What is the ruling on one who has not performed the 'Aqiqah for his four-year-old child, and is it permissible to offer the 'Aqiqah from "seventy head of cattle," and is it a condition that the livestock slaughtered for the 'Aqiqah be male?

The aqiqah for a newborn is a confirmed Sunnah obligatory upon the father. It is sufficient to offer one-seventh of a cow, according to the Shafi'i school, and there is no sin upon one who does not perform aqiqah. If the aqiqah is performed with two-sevenths of a cow, it is sufficient, provided that the share is purchased before the slaughter. As for aqiqah with seventy cows, it is sufficient but extravagant. The sacrificial animal may be male or female.