Intending an aqiqa if a pregnant goat bears two kids

Question

I bought a pregnant goat and said aloud: “If she bears one or two kids, I will perform my son’s aqiqa.” God gave exactly two kids. Owing to unemployment and being in debt, it seems difficult to raise them for a whole year; my father himself also insists that I sell them, and I myself am also troubled by expenses. What is the Shar‘i ruling in such a case? May they be sold or not? When I have the means, can the aqiqa be performed by buying or not?

Answer

Merely by saying this much, it is not necessary for you to raise these kids and, upon completion of a full year, to slaughter them for the aqiqa; you may sell them. Furthermore, performing the aqiqa at the time of the sacrifice or at any other time is also not wajib: if you have the means and wish to, perform it; otherwise there is no accountability.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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