Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother Burhan,

Assalamu Alaikum,

Sacrifice of two sheeps or goats if boy, and one sheep or goat if girl. I have a one and half year son and Inshallah 2nd will be coming in Jan. I have not done Aqeeqa of my 1st child so I want to do it along with my 2nd baby. so What if I want to sacrifice a cow as it is having 7 hisa is it allowed so 2 hisa for my 1st baby and 1 or 2 (boy or girl) for my 2nd one. And rest in can i make it for my wife, myself or other close relative

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Aqiqa Sacrifice cow

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The sacrifice of ‘aqiqah’ at the birth of a child is not an obligatory duty upon the believers, but rather a preferred Sunnah and thus voluntary. If one for any reason was unable to or has not offered a sacrifice at the birth of their child and wish to perform the sacrifice later, there is absolutely no harm. It is expected that Allah Subhanah will accept their piety and not diminish their reward in the least.

When offering an ‘aqiqah’ sacrifice, the Sunnah or practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws) was always to slaughter sheep. Cattle (cows, etc.) and Camels were normally slaughtered as a rite during pilgrimage. There is absolutely no example in the authentic and established traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) or his noble companions slaughtering cattle or camels for ‘aqiqah’ sacrifice; their practice was always to slaughter the prescribed number of sheep during ‘aqiqah’.

Thus, if you wish to offer the ‘aqiqah’ sacrifice as a sign of gratefulness to Allah Subhanah for his gift of a child, it is best to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and sacrifice the prescribed number of sheep for each child.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan