When a boy was born to one of us in the pre-Islamic period, we sacrificed a sheep and smeared his head with its blood; but when Allah brought Islam, we sacrificed a sheep, shaved his head and smeared his head with saffron.
سَمِعْتُ أَبِي بُرَيْدَةَ يَقُولُ كُنَّا فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ إِذَا وُلِدَ لأَحَدِنَا غُلاَمٌ ذَبَحَ شَاةً وَلَطَخَ رَأْسَهُ بِدَمِهَا فَلَمَّا جَاءَ اللَّهُ بِالإِسْلاَمِ كُنَّا نَذْبَحُ شَاةً وَنَحْلِقُ رَأْسَهُ وَنَلْطَخُهُ بِزَعْفَرَانٍ
[Machine] I heard my father Buraydah say, "In the time of ignorance, when one of us had a son, we would slaughter a sheep and smear its blood on his head. But when Allah brought Islam, we would slaughter a sheep, shave his head, and smear it with saffron." The scholar, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "And in the narration of Ayub ibn Musa from Yazid ibn Abdullah al-Muzani from his father, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'In the case of camels, there is a branch, and in the case of sheep, there is a branch. But it is not done for boys to touch their heads with blood.'"
سَمِعْتُ أَبِي بُرَيْدَةَ ؓ يَقُولُ كُنَّا فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ إِذَا وُلِدَ لِأَحَدِنَا غُلَامٌ ذَبَحَ شَاةً وَلَطَّخَ رَأْسَهُ بِدَمِهَا فَلَمَّا جَاءَ اللهُ بِالْإِسْلَامِ كُنَّا نَذْبَحُ شَاةً وَنَحْلِقُ رَأْسَهُ وَنُلَطِّخُهُ بِزَعْفَرَانٍ قَالَ الشَّيْخُ رَحِمَهُ اللهُ وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَيُّوبَ بْنِ مُوسَى عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ الْمُزَنِيِّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ فِي الْإِبِلِ فَرَعٌ وَفِي الْغَنَمِ فَرَعٌ وَيُعَقُّ عَنِ الْغُلَامِ وَلَا يُمَسُّ رَأْسُهُ بِدَمٍ