Al-Kāfi 6, narration 111

Translation

9. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ahmad ibn al-Hassan ibn Ali from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amir ibn Sa‘id from Musaddiq ibn Sadaqah from ‘Ammar ibn Musa who has said the following: “I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about ‘Aqiqah and a newborn. He (the Imam) has stated this Hadith. ‘When a child is seven days old a name with which Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, has named him must be given to him, then his head must be shaved and equal to the weight of his hairs gold or silver should be given in charity. A ram should be slaughtered, and if a ram is not available then whatever is sufficient for an animal offering during al-Hajj is sufficient for ‘Aqiqah. If this is not available then a lamb of the same year is sufficient. Al-Qabilah (the special nurse, doctor) should be given one-fourth of the meat thereof. If there is no al-Qabilah then it is up to the mother to whomever she wants to give and ten Muslims should be fed. If there are more than ten it is better. ‘Aqiqah is obligatory if one is affluent or even if one is poor; he must do so when he is able to manage; and if ‘Aqiqah is not done for one until he offers an offering animal during al-Hajj, it then is sufficient for ‘Aqiqah.’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘If al-Qabilah (the special nurse, doctor) is a Jewish woman who does not eat meat of the animal slaughtered by Muslims then one-fourth of the price of the animal for ‘Aqiqah should be given to her.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.