Aqeeqah

I need to know and have some clarity on aqeeqah Mufti.

My child got sick before aqeeqah was performed. A mulana in kzn was asked for advice and said that aqeeqah should be made because it is a burden on the child and by making the aqeeaah it will relieve the child.

Is this true that aqeeqah is a burden on a baby that is less then a month old?

With my limited knowledge I know aqeeqah is a celebration and announcement of the birth of the child so can something that is meant for joy be a burden on a baby?

If by any chance aqeeqah is delayed and becomes a burden on a clueless infant why does it become a burden ?

A father in need of help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer

Assalaamu alaykum

Aqeeqah is not compulsory, but is beneficial for the newborn.

If it is carried out, it will be a means of warding off harm from the child.

It is not correct to term it as a “burden”.

In life sometimes we are affected with some forms of harm through no fault of ours. For example a child may get sick. This happens according to the Wisdom of Allah Ta’ala. We are taught that it will be efficacious to make Aqeeqah. That does not mean that the harm came about because a person did not make Aqeeqah. It is like saying that the child got sick because he did not take medicine. Rather, a child got sick because Allah Ta’ala has made sicknesses and illnesses part of the human experience. However as a follow up to this Divine system, which we sometimes call nature, we are expected to take medicine. But medicine, or the lack of it, is the not the cause.

Aqeeqah is both a celebration and also a form of remedy.

And Allah Ta'ala knows best

Was salaam

Emraan Vawda