26. The 'Aqiqa

Yahya related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from a man of the BanuDamra that his father said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, was asked about the Aqiqa. He said, 'I do notlike disobedience (uquq),' as if he disliked the name. He said, 'Ifanyone has a child born to him, and wants to sacrifice for his child,then let him do it.' " Yahya related to me from Malik from Jafar ibn Muhammad that hisfather said, "Fatima, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, weighed the hair of Hasan,Husayn, Zaynab and Umm Kulthum, and gave away in sadaqa an equivalentweight of silver." Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahmanthat Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn said, "Fatima, the daughter of theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, weighedthe hair of Hasan and Husayn, and gave away in sadaqa the equivalentweight in silver." Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that if any of Abdullahibn Umar's family asked him for an aqiqa, he would give it to them. Hegave a sheep as aqiqa for both his male and female children. Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahmanthat Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi said, "I heard myfather say that the aqiqa was desirable, even if it was only asparrow." Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that there had beenan aqiqa for Hasan and Husayn, the sons of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that hisfather, Urwa ibn az-Zubayr made an aqiqa for his male and femalechildren of a sheep each. Malik said, "What we do about theaqiqa is that if someone makes an aqiqa for his children, he gives asheep for both male and female. The aqiqa is not obligatory but it isdesirable to do it, and people continue to come to us about it. Ifsomeone makes an aqiqa for his children, the same rules apply as withall sacrificial animals - one-eyed, emaciated, injured, or sickanimals must not be used, and neither the meat or the skin is to besold. The bones are broken and the family eat the meat and give someof it away as sadaqa. The child is not smeared with any of the blood.''