All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
When Allah Favors a person with a baby, he should do the following acts on the seventh day of that baby`s birth:
1. Slaughtering Aqeeqah. Two sheep should be slaughtered for the baby boy and one for the baby girl. The meat should be cooked and friends, relatives and blood relatives are to be invited to that banquet. The father should also give part of that meat as charity. However, if he slaughters one sheep for the baby boy, then it avails him because he has followed the Prophet`s Sunnah.
2. The baby`s head should be shaved, and the weight of his/her hair should be given in gold or silver as charity. Although this sum is little, its reward is great because the Prophet`s Sunnah has been followed.
3. The baby should be given a good name.
4. The baby boy should be circumcised. Thanks to Allah, this is one of the most common obligations that all Muslims observe. However, if parents were afraid that their son may not endure this procedure then they should put it off. In fact, some jurists prefer carrying out this act on the eighth day of the baby`s birth. Please refer to the book [Moghni al-Mohtajj, vol.5/pp.540}.
5. It is recommendable that the above acts be accompanied with acts of cheerfulness, but without extravagance, such as offering sweets, playing the Daff (tambourine in Arabia), and the like since being cheerful about the birth of a baby is being pleased with God`s grace, and in Islam happiness can be expressed in any form so long as it complies with the rules of Sharia. And Allah Knows Best.
