Answered by: Shaykh Umer Khan
Question
Assalamualaikum,
A person purchased an animal for Aqeeqah. Is he allowed to sell that animal?
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
ʻAqīqah refers to the slaughtering performed for a newborn child. The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said, “A child is pledged to its ʻaqīqah; slaughtering should be done for it on the seventh day, it should be given a name, and its head should be shaved.”[1]
In the Ḥanafī madhhab, if one has the financial means to perform it, the ʻaqīqah is considered mustaḥab (i.e. commendable and desirable), not farḍ or wājib (i.e. an obligation). Whilst performing it is encouraged, not performing it would not be considered a sin.
Selling the animal that was initially purchased with the intention to perform ʻaqīqah would be permissible.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Shaykh Umer Khan
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1] Jāmiʻ al-Tirmidhī, ḥadīth 1522