D) It is recommended that the meat of the sacrifice be divided among the believers and ask them to pray for the baby, but it is better to cook the meat and invite at least ten persons to eat and pray for the newborn.
E) It is recommended when cutting up the ‘aqiqah not to break the bones. Another recommendation is that one leg and thigh, or rather one fourth of the sacrifice should be given to the midwife.
F) It is disapproved for the parents and those supported by the father, to eat from the offering, in particular the mother.¹
G) It is recommended to recite the special supplication for the ‘aqiqah while it is being slaughtered. The supplications narrated from Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) in this regard are abundant.²

8- Circumcision of the Baby

It is a recommended act to circumcise the newborn boy on the seventh day after his birth, and it is permissible to delay it till the age of puberty. It is of precaution that the child’s parents would get him circumcised before puberty, but after puberty it is an urgent obligation and delaying it is not permissible.
It is also recommended that at the time of circumcision, the related supplication to be recited.³

G) Certain names like Muhammad and Fātimah have special rights and respect that must be observed because of their connection with great Islamic characters.
H) There are some names that are reprehensible (makruh) because they symbolise the wrong and injustice, like: Shahāb, Hariq, Hubāb, Kalb, Firār, Harb, and Zālim.
I) It is disapproved to put names that indicate pride, or something whose negation in a conversation is considered as a bad omen, such as: Mubārak – the blessed, in which its negation is ‘the unblessed’.
J) The names that are befitting only to Allah, the Exalted, (like Quddus, Hakam, and Khāliq) should not be used as the name of someone. Some jurists have considered this as prohibited.

6- Shaving the Newborn’s Head

It is a recommended act to shave the hair on the head of a newborn on the seventh day and donate its equal weight in gold or silver for charity, and there is no difference as to whether the newborn is a girl or a boy.

7- To Offer a Sacrifice (‘aqiqah) for the Newborn

Performing a ‘aqiqah is the sacrificing of a sheep¹ to feed people upon the birth of a child.²
The things that must be observed in this regard are:
A) To offer a sacrifice for a child is a highly recommended act, and some jurists³ have even considered it obligatory.
B) It is recommended that the offering for a boy should be a male sheep and for a girl a female sheep.
C) The time of sacrifice is the seventh day after the birth, and if it is delayed, any time after that it will still remain as a recommended practice. If the parents did not perform the ‘aqiqah for the child, it is recommended that the child himself does so when he becomes mature.