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Aqiqah

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

In Islam, the traditional sacrifice of an animal on the occasion of a child's birth, as an act of gratitude to God.

Detailed Definition
The Aqiqah ceremony is a Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, involving shaving the baby's head, giving it a name, and sacrificing a sheep or goat. The meat is distributed to the poor. In poetry and literature, Aqiqah serves as a symbol of birth, gratitude, and communal sharing. It can represent the parents' hopes and prayers for the child's future, the child's entry into the Muslim community (Ummah), and the recognition that all blessings, including a new life, come from God, requiring an act of thankful devotion.
Example
Example in poetry:
In contemporary Muslim-American poetry, aqiqah (the postnatal sacrifice) becomes a symbol of gratitude and continuity: “Two lambs for a daughter—her first covenant with mercy”; Poets reflect on aqiqah as a moment of communal joy and spiritual responsibility: “The knife falls, the name rises—welcome, little light”; In diasporic verse, aqiqah rituals reconnect generations: “Grandmother’s hands tie the thread; the call to prayer names you”; Poetic meditations on aqiqah often link sacrifice to divine generosity: “From God we receive; through aqiqah, we return.”
Additional Notes
Aqiqah involves sacrificing a goat or sheep on the seventh day after a child’s birth in Islam, with meat distributed to the poor; while not obligatory, it expresses gratitude and community care; in poetic contexts, it may symbolize sacrifice, new beginnings, or divine providence, and its ritual timing echoes broader religious motifs of sevens and cycles of blessing.
Also Known As
Aqeeqah
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