Akeekah - an act of thanksgiving

We reached home (Kuala Lumpur) before dusk after leaving Penang island at about 2.30 pm on Saturday. We were in Penang to attend the "akad nikah" or solemnization of marriage at the state mosque of Sharifah Ruhil Amani, daughter of Syed Omar bin Ali Aidid and a Yemeni youth from Mukalla. Syed Omar is my second cousin.

The following day we attended the wedding reception of Isa Adam Yee, son of Datuk Dr Adam Yee and Datin Dr Sharifah Mariam Aidid at the Pilgrims Management and Fund Board complex, Bayan Lepas.

Among others, we met Datuk Dr Syed Yusof Idid, who is my cousin uncle from Kedah, Datuk Seri Yusof Latif, Datuk Azmi Merican, Datuk Syed Mohamad Aidid, retired teacher Ismail Ibramsa, Dr Syed Alwi and wife Sharifah Hamidah and Isa Adam Yee's family members.

We left the reception to return to Kuala Lumpur with my elder brother Syed Faiz and his wife Sharifah Maznah. As stated in my earlier posting, we would be attending a small thanksgiving feast my brother's grand-daughter Sharifah Jannah at her maternal grandparents house in Kelana Jaya on Sunday. Jannah's proud parents are Syed Ahmad Fazli and Kharisa.

Akeekah refers to the animal sacrificed, popularly on the seventh day after the birth, as an act of thanksgiving to Allah for the blessing of a child, whether male or female.

The person who does akeekah for his child has to invite people to come and eat it, in his house or wherever, or he can distribute the meat raw or cooked to the poor and to his relatives, neighbours, friends, etc.

For the record, there is a difference of scholarly opinion concerning the ruling on akeekah, with there being three different views.

Some say that it is obligatory, some said that it is mustahab (recommended) and some say that it is Sunnah mu'akkadah (a confirmed Sunnah). The majority of scholars said that the latter is the most correct view.

Normally, for a boy two sheep which meet the conditions for sacrifice should be slaughtered, and for a girl one sheep. The sheep should be slaughtered on the seventh day, but it is permissible to slaughter them at any time.

And Allah knows best.