did Iyas bin Daghfal and Ash'ath from al-Hasan.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19291