A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| ummrashid1 |
| 02/03/03 at 03:30:12 |
| Assalamu'alaykum all! Ive noticed a lot of baby name threads on the board that are reaaaallly HOT. Muslim parents owe it to their children to give them good, meaningful names since we'll be called by our names on the Day of Qiyaamah [Hadith Abu Dawud] I've also seen many Muslim reverts taking a lot of care to choose a new Islaamic name that they identify with and that has special meaning for them. Witness Muhammad Asad, Maryam Jamilah, Yusuf Islaam.... Rasulallah [saw] was a great one for changing names that had derogatory or unIslaamic connotations. He changed Abu Bakr RA's name from Abdul Ka'abah to Abdullah, Umar RA's daughter's name from Aasiyah to Jameelah, Zaid al Khail's name to Zaid al Khair...the list is pretty long. That's why I often wonder ??? why some brothers and sisters continue to carry a vestige from the past .....Im thinking of a "correct" way to say this without offending anyone.....Why do they choose to carry on with a non-Muslim name when in every other aspect they are Masha'allah committed practising Muslims? ??? I mean imagine if one were in rasullah's [saw] time, would he have allowed names like .....just an example here... Mohammed John Smith or Paula Abdullah to go unchanged??? I'd appreciate any insights into this phenom Jazakumullah khair |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| jannah |
| 02/03/03 at 03:48:00 |
| [wlm] I don't see anything wrong with a person keeping their name as long as it doesn't represent anything "unislamic". If you read all those past threads about changing one's name...there are various reasons why some reverts have not changed their name. They want to keep their identity as people. Their past is their past, they aren't denying it and Alhamdulillah we know that they are free of sin when they come into Islam. But they are still themselves, they can't and shouldn't erase their previous life because it got them to where they are. It is also good dawah sometimes if you meet a Muslim named Michael it throws people's preconceptions of Islam being an "Arab" religion sometimes. You don't have to have an "Arab" name to be Muslim, there are some good names that have good meanings in other languages as well. Also, just as a note, when the prophet [saw] changed someone's name it was usually because the name before was something unIslamic, ie Abdul Kaabah means servant of the Kaaba, etc not just for the sake of changing a name! Yet note that among the long list of Sahaba very few changed their names when they became Muslim besides for that reason ;) Perhaps others can add to this inshaAllah... :) |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| se7en |
| 02/03/03 at 04:53:05 |
| as salaamu alaykum, we're actually having a discussion about this right now in the al-manar light house :) check it out [url=http://www.jannah.org/cgi-bin/madina/YaBB.pl?board=lighthouse;action=display;num=1038425026]here[/url] take care wasalaaamu alaykum |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| Abu_Atheek |
| 02/03/03 at 04:54:47 |
| Wa Alaikum Salam Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh [color=Green]Names of children, and when a change becomes necessary[/color] My 13-year-old daughter's name, Julisha, has been criticized by our neighbors as being a Christian name. This has caused her much worry. Is it essential to change it according to Islam? The Prophet did not change the name of any of his companions unless there was a very good reason for such a change. Generally speaking, the change was caused either by the name being symbolic of beliefs which are contrary to Islam or its having a very bad meaning. For example, if a companion of the Prophet was called Abduluzza, which meant that he was servant of the well known idol called Aluzza, the Prophet changed that name to Abdullah or Abdurrahman, which meant that the person concerned was a servant of Allah or a servant of the Merciful, who is Allah. I am not sure that the name "Julisha" has any strong association with the Christian faith, unless it is so in your part of the world. The name "Julia" is a well known Christian name, but not "Julisha". Besides, is it a name so identifiable with Christianity, to the extent that the person who hears it would immediately say that the holder is a Christian girl? Apparently not, because if it was, you would have not given it to your daughter. On the other hand, is it a common name in your part of the world? If so, then it could be used by followers of different religions. In this case, you certainly need not change it. You should be guided in this respect by the Prophet's action, which shows that a change of name is needed when the name indicates or promotes beliefs other than those of Islam. [url]http://www.ourdialogue.com/n1.htm#2[/url] |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| paula |
| 02/06/03 at 03:54:52 |
| :-) Ummrashid1 [slm] Bi'ithnillah........Allahu Alam This is a very nice question and post here........ especially to me since it was one of the very first things of many that I prayed on when I converted to Islam.......... I think Jannah stated it very very nicely here from my situation..... and "thank-you" se7en for adding the link to the other discussion. Looking forward to reading those too. Ironically...... I'm not sure if it was ment or Ironic...... my name... real name is Paula Abdalla...... I thought that was neat :-* I prayed and then I asked and found everyone telling me the same..... that it was not required for me to change my name ..... and actually I found nobody in the positions giving me advice that pressed or expressed true encouragement for me to change my name......... then inside and after prayer on it...... I truly believed that for me..... the right thing was not to...for me...... I don't believe that is the case accross the board or that it should apply to everyone..... again......... Allahu Alam For me........ the are 2 main points that made me keep my name..... I was not raised around Islam and my parents are not Muslim..... the community that I was raised in and for several hours in all directions there is not even a single Muslim to be found in that population..... but Allahu Akbar..... I know inside that I was born Muslim........... for many reasons..... and prayer to Allah...... in an environment that did not offer the hint to me of what Islam was....... that devotion to Allah in my heart and submission to him.... he lead me to Islam ..... or Islam to me. It was only after taking my first Salat that I had a flash back of bowing when I was young....... many hours..... it was a comfort that I took as a natural action....... yet I didn't realize what I was doing. Now the name change......it would not bother me for any community to call me by an Muslim name..... it would be a respect...... but my parents gave me that name..... to me it is a respect to my parents to keep it..... it is a respect in my heart to Allah.....along with my submission..... that my destiny was to be born to who I was and where I was ....... and I was named Paula..... for whatever reason....... alhamdu lillah. To my parents..... to my community........ I am still Paula ...... the same person I was born...... I didn't change..... and I do not hide or fear the fact I am Muslim. It is amazing...... a really amazing thing how peoples perceptions effect things ....... viewpoints and fears...... and Islam to many represents a radicalism ....... there are some real false impressions..... and people have a fear to even hear anything that is a different idea...... the modesty of me keeping my American name...... I prayed would ease the mental perceptions around me..... and hopefully allow for some openness from those I many come in contact with ...... even if it would break the false impression or misconception to one person of who a Muslim was....to ask and seek some questions about Islam, it would be worth it....... I prayed for that, I pray for that all the time...... there are still many that do not know Islam....... the Muslim community...... You know Islam already........ Allah already gave you that blessing...... If a Muslim rejects me..... because my name is not Arabic......... it's not about me and them.......... again Allahu Alam ........ the only person I seek acceptance from is Allah. Will he not accept me ..... I'm not trying to be defiant to him ...... and I truly believe.... he brought me to Islam..... he took care of me ..... he will let me know the day I need to change my name ..... if required........ Allahu Akbar As for people...... well it has happened..... I have seen people inquire about Islam that were afraid of it before ... I've seen it happen. My parents, I do not believe have made the connection..... I'm there daughter you know..... they have fear ....... one day I continue to pray ...... they will truly see.... there is nothing to fear...except Allah himself.... and I am the same person they gave birth to. Another thing that gave me comfort .......... naturally......... by Allah's Grace....... and with my submission to him........ he not only showed me Islam....... When I married......... my name changed, it naturally changed to Paula "Abdalla"......... Allahu Akbar Another thing I found interesting now...... especially about the name issue or topic........ this was the only place I have used my real name..... and I prayed on that a moment before I entered my information when I registered............. the guidance I felt....... It's an Islamic site....... don't fear it (although..... other Islamic sites I never gave my real name)...... and when the issue of modesty came about...... because it's the internet.......... because inside I really don't feel comfortable just giving out information...... I got the feeling.... no...... this time ..... go ahead ..... then there has been so much communication about names .......... smile :-* I really enjoy you all in this community here...... this is a very comforting place to spend time........ "thanks to everyone here" Jazak Allahu Khairan [wlm] |
| 02/06/03 at 03:57:45 |
| paula |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| sisterntr |
| 02/06/03 at 14:41:43 |
| Dear sisters and brothers, Assalamalaikum A very good question raised by one of the sisters. I feel that we should not go by what I feel or what you feel norms. We must try and find an answer to this very important question and the answer should be from Hadith/Shariah . Anything that we follow in Islam is not a personal choice. It is Alhamdolillah a religion where each and everything is specified by Allah(SWT) and The Prophet(PBUH). I am a revert and when one accepts Islam, everything changes in one's attitude, behaviour, life etc. You are no longer a nobody, you are a muslim and in the process of cleansing your entire self you want to get rid of all the things associated with you from your previous life as a non-believer. You want the world to know that now you are someone special and you are a muslim. We have been told to have an identity of ourselves whereby we are recognised as muslims and your name is the first thing that strikes others. It is not that if you have a christian name and the meaning of that name is good you should continue with it bcoz that name spells christianity . Allah (SWT) knows what we are, we don't have to prove anything to Him, it is the people of the world who need to know what we are, as soon as we or others utter our name it should be obvious that we are muslims. Wallahoalam Bissawab Let us continue our pursuit for the right answer. |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| jannah |
| 02/06/03 at 15:51:26 |
| [wlm] [quote]We must try and find an answer to this very important question and the answer should be from Hadith/Shariah .[/quote] Sister where does it say from Quran and Sunnah one has to change their name. And to a recognizably "Muslim" name? What does that mean... does Sarah count? Muna? Does it have to be arab? How bout a common desi islamic name? Does it have to be from Quran? What exactly is a "christian" name? How subjective are we getting here? And like you mentioned subjectivity is not part of Islamic law. Look at how many sahabah there were. Did you see them all changing their names in jahaliyya to "islamic" ones? Aisha? Hafsa? Uthman? Jawariyah? Salman?, Bilal?. The only one's who changed their name were one's that were shirky or shady in some way. Anyway you're right Allah knows what is in one's heart and one shouldn't judge by their name. Perhaps the sisters who take offense to "American" names can ask their imam or knowledgable scholars in their area about their opinion on it. And again if it's acceptable to some scholars to keep one's name if it has a good meaning, why are we making negative dawah by pushing our own opinions onto those sisters and brothers? |
| 02/06/03 at 15:56:24 |
| jannah |
| [color=Green][Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| ummrashid1 |
| 02/06/03 at 18:08:37 |
| Assalamu'alaykum! First, l'd like to tell sis paula that subhanallah it's just an amazing coincidence that a name I made up at random to illustrate my point turned out to be her real name. Wallah sis, no offense meant and I hope none's taken. If u don't mind I'd like to tell u why I chose to illustrate my point with the name "paula" rather than any other...it's because it is connected with Paul, the founder of the doctrine of Trinity and the one who ascribed divinity to Jesus, who proposed the idea of Jesus being a Son Of God...all of which are descrbed in the Qur'an as shirk...Obviously the names associated with such a person are un-Islaamic... Sis jannah wrote: [color=Red][/color] It was undoubtedly the sunnah of the Prophet SAW to change names --not just names that had something "shady or shirky" --- but all those which had derogatory meanings, unIslaamic connotations and even those that ascribed qualities to a person that belonged only to Allaah swt. Refer ahadith Abu Dawud, Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim. Sister, the point Im trying to make has nothing to do with Arab versus non Arab names , rather Im talking about Muslims and Muslimahs with non-Muslim names...Rasoolullah SAW even changed the name of one of the Ummul Mu'mineeen from Barraa (good/ pious) to Zainab and changed the names of entire Arab tribes like Banu Mughwiyah to Banu Rushd to just name two instances... As for consulting an imaam on the question, my imaam had this to say: As Muslims we are expected to name our children with the best names, preferably those that show our relationship of servitude to Allaah swt. That 's why Rasoolullah SAW said that the names most loved by Allah are Abdullah and Abdul Rahman...As Muslims we are also expected not to follow the ways of other communities, but to distinguish ourselves from them by our names, behaviour and actions...Wallahu 'aalam And last, far from "taking offense at non-Arab names" or indulging in negative da'wah, my only aim in starting this thread was to develop an insight into why Muslims chose to carry on with their old names, when in fact on the day of their shahada they are Mashallah beiznillah purified like newborn children...Isn't it logical that one names a "newborn" with the best of names?? My only prayer for every brother and sister Muslim is : Allahumma arinal haqqa haqqanw warzuqna tiba'aahu; wa arinal baatila baatilanw warzuqna jtinaabahu Roughly translated as Our Lord, show us the truth as truth and help us follow it, And show us the misguidance for what it is and help us avoid it. Last, I'd like to ask all brothers and sisters to overlook any faults in my post which may have inadvertently caused offense. As Allaah is my witness, causing offense or creating shiqaaq was not my intention. |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| a_Silver_Rose |
| 02/06/03 at 18:20:17 |
| [slm] I completely agree with sister Jannah. After reading your last post sister Ummrashid1, I would then say, it is simply a matter of choice. It is clearly not obligatory, and we should not make Islam harder than it is (not that you are trying to) If one wishes to change her/his name then he will and if he or she does not, then he wont. Thanx to reading your post Ummrashid, I understand from the stories of the Sahaba you have given that it is always good to change into a better name, but I also know that it is equally good to keep your name for the respect of your father/mother (which is highly important in Islam) and for the sake of dawah. Allah (swt) knows best. But heyyy who says we cant keep two names huh ;) take care your sister Jazak Allahu Kairon |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| jannah |
| 02/07/03 at 04:31:01 |
| [wlm] Thank you for your messages ummrashid. Whenever you find something uncomfortable you should follow up on it. The question of changing names has been asked to our Imam many times and asked in my presence in q&a forums with scholars. The answer given is that one can keep their name as long as it has no unislamic meaning. Here are more resources if you are looking for the hadiths applicable to this: http://islamonline.net/completesearch/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=63381 http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=14622&dgn=3 http://www.islamonline.net/askaboutislam/display.asp?hquestionID=3049 btw paula comes from the latin meaning petite john is english for yahya not sure about smith? Since this is agreed upon by scholars I'd suggest not trying to convince a new revert to change their "non-muslim" name (unless it has an unislamic meaning), since it is not something oblligatory on them. |
| Call them by their father's name |
|---|
| sofia |
| 02/07/03 at 10:32:35 |
| As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah, sis UmmRashid Thought these 2 articles on the Islamic naming system were interesting. One thing I wanted to emphasize by these are that we cannot change the name of our ancestory (Islaamic law protects 5 essentials: faith, life, property, intellect and lineage). The Prophet (S), as mentioned already, did *not* change everyone's name when they came into the fold of Islaam. In fact, it was unusual for him to do so, and when he did, there was a reason for it (as mentioned above, when the name connotated something "un-Islaamic" or *servitude* to other than Allah). Come to think of it, I'd guess most Muslims throughout the history of Islaam do not have "Islamic names," if there is such a thing. I know I don't. Most of the companions were called by their pre-Islaamic names or kuniyaah. As we know, an Arab (or any other language) name does not connote a Muslim name. But I do agree with you on the point that when we name our children, we should take care to name them with the best names, per the Qur'aan and Sunnah (ex/ AbdurRahmaan, Abdullah). Changing one's name upon coming into the fold of Islaam, however, is something quite different, and was never even recommended by the Prophet under normal circumstances (except in the cases discussed). I'd imagine that if it was, there would be a lot more hesitancy to become Muslim for those new to its teachings. Allahu A'lim. --------- See: The Islamic Naming System (an excerpt from Tafseer Soorah Al-Hujuraat A Commentary on the 49th Chapter of The Qur'aan by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips) http://www.allaahuakbar.net/scholars/bilal_philips/islamic_naming_system.htm ---------- Call Them by Their Fathers' Names Sheikh Wajdi al-Ghazzawi Reprinted from al-Jumuah Magazine volume 12 issue 5/6 What's in a name? More than you think. If you're thinking about changing your name to something more "Islamic," read this article first to avoid mistakes. Our ancestry are to us like roots are to a tree, one cannot truly cut them off. One of these faults, which are widespread among Muslims, especially those who are serious about their religion, is the changing of the family name to a Muslim name. This is forbidden by Allah, hence He says, "Call them after their fathers. That is most just in the sight of Allah. If you know not their fathers, then call them your brothers in faith and your patrons. There is no blame on you if you make a mistake but you are accountable for what is done intentionally. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Qur'an 33:5] In his famous tafseer, Imam ibn Katheer said that this verse abrogated a ruling of something that was allowed at the beginning of Islam. Abdullah ibn Umar said, "We used to call Zayd ibn Harithah, the patron of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, Zayd ibn Mohammed until the Qur'an stated, "Call them after their fathers. That is most just in the sight of Allah." (Bukhari) Ibn Katheer said, "Allah ordered us to call them by their real fathers' names. That is only just and fair." This common mistake among new Muslims in the West, namely changing their family name, typicahly can lead them to fall into the following prohibitions: First, Neglect of Allah's Orders: It makes them subject to the grave warning and the definite threat that came in several ahadeeth. One of these ahadeeth, narrated by Imam Ahmad and Ibn Majah from Ibn Abbaas say, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said that, "Whomever is not named after his father, or who takes as a benefactor and protector other than his supporter, is cursed by Allah, His Angels and all the people." This is a severe and definite warning to those who are not named after their real fathers. Just because the father's name is a Christian name or a non-Muslim name is not reason enough, in Islam, to change it. And so if one's father name is George, he should not change it to Muhammad or Ali for example. One must be named after his real father's name, even if he is a non-believer (kafir), or the worst enemy to Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu alayhe wa sal-lam. To help illustrate this point, examine the following: • Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl: This companion of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam became a Muslim in the year of al-Fatih or the concurring of Makkah, and was one of the best Muslims, one who fought for the sake of Allah until he was killed. He was the son of one of the worst of Allah's enemies, Abu Jahl, the man who fought the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, with his hands, tongue and money. Nevertheless, Ikremah never changed his father's name after becoming a Muslim. He kept his real father's name although it was not an honorable one. • Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan: The Mother of the believers, the wife of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, married the Prophet before her father himself became a Muslim. Yet, she did not change her name and the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, did not order her to change it, although he was one of the Prophet's strongest enemies at the time. • Safiyyah bint Huyay: Her father Huyay ibn Akhtab was a Jew. When she became a Muslim, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam married her, and she did not change her father's or her grandfather's name even though everyone knew that they were non-believers, and that they were the enemies of Allah and his Messenger, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. More than that, Safiyyah used to visit her family, and when Umar ibnul Khattab heard that she liked the Jews, he asked her about it. She replied that they were her family, and that as a Muslim she was supposed to keep her kin ties strong and, that that was the reason for her visits with them. Look at this example! Safiyyah did not forsake her family ties and never abandoned her family's name. She did this because she knew that her name would not hurt her or weaken her faith and belief in Allah. There are many more examples, but in these three I hope that all of us find good enough reasons to rethink the issue, and to avoid doing the opposite of what these three good companions of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, did. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "He who knowingly claims to be the son of other than his father, then he is forbidden from entering Paradise." How can those who are running away from the Hellfire, by seeking Islam and becoming Muslims, be so negligent, that they might end up in it anyway, by carelessly misnaming themselves to others than their real fathers? Why would anyone claim to be the son of someone he knows for sure is not his father? One may meet a Muslim who claims that his name is Muhammad Abdurrahman Ali. One would think that this means he is Muhammad the son of Abdurrahman, and the grandson of Ali. But after checking, one would be surprised to discover that Abdurrahman and Ali are not real people at all, and that Muhammad, who happens to be the son of John, the grandson of Roberts, for example, made them up. This is not a good thing to do, for it leads one to fall into the next sin, falsification. Second, Cheating People and Misleading Them: In the previous example, when one hears the name Muhammad Abdurrahman Ali, one automatically thinks that the name belongs to a Muslim from a Muslim country. You do not expect it to belong to be an American or a European from a Western non-Muslim father. This is an obvious case of cheating and falsification, especially if the information is presented on paper, like on a resume or other documents, meant for official procedures or employment. This falsification is the same as lying, if not worse. Third, Injustice and Aggression: For someone to be called after other than his real father's name is to do great injustice to the father. This is why Allah says, "Call them after their fathers. That is most just in the sight of Allah." It is only just and fair that Allah has made that obligatory on us. How can anyone of us, willingly, choose to do otherwise? Such acts are not allowed in Islam, whether the father is a Muslim or not. It is imperative that Muslims who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and who have read these scripts and warnings but have fallen into this sin, to repent to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, and correct their mistake by renaming themselves after their real fathers, John, George or any other. What Should One Do? Stating the above, the following question needs to be answered: What can a person who does not know his real father do? This is especially important because promiscuity in the West has made this task difficult. Allah has revealed the answer to this question, "If you know not their fathers, then call them your brothers in faith and your patrons." [5:33] Of the one who does not know his father, we ask, who was the man who raised and took care of you? If the answer is, my stepfather, or this man whose name is, for example, Ibrahim, then we call the person, our brother in Islam, Ibrahim's patron. If he has no patron, then he can relate his name to his country or city and add his kunia, or nickname, to it. A lot of prominent Muslim scholars have done this in the past. The name can be for example, Abu Muhammad (nickname), Ali (his name) al-Canadi (the Canadian), or al-Ameriky (the American), or al-Britany (the British), so on and so forth. One excuse for the father's name change that some people use, is the allegation that their fathers' and grandfathers' names are not their real names. They are names, they say, that were given to them by the slave masters. Therefore, they are changing these names so that they change the names, which are related to a bad interval in their history. The answer is that this action is a misconception and a direct contradiction to the above verse. Allah has obliged us to be named after our real fathers. If one's father's real name was changed by force during the period of slavery, and you managed to know the original name, then use it. But if you do not know the real name and you change the current name, then you have committed the same sin as the oppressor, for you have changed a man's name. Such a situation, however, applies only to a number of people in the West. Another excuse some people use for example, is that one would say, "I am calling myself Muhammad Abdullah (i.e. the slave of Allah) and that should be alright, for we are all slaves of Allah, believers and non-believers." And even though this statement is true in general, people use names to indicate and ascertain a specific blood relationship, and not to make a general statement about the fact that one is the son of a man who was created by Allah. Again, we must be careful so that we do not fall in the name change trap. Wives Taking Their Husbands' Last Names: It is important to note that one of the forms of being named after other than your father, is what some newly converted Muslim women do. They change their family names to their husbands' family names, as is the norm in the West. I have seen many Muslim men and women who have fallen into this prohibition. This type of name change actually has two problems. The first is the fact that the woman would fall into the sin of changing the name of her real father who spent his life and money caring for her. What a recompense! The second is making resemblance to the non-believers in a tradition that is permanently a part of their lifestyle. An Important Question: Many newly reverted Muslims ask, should they change their names? The answer is that they should not change their names except in the following situations: • If the name is forbidden in Islam. For example, if the name implies worshipping other than Allah like Abdush-Shams (slave of the sun), Abdun-Nabi (slave of the Prophet), Abdul-Maseeh (slave of the Christ), etc. Also, if the name symbolizes idols like Naelah, Hubal or Buddha, then it must be changed immediately. • If the name is typical of the non-believers like Botros, John, Diana, Suzanne or Victoria, then a Muslim should stay away from these names. • If the name praises oneself, as in the case of Barrah (pious), the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, changed it to Zainab and said, "Do not praise yourself. Allah knows the pious ones more than you do." (Muslim) • If the name has a bad meaning like the names of animals such as Faar (mouse), Kalb (dog), Hanash (snake). Or pronounced badly in another language such as Tom (many pronounce it Toom, which sounds like garlic in Arabic). If the non-Muslim name is like one of the above then it must be changed to a good Muslim name, one that is desirable in Islam. For example Abdurrahman, Abdullah, any of the Prophets' names, the companions names, the wives of the Prophet, allallahu alayhe wa sallam, or his daughters. It should be taken into consideration that only the first name is changed and not the father's name no matter how bad it is. In the Day of Judgment, people will be called by their fathers' names. Bukhari wrote a chapter in his book about people being called by their fathers' names. In it he mentions a hadeeth narrated by Ibn Umar who said that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "On the Day of Judgment, a sign will be raised for the deceitful saying, 'This is the deceit of Fulan Ibn Fulan (this man the son of such a man).'" It is necessary to mention that we should use the relational noun between names in the Arabic language. For example Muhammad George Al-Ferency (the French) should be called Muhammad the son of George the French. Finally, after reading this clear account, accompanied by evidences and examples, it now becomes necessary for every Muslim who believes in Allah and the Last Day, to correct such mistakes and go back to his real name. A worshipper is judged by his deeds, and his emaan (faith). Allah knows best who is pious and who is not, and changing names in the way we were discussing does not increase it. As was demonstrated, such an act can in fact hurt one's relationship with Allah. And Allah knows best. |
| NS |
| Re: ???What's in a name??? Lots!!!! |
|---|
| jannah |
| 02/07/03 at 15:12:20 |
| This is a duplicate thread. See [url=http://www.jannah.org/cgi-bin/madina/YaBB.pl?board=lighthouse;action=display;num=1038425026]Changing Your Name [/url] thread for continuation. I'll lock this one as it has fewer posts. |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |