Slaughtering for Aqiqa
25-3-2004 | IslamWeb
Question:
I have a question. I have a baby boy; he is 1 year and a half years old and a baby girl; she is 4 months old. I want to slaughter some lambs due to their arrival. How many is allowed for a boy and how many is allowed for a girl? And also, we are low-income families. I want to know if we can take some meat from the meat that we are going to give to the poor people. When is the best time to do the slaughtering?
Answer:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Aqiqa is two sheep for the newborn male and one sheep for the newborn female. But if the person slaughters only one sheep for the male it suffices him.
This sheep should have all the characteristics of the Adha sheep (sacrifice). There is no objection for the people who made the Aqiqa to eat from it. But the best is that the person eats from it, gives the needy to eat and distributes to other people. The majority of scholars are of the opinion that giving the needy something from it is obligatory.
The best time for Aqiqa is the seventh day after the birth. If that is not possible, then the 14th. If that is not possible, then the 21st day after the birth. If that is not possible then anytime the person becomes able to perform it. But the earlier, the better.
Allah knows best.