Can ʿAqīqah Be Performed Before the Seventh Day?
Author: Imran Ayub Lahori
Ruling on Performing ʿAqīqah Earlier than the Prescribed Time
A person who performs ʿAqīqah before the seventh day is acting against the Sunnah, because the Prophet ﷺ specified the seventh day of birth for ʿAqīqah.
Some scholars, however, have stated that if someone does perform ʿAqīqah before the seventh day, then the child is indeed freed from pledge, as the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Every child is held in pledge for his ʿAqīqah.”
Thus, although the child is freed from pledge once the sacrifice is performed, the individual has not attained the Sunnah, since the Sunnah is to perform ʿAqīqah on the seventh day.
