The 'Aqiqah for a Stillborn Child Who Cried at Birth, and the Meaning of the Child Being Held as a Pledge

The questioner:
The questioner asks: If a stillborn child cries at birth and then dies, is the 'aqiqah performed for it or not?

The Shaykh:
Yes. It is treated as a newborn, so the 'aqiqah is performed for it. This is a recommended practice (sunnah), not obligatory; it is only a recommended practice. Yes.

The questioner:
May Allah reward you. Is it true that if the parents do not perform the 'aqiqah for it, it will not intercede for them?

The Shaykh:
That is not true; that is not true. The statement that the child is held as a pledge by its 'aqiqah does not mean that it is prevented from interceding, as some have interpreted it. Rather, its meaning is that the 'aqiqah releases it from the captivity of Satan, as Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said: it releases it from the captivity of Satan, from what Satan harms it with. Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you.