In another tradition...

In another tradition, the Prophet (PBUH&HP) said: On the Day of Resurrection, you will be called out by your name and the name of your father. The call will be; so and so, son of so-and-so, therefore, give your children good names. From these sayings and the practices of the Prophet (PBUH&HP), we get the guidance that it is the responsibility of the parents to give names to their children or have them named by a pious person.

Aqeeqah In almost all the communities of the world, the birth of a child is considered a blessing and some ceremonies are held to celebrate the event. Besides being natural, it also serves a special purpose, and makes it known, in a suitable and dignified manner, that the father has accepted the child as his own and there is no doubt or suspicion in his mind concerning it. It shuts the door to many mischiefs that can arise in the future.

The practice of aqeeqah was observed among the Arabs, even during the Age of Ignorance for this very reason. The hair on the child’s head was shaved off and its weight equivalent was sacrificed as a mark of rejoicing – which was a characteristic feature of Millat-e-Ibrahim (the creed of Prophet Abraham). While preserving the practice in principle, the Prophet (PBUH&HP) gave appropriate instructions, and he set an example of how it was to be done.

It is reported by Buraidah that: During the Age of Ignorance when a child was born to any one of us, we used to slaughter a goat and colour the head of the child with its blood. Later, after the dawn of Islam, our practice became (on the advice of the Prophet (PBUH&HP) that we sacrifice a goat of aqeeqah on the 7th day after the birth of a child, and shave the head of the infant, apply saffron on it.

Since, as we have seen, the aqeeqah served a useful purpose in many ways and was also in keeping with the spirit of Islam and, perhaps, like the rituals of Hajj, it was among the remaining practices of Prophet Abraham, our Prophet (PBUH&HP) preserved the reality of aqeeqah, but corrected the backward practices that had become associated with it.

The aqeeqah ceremony was also observed by the Jews, but they sacrificed an animal only in the case of a male child which was indicative of the lesser value placed on girls in pre-Islamic times. The Prophet (PBUH&HP) corrected this too, and enjoined that the aqeeqah of girls should also be performed, like that of the boys.