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Fatwa CenterNaming the child and 'Aqeeqah
Question
My wife gave birth to a female child whom I gave the name Salamah and did the Aqeeqah the following Monday after the Tuesday she gave birth. I was told that Salamah is not correct but Salmaa. But I am aware of Um Salamah the Prophet's wife. I also want to understand if there are names that are born by the both sexes in Islaam for I also found out that a narrator (male) in one Hadeeth bears the name Salamah. Then others also say that the 'Aqeeqah should be on Tuesday since the day she gave birth should not be counted in the seven days. I want to know whether to change the name and whether doing the naming on Tuesday is also alright.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
There are some names that are specific to males, like Muhammad, Ali, Moosaa, and 'Umar, while other names are specific to females like Juwayriyah and Hind. Salamah is a name for males; the name of Um Salamah, the wife of the Prophet 
was Hind Bint Abu Umayyah, and her nickname was Um Salamah 
so this was not her name. If you want to name your daughter Salmaa, you can do so. In addition to this you have to know that naming the child before the seventh day is permissible as the Prophet named his son Ibraaheem on the day he was born, and he said: "Tonight I fathered a son and I named him Ibraaheem." [Muslim] The mother of Maryam, may Allaah exalt her mention, said when she gave birth to her: {…and I have named her Maryam}[3:36]. So she named her immediately after she was born. Therefore, naming a child before the seventh day is permissible.
As regards whether or not the day of birth will be taken into account for 'Aqeeqah (i.e. the slaughtering done for a new born), the majority of jurists are of the view that the day of birth should be counted among the seven days but if the child is born at night, the night is not counted. Therefore, if your daughter was born on Tuesday and you made the 'Aqeeqah on Monday (as stated in the question) then what you did was correct and we ask Allaah to accept that from you and bring up your daughter as a righteous woman.
Allaah knows best.
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