Zin": "Zinad said: The aqiqah was among the practices of the people, and they used to dislike abandoning it. Ahmad said: The aqiqah is a Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace); he performed the aqiqah for al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and his Companions did so as well. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "The boy is held in pledge by his aqiqah." This is a sound chain of narration, which Abu Hurayrah narrates from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Abu Hanifah considered it to be from the practices of the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), and this was due to his lack of knowledge and acquaintance with the reports (14). As for the clarification that it is not obligatory, its evidence is what the People of Opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y) used as an argument from the report; and what they narrated is to be interpreted as emphasizing its recommended status, in order to reconcile between the reports, and because it is a sacrifice for a joyous event that has occurred, so it is not obligatory, like the wedding banquet (walimah) and the Naqi'ah (15).
Section: The aqiqah is better than giving the equivalent of its value in charity. Ahmad stated this explicitly, and he said: If one does not have what is needed to perform the aqiqah and borrows it, I hope that Allah will compensate him, as it is reviving a Sunnah. Ibn al-Mundhir said: Ahmad is correct; reviving the Sunnahs and following them is better, and the reports we have narrated regarding its emphasis are such that have not been narrated for anything else. Furthermore, it is a sacrifice the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) commanded, so it is worthier, like the wedding banquet and the sacrifice of Adha (Udhiyah).
1770 - Issue; He said: (For a boy there are two sheep, and for a girl one sheep)
This is the position of the majority of those who advocate for it. Ibn Abbas, Aisha, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Abu Thawr held this view. Ibn Umar used to say: One sheep for a boy and one for a girl (1). This is because it is narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he (2) performed the aqiqah for al-Hasan with one sheep, and for al-Husayn with one sheep. Recorded by Abu Dawud (3). Al-Hasan and Qatadah did not hold the view that there is an aqiqah for a girl, because the aqiqah is an expression of gratitude for the blessing obtained through the child, and no joy is obtained through a girl, so an aqiqah is not legislated for her.
(14) The Prophetic Sunnah was not gathered in its entirety by any single one of the Imams, and an Imam may say something that contradicts a hadith because it did not reach him. Among the reasons for Imam Abu Hanifah's (may Allah have mercy on him) extensive reliance on analogy (qiyas) was the emergence of sects in his time in Iraq and the proliferation of lies, such that he did not rely on the narrations of the members of these sects. Perhaps al-Muwaffaq (may Allah have mercy on him) intended by this statement his lack of knowledge regarding the reports conveyed on this subject, otherwise Imam Abu Hanifah is among the Imams of the Muslims who are to be followed. (15) Naqi'ah: Food prepared for one who has returned from their travels. (1) Recorded by Abd al-Razzaq, in: The Chapter on the Aqiqah, from the Book of the Aqiqah, Al-Musannaf 4/331; and Ibn Abi Shaybah, in: The Chapter on the one who says: 'Equalize between the boy and the girl', from the Book of the Aqiqah, Al-Musannaf 8/239. (2) Omitted from [Original], [B]. (3) In: The Chapter on the Aqiqah, from the Book of Sacrifices, Sunan Abi Dawud 2/96 with the wording: "a ram for each". It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on the Aqiqah with a sheep, from the Chapters of Sacrifices, 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 6/317; and al-Nasa’i, in: The Chapter on 'Al-Husayn ibn Hurayth informed us...', from the Book of the Aqiqah, Al-Mujtaba 7/125; and Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 5/355, 361.
أبو الزِّناد: العَقِيقَةُ من أمرِ الناسِ، كانُوا يكرهُون تَرْكَه. وقال أحمدُ: العَقِيقَةُ سُنَّةٌ عن رسولِ اللَّه -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم-، قد عَقَّ عن الحسنِ والحسينِ، وفَعَلَه أصحابُه، وقال النَّبِىُّ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم-: "الْغُلَامُ مُرْتَهَنٌ بعَقِيقَتِهِ". وهو إسْنادٌ جَيِّدٌ، يَرْوِيهِ أبو هُرَيْرةَ عن النَّبِىِّ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم-. وجَعَلَها أبو حنيفة من أمرِ الجاهِلِيَّةِ، وذلك لِقِلَّةِ عِلْمِه ومَعْرِفَتِه بالأَخبارِ (١٤). وأمَّا بَيانُ كونِها غيرَ واجِبَةٍ، فدَلِيلُه ما احْتَجَّ به أصحابُ الرَّأْىِ من الْخَبَرِ، وما رَوَوْه محمولٌ علِى تأكيدِ الاسْتِحبابِ، جَمْعًا بينَ الأخْبارِ، ولأنَّها ذَبِيحَةٌ لسُرورٍ حادِثٍ، فلم تكُنْ واجِبَةً، كالوَلِيمَةِ والنَّقِيعَةِ (١٥).
فصل: والعَقِيقَةُ أفْضَلُ من الصَّدَقَةِ بقيمَتِها. نَصَّ عليه أحمدُ، وقال: إذا لم يكُنْ عندَه ما يَعُقُّ، فاسْتَقْرَضَ، رَجَوْتُ أَنْ يُخْلِفَ اللَّه عليه، إحْياءَ سُنَّةٍ. قال ابنُ الْمُنْذِر: صَدَقَ أحمدُ، إحياءُ السُّنَنَ واتِّباعُها أفْضَلُ، وقد وَرَدَ فيها من التَّأْكيدِ فى الأخْبارِ التى رَوَيْناها ما لم يَرِدْ فى غيرِها. ولأَنَّها ذَبِيحَةٌ أمرَ النَّبِىُّ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم- بها، فكانَتْ أوْلَى، كالوَلِيمةِ والأُضْحِيَةِ.
١٧٧٠ - مسألة؛ قال: (عَنِ الغُلَامِ شَاتَانِ، وعَنِ الْجَارَية شَاةٌ)
هذا قولُ أكثرِ القائِلِين بها. وبه قال ابنُ عبّاسٍ، عائشةُ، والشافِعِىُّ، وإسحاقُ، وأبو ثَوْرٍ. وكان ابنُ عمرَ يقول: شاةٌ شاةٌ عن الغلامِ والجارَيةِ (١). لما رُوِىَ عن النَّبِىِّ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم-، أنَّه (٢) عَقَّ عن الحسنِ شاةً، وعن الحسينِ شاةً. روَاه أبو داود (٣). وكان الحسنُ، وقتادَةُ، لا يَرَيان عن الجارِيَةِ عَقِيقةً؛ لأنَّ العَقِيقَةَ شكرٌ للنِّعمَةِ الحاصِلَةِ بالولدِ، والجارِيَةُ لا
(١٤) السنة النبوية لم تجتمع كلها عند أحد من الأئمة، وقد يقول الإمام بما يخالف الحديث؛ لأنه لم يبلغه، ومن أسباب كثرة اعتماد الإمام أبى حنيفة -رحمه اللَّه- على القياس، ظهور الفِرَق فى وقته فى العراق، كثرة الكذب، حيث لا يعتمد على رواية أصحاب هذه الفرق. ولعل الموفق -رحمه اللَّه- يقصد بقوله هذا عدم علمه بالأخبار الواردة فى هذا الباب، وإلا فالإمام أبو حنيفة من أئمة المسلمين المقتدى بهم.(١٥) النقيعة: طعام القادم من سفره.(١) أخرجه عبد الرزاق، فى: باب العقيقة، من كتاب العقيقة. المصنف ٤/ ٣٣١. وابن أبى شيبة، فى: باب من قال: يسوى بين الغلام والجارية، من كتاب العقيقة. المصنف ٨/ ٢٣٩.(٢) سقط من: الأصل، ب.(٣) فى: باب فى العقيقة، من كتاب الأضاحى. سنن أبى داود ٢/ ٩٦ بلفظ: "كبشا كبشا".كما أخرجه الترمذى، فى: باب العقيقة بشاة، من أبواب الأضحية. عارضة الأحوذى ٦/ ٣١٧. والنسائى، فى: باب أخبرنا الحسين بن حريث. . .، من كتاب العقيقة. المجتبى ٧/ ١٢٥. والإمام أحمد، فى: المسند ٥/ ٣٥٥، ٣٦١.
