"Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, 'If any member of my people has two children who die before him, Allah will cause him to enter Paradise on their account.' Aisha asked, 'Does it apply to a member of your people who has one child who dies before him?' He replied, 'It does, you who have been helped by Allah to ask this.' She then asked, 'What about a member of your people who has no children who die before him?' He replied, 'I am the one who dies before my people, and they will never suffer any loss to compare with the loss of me.'" [Hadith Al-Tirmidhi, 1735]

"The daughter of the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent for the Prophet requesting him to come as her child was dying [or was gasping], but the Prophet returned the messenger and told him to convey his greeting to her and say: 'Whatever Allah takes is for Him and whatever He gives, is for Him, and everything with Him has a limited fixed term [in this world] and so she should be patient and hope for Allah's reward.' She again sent for him, swearing that he should come. The Prophet got up, and so did Sa'd bin 'Ubada, Muadh bin Jabal, Ubai bin Ka'b, Zaid bin Thabit and some other men. The child was brought to Allah's Apostle while his breath was disturbed in his chest [the sub-narrator thinks that Usama added:] as if it was a leather water-skin. On that the eyes of the Prophet (peace be upon him) started shedding tears. Sa'd said, 'O Allah's Apostle! What is this?' He replied, 'It is mercy which Allah has lodged in the hearts of His slaves, and Allah is merciful only to those of His slaves who are merciful [to others].'" [Hadith al-Bukhari 2.373]

We went with Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) to the blacksmith Abu Saif, and he was the husband of the wet-nurse of Ibrahim [the son of the Prophet]. Allah's Apostle took Ibrahim and kissed him and smelled him and later we entered Abu Saif's house and at that time Ibrahim was in his last breaths, and the eyes of Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) started shedding tears. 'AbdurRahman bin 'Auf said, "O Allah's Apostle, even you are weeping!" He said, "O Ibn 'Auf, this is mercy." Then he wept more and said, "The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved, and we will not say except what pleases our Lord, O Ibrahim ! Indeed we are grieved by your separation." [Hadith al-Bukhari, 2.390]

"Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father, Urwa ibn az-Zubayr made an aqiqa for his male and female children of a sheep each." [Al-Muwatta Hadith, 26:7]

[Legal interpretation of the hadith:] "Malik said, 'What we do about the aqiqa is that if someone makes an aqiqa for his children, he gives a sheep for both male and female. The aqiqa is not obligatory but it is desirable to do it, and people continue to come to us about it. If someone makes an aqiqa for his children, the same rules apply as with all sacrificial animals - one-eyed, emaciated, injured, or sick animals must not be used, and neither the meat or the skin is to be sold. The bones are broken and the family eat the meat and give some of it away as sadaqa. The child is not smeared with any of the blood.'"