Aqiqah is the sacrifice offered in gratitude for a newborn. It is a confirmed sunnah rather than an obligation, and most of the confusion families face is about timing and counting — not about the ruling itself.
How to count the seventh day
The day of birth counts as day one. A baby born on Monday therefore has an aqiqah on the following Sunday. A birth after sunset is counted from the next day in the practice most Egyptian families follow.
The naming and the hair
The seventh day traditionally carries three acts together: the sacrifice, naming the child, and shaving the newborn's hair with an equivalent weight in silver given as charity. Families often combine all three in one morning.
If the seventh day passes
Nothing is lost. The fourteenth and twenty-first days are the next recommended points, and a great many scholars permit the aqiqah at any time afterwards, even years later, including a person performing it for themselves.
What the animal must meet
A sheep or goat that has reached one year, healthy and free of visible defects. We restrict aqiqah orders to animals from 45 kg up for this reason, which places whole-animal pricing from 13,660 EGP.
Common questions
- Is aqiqah obligatory?
- It is a strongly recommended sunnah, not an obligation. Families who cannot afford it carry no blame.
- Two sheep for a boy or one?
- Two is the traditional practice for a boy and one for a girl, but one for a boy is accepted by many scholars and is commonly done in Egypt.
- Can the aqiqah be a cow?
- The established practice is sheep or goat. A share in a cow is a matter of scholarly difference, so we keep aqiqah to sheep and goats.