Do you have to shave a newborn's head and give silver in charity?

Explanation

The Prophet ﷺ said that on the seventh day the aqiqah is slaughtered, the head is shaved and the child is named. When al-Hasan was born, he told Fatimah to shave his head and give the weight of the hair in silver as charity. Al-Tirmidhi graded this report hasan.

How to do it:

• Shave the whole head on the seventh day, or later if the weather or the baby's health makes it better to wait.
• Weigh the hair on a small kitchen or jewellery scale. A newborn's hair usually weighs under a gram.
• Look up the price of that weight of silver and give it to the poor. Many families round up generously.
• If the hair cannot be weighed, estimate and give a little more to be safe.

Do not shave part of the head and leave the rest, a style called qaza', which the Prophet ﷺ forbade. Use a barber or a careful parent with a safe trimmer, and avoid cuts on the soft spot.

The shaving and the charity are separate from the aqiqah. If you cannot afford an aqiqah, you can still do these. See when aqiqah is done and the aqiqah calculator.

The evidence

Where the ruling is recorded

• Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Udhiyah, closing discussion on aqiqah. Mentions shaving and giving the weight of the hair in silver or gold.
• al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on naming children and aqiqah. Hanafi recommendations for the seventh day.

This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.