Sharʿī Ruling on Exemption from ʿAqīqah Due to Financial Inability
Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
If One Cannot Afford ʿAqīqah
The following evidences are sufficient to understand this issue:
➊ Qur’ān:
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ [التغابن: 16]
“Fear Allah as much as you are able.”
➋ Qur’ān:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا [البقرة: 286]
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.”
➌ Qur’ān:
رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ [البقرة: 286]
“Our Lord! Do not place upon us a burden greater than we have strength to bear.”
➍ Hadith:
إذا أمرتكم بأمر فاتوا منه ما استطعتم
“When I command you with something, do of it as much as you are able.”
[Muslim: 1337, al-Nasāʾī 5/110-111]
➎ Principle of Uṣūl al-Fiqh:
لا يجوز التكليف بالمستحيل
“It is not permissible to obligate what is impossible.”
[Irshād al-Fuḥūl 1/30; al-Iḥkām by al-Āmidī 1/187; al-Mustaṣfā by al-Ghazālī 1/74; al-Wajīz p.77]
✿ Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn رحمه الله said:
“If a person is poor at the time of his child’s birth, then ʿAqīqah is not obligatory upon him, because he is unable. And due to inability, such acts of worship fall away.”
[Fatāwā Islāmiyyah 2/326]
✅ Conclusion:
- ʿAqīqah is not obligatory upon one who cannot afford it.
- Financial inability removes the responsibility, as Islam does not burden beyond capacity.
- If later Allah grants ability, then performing it is recommended but not compulsory.
