Fatwa ID: 01752
Answered by Molana Ishaaq Hussain
Question:
Salaams, Alhamdulillah, my daughter was born on Sunday, I am trying to arrange the aqiqah for my daughter and trying to get the animal slaughtered on the correct day, which would be any Saturday. The HMC butchers say as the slaughter houses are closed over the weekend, the animal would be slaughtered on Friday or other days, is this allowed? What and how many animals are preferred to be slaughtered?
Answer:
The performance of aqiqah is highly encouraged. It is to be performed by the parents or the guardian of the child.
The Prophet of Allah 
has said that a child is pledged to its aqiqah which is sacrificed on behalf of the child on the seventh day when it is given a name and the hair is shaved off its head. (Sunan Tirmizi p.278 v.1)
Aqiqah should be performed on the seventh day of the birth of the child and if not done on the seventh day then whenever it is done, it should be on the next seventh day and so on. (Ibid)
One can do aqiqah even though the child has reached puberty. (Ahsanul Fatawa p.536 v.7) Similarly, scholars like Molana Anwar Shah Kashmiri is of the view that aqiqah can be done even up to ones death. (Faidhul Bari p.337 v.4)
Even if one opted not to do Aqiqah at all, there is no harm in this at all. (Bahehshti Zewar p 357)
With regards to the question, even if Aqiqah was done abit earlier the the Aqiqah will still be valid. However, the sunnah method is that it be done on the 7th day.
The method of Aqiqah is that if a boy is born, two goats or two sheeps should be slaughtered. If a girl is born, one goat or one sheep should be slaughtered.
This is due to a narration which can be found in Sunan Tirmizi.
Yusuf bin Mahik reported that they visited Sayyidah Hafsah Bint Abdur Rahman and asked her about Aqiqah. She said that Sayyidah Aisha 
had informed her that The Prophet Of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam had commanded them to to slaughter two sheeps for a male new born and one for a female. (Sunan Tirmidhi p 278 v 1.)
It should be Bourne in mind that even sacrificing one animal would also be sufficient.
Sayyidna Ali 
reported that The Prophet Of Allah observed the Aqiqah of Sayyidna Hasan with a sheep and said, “O Fatimah! Have his head shaved and give sadaqah of silver equal in weight to his hair”. So she weighed that and their weight was equal to a dirham or part of it. (Ibid)
With regards to which animals can be sacrificed, the ruling is that all those animals that cannot be used for Qurbaani cannot be used for Aqiqah. If an animal is permissible for Qurbaani, it will be permissible for Aqeeqah aswell. (Baheshti Zewar p 357)
Only Allah Knows Best
Written by Molana Ishaaq Hussain
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham.
