In the days of ignorance, whenever a boy was born to one of us, we would slaughter a sheep and smear the baby's head with its blood. When Allah brought Islam, we began slaughtering a sheep, shaving the baby's head, and rubbing it with saffron.
كنا في الجاهلية إذا ولد لأحدنا غلام ذبح شاة ولطخ رأسه، بدمها، فلما جاء الله بالإسلام كنا نذبح شاة ونحلق رأسه وتلطخه بزعفران.
Abu Dawud (2843) narrated it, and from his route Bayhaqi (9/302–303) and Hakim (4/238), all of them via Husayn bin Waqid, from Abdullah bin Burayda, from his father, and he related it. Its chain is hasan because of Husayn bin Waqid, who is Marwazi the judge, hasan in hadith, and Hakim graded it sahih according to the standard of the two Shaykhs.As for what was narrated from Yazid bin Abd Muzani that the Prophet ﷺ said, "An aqiqah is offered for the boy, and his head is not smeared with blood," this is daif. Ibn Majah (3166) narrated it from Yaqub bin Humayd bin Kasib, who said, Abdullah bin Wahb narrated to us, who said, Amr bin Harith narrated to me, from Ayub bin Musa, that he was told that Yazid bin Abd Muzani told him, and he related it.Its narrators are trustworthy except for Yazid bin Abd Muzani, for no one narrated from him except Ayub bin Musa Qurashi Umawi. Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the trustworthy successors (5/543), following his usual practice of establishing the trustworthiness of unknown narrators. Some added after "Yazid bin Abd", "from his father." Likewise, Ibn Abu Asim narrated it in al-Ahad wal-Mathani (1108), and Tahawi in his Mushkil (1052), and its chain revolves around Yazid bin Abd, who is unknown. Likewise, his father's companionship with the Prophet has not been established, as stated in al-Isabah (9488) in the fourth section, so he too is unknown, since no one narrated from him except his son.