177. al-Kāfi, narrating from Jamil ibn Darrāj who said: “I asked Abu ‘Abdullah [al-Sādiq] (a.s.) about the sacrifice (‘aqiqah), the offering, shaving the head, or naming the child which one should be done first?”
He (a.s.) answered: “All of these are done at the same time, the shaving, the offering, and the naming.”
Then he mentioned what Fātimah (a.s.) had done for her child. After that he said: “The hair must be weighed and silver equal to its weight is to be given as alms.”1
178. al-Kāfi, narrating from Ishāq ibn ‘Ammār: I asked Imām al-Sādiq (a.s.) about the offering for the child, shaving his head, or alms- giving, and that which of them we should start with”
He answered: “Shave his head, offer the sacrifice for him, and then give silver equal to the weight of his hair as alms, and all of these are done in one place.”2
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Circumcision
179. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said: “Purify your children [by circumcision] on the seventh day, for it is more pleasant and purer, and it causes the flesh to grow faster, and indeed the earth remains polluted for forty days with the urine of he who is not circumcised.”34
180. Imām al-Sādiq (a.s.) said: “Circumcise your sons on the seventh day, for it is more pure and helps the flesh to grow faster, and the earth detests the urine of he who is not circumcised.”5
181. Imām al-Sādiq (a.s.) said: “Circumcising the boy is of the Sunnah, but female circumcision is not of the Sunnah.”6
1.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۶, p. ۳۳, h. ۴.
2.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۶, p. ۲۷, h. ۲. Tahdhib al-Ahkām, vol. ۷, p. ۴۴۲, h. ۱۷۶۷.
3.. Pollution here means performing what is opposite to the Sunnah, and not material impurity and uncleanliness. If the child is not mature (bāligh), it refers to the parent’s not following the Sunnah, and if he is mature, then it is his own opposition to the Sunnah.
4.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۶, p. ۳۵, h. ۲. Tahdhib al-Ahkām, vol. ۷, p. ۴۴۵, h. ۱۷۷۸. Both narrating from al-Sakuni from Imām al-Sādiq (a.s.).
5.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۶, p. ۳۴, h. ۱. Tahdhib al-Ahkām, vol. ۷, p. ۴۴۴, h. ۱۷۷۷. Both narrating from Mas‘adah ibn Sadaqah.
6.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۶, p. ۳۷, h. ۲. Both narrating from ‘Abdullah ibn Sinān.
