al-Mufassal fi Ahkam al-Aqiqa
- Author died
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- Editions
- Printed in Jerusalem / Palestine (printed at the expense of an anonymous benefactor, may God reward him with the best reward)
al-Mufassal fi Ahkam al-Aqiqa (Arabic: المفصل في أحكام العقيقة, lit. 'The Detailed Treatise on the Rulings of the Aqiqa') is a contemporary legal treatise on the Islamic sacrificial custom of aqiqa (the sacrifice for a newborn) authored by the Palestinian jurist Husam al-Din Afana .
Background and Purpose
Afana had previously authored a concise book on the topic titled Ahkam al-Aqiqa fi al-Shari'a al-Islamiyya (Rulings on the Aqiqa in Islamic Law) around ten years earlier, spanning approximately 70 pages . Upon reviewing that earlier work, he concluded that the topic required broader, more detailed treatment, leading him to compile al-Mufassal fi Ahkam al-Aqiqa as an exhaustive compendium of the legal issues discussed by scholars regarding the aqiqa .
Content and Method
The work examines the jurisprudence of the aqiqa through comparative legal analysis, compiling all relevant prophetic traditions—numbering thirty hadiths—along with twenty-two reports (athar) transmitted from the Companions and Successors . The author presents the variant opinions of classical scholars alongside their textual evidence and selects preferred rulings (tarjih) .
The book discusses topics including:
- The linguistic and legal definitions of aqiqa, its pre-Islamic practice, and its Islamic legitimacy and underlying wisdom .
- Interpretations of the prophetic hadith stating that every newborn is held in pledge by their aqiqa .
- Legal obligations, conditions, preferred animals, and whether multiple parties can share in a single sacrificial animal .
- The distinction in animal count between male and female newborns .
- The use and distribution of the meat, the ruling on daubing the newborn's head with blood, and the combining of an aqiqa with an udhiya (Eid sacrifice) .
- The timing of the sacrifice (such as the seventh day, before or after, and instances where the child dies), whether an adult may perform aqiqa on their own behalf if it was omitted in childhood, and the requisite intention and verbal naming at slaughter .
The treatise concludes with an appendix devoted to recommended traditions (sunan) concerning the newborn, including calling the adhan in the child's ear, tahnik (softening a date to rub on the infant's palate), shaving the head and giving the weight of the hair in charity, naming, circumcision, and offering congratulations .
Publication
The first edition of the book was published in Jerusalem, Palestine, in 1424 AH / 2003 CE, with typesetting and formatting prepared by the author's daughter, Shifa' bint Husam al-Din Afana .
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