What is the ruling on borrowing money to perform the 'Aqiqah? And a detailed statement from the Shaykh regarding the rulings of the 'Aqiqah.

The Shaykh : We praise Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for guiding many Muslims, especially the youth among them, to reviving many of the Sunnahs that the elders and others had neglected. I know that in the Levant, this Sunnah was forgotten, and conversely, they would slaughter animals on occasions that might be prescribed or might not be. As for this occasion, where Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has blessed a Muslim with a newborn, whether male or female, to perform the obligation of slaughter in gratitude to Allah, this is what we used to hear nothing about. But now, praise be to Allah, this Sunnah has almost become like the Sunnah of the 'Id sacrifice in that the masses of people have come to know it, even if only in terms of jurisprudence and knowledge, although many of them are still far from implementing it in practice. So we praise Allah that this Sunnah has been revived in the Levantine lands, and by that I mean, of course, more than just Syria and Jordan, because they are all part of the Levant. But this Sunnah, and I say this obligation in general, requires some detail. I have felt that many of the brothers who have adopted the revival of this ruling seem to assume that with the 'Aqiqah, which is the slaughter on this occasion, it is necessary to invite people to it. This invitation, that it is necessary to invite people, has no basis in the Sunnah. And I want to mention this first, to clarify the legal ruling, and second, because I have noticed that many people, whom we do not consider rich, nor even of middle status, and some of whom may borrow to perform this obligation, nevertheless insist on holding an invitation around it. And indeed, just a few days ago, I advised one of them, who had this characteristic, and I said, "My brother, slaughter and do not invite anyone. You are more deserving of eating from this 'Aqiqah, you and your family. You are a poor man and are not working now, and so on. So you are more deserving of it. If you have not invited yet, I advise you to do so. But if you have already invited people and you have no way to make an excuse, then the sword has preceded the reproof. But the next time, if you are well-off, you are free. If you wish to eat all of this 'Aqiqah, if you wish to eat it all, you and your family, over the course of a week, two weeks, or three, if you wish to give it all in charity, if you wish to combine eating and charity, and if you wish to invite people, rich and poor, the best of the invitation is to invite the poor. The point is that there is nothing in the Shari'ah that obligates the one performing this ruling to do a specific thing, other than shedding the blood. This is what I wanted to point out: everyone who slaughters on the occasion of a newborn has the choice and does with it what he wishes. If Allah has made things easy for him, let him be generous to people, the poor, friends, and the like. And if he is tight on money, then here we say as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It is also necessary to remind people of a matter that some may need, some of these people who invite people to the 'Aqiqah: it must be that the intention of the inviter is pure for the face of Allah, the Exalted, Mighty and Majestic. He should not seek fame, prominence, or reputation behind it. And long ago, some of them said, "Love of prominence cuts off prominence." It should only be for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, that he intends by it to feed the poor, that he intends by it to feed friends, that he intends by it to hold a gathering of knowledge, as the brother who invited here did, and many others, praise be to Allah. That all of this, this and that, the intention is seeking the pleasure of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. This is a reminder, and the reminder benefits the believers.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : What time is it? Is it time for the Adhan? We hear the Adhan. Peace be upon you, welcome.

The questioner : Please, join us.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Thank you. May Allah reward you with good. We hear the Adhan, everyone, here.

The questioner : ... We hear.

The Shaykh : Yes, please.

The questioner : Regarding the 'Aqiqah, in terms of borrowing for it, in terms of dividing the 'Aqiqah, and in terms of making up for the man himself who did not perform the 'Aqiqah for himself or for his children?

The Shaykh : The rulings are many. Regarding borrowing for it, this is a question that comes to us often. In fact, this issue varies depending on the borrower. If the one who wants to perform the 'Aqiqah does not find the price of the 'Aqiqah and wants to borrow, it is he who knows whether it is obligatory for him to borrow or not. How? We assume now two poor men, and they were blessed with what obligates them to perform the 'Aqiqah. One of them is poor and knows from his condition, his earnings, and his work that if he borrows the price of the 'Aqiqah, he will not be able to repay it. We tell him, not only is it not obligatory for you to borrow, but it is not permissible for you to borrow, because in this case you will be borrowing while you know that you are unable to repay, and you will fall into consuming the wealth of people by right, by virtue of the debt. As for the other, we assume that he is able, that if he borrows, he can repay the loan he borrowed on the date set for him. Then it is obligatory for him to borrow for this occasion, because he is able. And we know by experience that some rich people sometimes do not find liquidity in their safes, because they always want to invest their money in merchandise, so their safes remain empty. He says, "I don't have any," and he is truthful, he doesn't have any. But he is rich, he doesn't have liquidity, but he is able to repay after two or three days because he takes and gives, takes and gives. So this is not an excuse for him that he does not find it. This is obligatory for him to borrow, unlike the first one. This one who is unable to repay, it is not permissible for him. The second one, it is obligatory for him. This third one is more obligatory, and more obligatory, because he is rich and can repay easily. This is what pertains to borrowing for the 'Aqiqah. Also, this is a question that comes often: what do we do with the bones? It was said there that they are not to be broken, and that they are presented to the midwife, and so on. This is a statement that has no value or weight in the Shari'ah, because no hadith, not even a weak one, has come regarding that. And so the statement is what you heard in my first words regarding the issue of what to do with the slaughtered animal. We said, he disposes of it as he wishes. If he wishes, he eats it all, even if he is rich, unlike the 'Id sacrifice. The 'Id sacrifice, it is necessary to give some of it in charity without a specific limit, as some claim, three thirds: one third he eats on the 'Id, and one third he gives in charity, and one third he stores. This division into three has no basis. Rather, dividing into three parts without a specific limit is what is reported, because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: . He did not specify. So it is necessary to eat, it is necessary to eat from this 'Id sacrifice so that its blessing reaches you. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as you all know, if Allah wills, when he performed the Farewell Pilgrimage, he gifted sixty-three camels, and he slaughtered them with his own hand (peace be upon him). Then he entrusted Ali to distribute them to the poor and the needy, and to prepare for him a piece from each one and cook it so that he would eat from it. What was the Prophet (peace be upon him) going to eat? Something official, a picture, but so that the blessing of this obedience to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in the slaughter would be realized, as He said: . So the 'Aqiqah differs from the 'Id sacrifice in terms of eating it. The 'Id sacrifice, one eats from it without specifying the proportion of what is eaten. It is not exactly one third. He also gives in charity without specifying. And the more he gives in charity, the better it is for him. He also stores some of it to remember this blessing, the blessing of the 'Id al-Adha, also without specifying. As for the 'Aqiqah, there is nothing of this division specified in the authentic hadith at all. Likewise, and one thing reminds of another, what is required in the 'Aqiqah is not what is required in the 'Id sacrifice in terms of age and freedom from defects. The matter in the 'Aqiqah is broad. Whatever is called a sheep in the language, it suffices, whether it is a twin, or it is hornless, or it is toothless, or it is sound as Allah created it. All of that suffices, and there is no specific age as is the case with the 'Id sacrifice. And what else did you mention?