❖ Is Sharing One Animal for Multiple ʿAqīqahs Permissible?
Ruling on Seven or Ten Shares in a Cow or Camel for ʿAqīqah
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 665
❖ Question:
Since it is legislated to have seven or ten shares in a cow or camel for Qurbani, is it likewise permissible to have seven or ten ʿAqīqahs in a single large animal?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
✔ It is indeed permissible to have seven people share a cow, and ten people share a camel for Qurbani.
✖ However, such **sharing is not permissible in the case of ʿAqīqah.
❖ Clear Evidence from Hadith
The following ḥadīth from Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ explains:
عن أم كرز قالت:
سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول:
"عن الغلام شاتان، وعن الجارية شاة، ولا يضركم أذكرانًا كن أم إناثًا."
Translation:
Umm Kurayz said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “For a boy, two sheep; and for a girl, one sheep — it does not matter whether they are male or female.”
❖ Key Observations:
◈ This and other authentic ḥadīths **explicitly mention one or two complete animals, not shares of a larger animal.
◈ There is no narration proving that multiple ʿAqīqahs can be done from one animal shared by multiple individuals.
❖ Position of Imām Aḥmad
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله narrated that Imām Aḥmad was asked about this matter. He replied:
"أنا لم أسمع في ذلك بسمّي"
“I am not aware of any narration regarding this.”
(Tuḥfat al-Wadūd, p. 47, Madinah edition)
This indicates no precedent or evidence exists in the Sunnah allowing multiple ʿAqīqahs in one shared animal.
Conclusion:
✖ Sharing a cow or camel for seven or ten ʿAqīqahs is not valid in Sharīʿah.
✔ ʿAqīqah must be done with independent animals:
– 2 goats/sheep for a boy,
– 1 goat/sheep for a girl.
هذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
