Short answer
No. In the Hanafi school aqiqah is mustahabb (recommended), an act of thanks for a new child, and you are not sinful if you leave it. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools call it a stressed sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah), and the Maliki school calls it a sunnah.
Aqiqah is mustahabb according to the relied-upon later Hanafi position; some early Hanafi texts describe it as merely permissible. It is not wajib, and there is no sin in leaving it, though it is a rewarded sunnah practice.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Sunnah mu'akkadah (a stressed sunnah) on the person who must support the child.
- Hanbali
- Sunnah mu'akkadah on the father; Imam Ahmad encouraged it strongly.
- Maliki
- Sunnah (mandub), with one sheep for a boy or a girl.
Explanation
Aqiqah (the newborn's sacrifice) is the slaughter of an animal for a child, best on the seventh day after birth, as thanks to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said that every child is held in pledge for its aqiqah, and he did aqiqah for his grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husayn.
Why the Hanafi school does not make it obligatory: when the Prophet ﷺ was asked about aqiqah he said that whoever has a child and wishes to sacrifice for it may do so. Linking it to the parent's wish shows choice, not duty. Early Hanafi authorities also reported that the Eid sacrifice (udhiyah) came to take the place of many older sacrifices. Later Hanafi scholars, including those of Deoband, settled on calling it mustahabb because the Prophet ﷺ did it and encouraged it.
What this means in practice:
- Do it if you can afford it, ideally on the seventh day. See when aqiqah is done.
- Do not take on debt or burden the family for it.
- If it was missed, it can be done later. See late aqiqah.
- Its animal rules follow qurbani. See how many animals.
Plan the animals and costs with the aqiqah calculator.
The evidence
Sunan Abi Dawud 2838
Graded sahih... كل غلام رهينة بعقيقته تذبح عنه يوم سابعه ...
"Every child is held in pledge for its aqiqah, which is slaughtered for it on its seventh day."
The main hadith on aqiqah and its timing.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2842
Graded hasan... من ولد له ولد فأحب أن ينسك عنه فلينسك ...
"Whoever has a child born to him and wishes to offer a sacrifice for it, let him do so."
Linking aqiqah to the parent's wish is why the Hanafis do not make it obligatory.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5471
Sahih... مع الغلام عقيقة ...
"With the child there is an aqiqah."
Confirms aqiqah as a sunnah practice.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Udhiyah, closing discussion on aqiqah. Records the Hanafi positions on aqiqah, permissible or recommended.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on naming children and aqiqah. Hanafi rulings on aqiqah.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Chapter on aqiqah. The Shafi'i position that it is a stressed sunnah.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Adahi, section on aqiqah. The Hanbali position.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.