The ruling on slaughtering after death and burying its bones and marrow

Q: What is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger regarding a people who, when one of them dies, their relatives slaughter a sheep which they call the 'aqiqah, and they do not break any of its bones, and then they bury its bones and marrow, and they claim that this is a good deed and that it is obligatory to do it?

A: This practice is a religious innovation (bid'ah) with no basis in the Islamic Shari'ah. It is obligatory to abandon it and repent to Allah from it, just as one must repent from all other innovations and sins, for repentance to Allah the Exalted is obligatory from all of them. As He said: : [Surat al-Nur: 31] And He the Exalted said: [Surat al-Tahrim: 8]. The only 'aqiqah that is prescribed (mashru') and established by the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is what is slaughtered for a newborn on his seventh day. It is two sheep for a male child and one sheep for a female child. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the 'aqiqah for al-Hasan and al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them both).
The person who performs it has the choice: if he wishes, he may distribute the meat among relatives, friends, and the poor; and if he wishes, he may cook it and invite to it whom he wishes from among relatives, neighbors, and the poor. This is the prescribed 'aqiqah, and it is a confirmed recommended practice (sunnah muakkadah). Whoever leaves it off commits no sin.