Dought & Clear, - Issues and rulings on kunyahs.

In our community in India, little girls are given kunyahs such as Umm
Haani' and Umm Salamah. Is this acceptable?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
It is a good thing for the Muslim to be concerned about Islamic
rulings, even concerning the smallest of details. Even more important
than being concerned about them is to act upon whatones knows of those
rulings. With regard to kunyahs there are some issues that are worth
pointing out, after which we will answer the question itself, with
further details.
1.
The kunyah is a name that beings with "Abu (Father of)" or "Umm
(Mother of)"; it is something other than a personal name or a
nickname.
2.
The kunyah is somethingwith which a person is praised and honoured,
unlike nicknames which may have connotations of praise or otherwise.
3.
Evildoers, disbelievers and innovators may be referred to by kunyahs
ifthey are only known by their kunyahs, or if that is done for a
purpose, orif their names contain meanings that are contrary to Islam.
Allah, may He be exalted,says (interpretation of the meaning): "Perish
the two hands of Abu Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet), and perish he!"
[al-Masad 111:1].
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:Chapter on the
permissibility of giving akunyah to a disbeliever, innovator or
evildoer, if he is only known by thatname or there is the fearthat
mentioning his real name may cause confusion. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): "Perish the two hands
of Abu Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet), and perish he!" [al-Masad
111:1], although his actual name was 'Abd al-'Uzza. It was said that
he was mentioned by his kunyah because he was known by it, or it was
said that this was so as to avoid using his name, as it described him
as a slave of an idol (al-'Uzza).
I [Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) is speaking] say:Abu
Taalib is repeatedly mentioned in hadeeth by his kunyah, and his name
was 'Abd Manaaf. In as-Saheeh it says: "This is the grave of Abu
Righaal." And there are many similar examples. All of this applies if
the condition that we have mentioned above is met.If it is not met,
nothing to the name should be used.
End quote from al-Adhkaar, p. 296
4.
The kunyah does not necessarily have to include the name of one's
child; rather it mayrefer to an inanimate object or an animal.
Examples of kunyahs referring to inanimate objects include "Abu Turaab
(i.e., the one who has dust on him); examples of kunyahs referring to
animals include "Abu Hirr" or "Abu Hurayrah" (i.e., the one who has a
cat or kitten, respectively).
5.
Kunyahs referring to names do not necessarilyhave to refer to one of
the children of the individual who is called by that kunyah.
For example, Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq did not have a son whose name was Bakr.
6.
The kunyah does not have to refer to the oldest child of the person
who is called by that kunyah, although that is preferable.
It was narrated from Haani' that when he came to the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) with his people, he
heard them calling him by the kunyah Abu'l-Hakam. The Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) summoned him andsaid:
"Allaah is al-Hakam (the Judge), and judgement belongs to Him. Why are
you knownby the kunyah of Abu'l-Hakam?" He said: When my people differ
concerning anything, they come to me and I pass judgement among them,
and both sides accept it. The Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: "How good this is. Do you have any
children? He said: I have Shurayh, Muslim and 'Abd-Allaah. He said:
"Who is the oldest of them?" I said: Shurayh. He said: "Then you are
Abu Shurayh."
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4955; an-Nasaa'i, 5387; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked: Is it permissible
to call someone by referring to his younger son, because the older son
died in infancy?
They replied: It is preferable to call a person by referring to his
oldest son, whether he is alive or dead, and to call him by that
kunyah. But if a person is called by referring to his youngest son,
there is no sin on the one whodoes that, whether the older son is
alive or dead.
And Allah is the source ofstrength. May Allah send blessings and peace
upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. End quote.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh 'Abd ar-Razzaaq 'Afeefi, Shaykh
'Abdullah ibn Qa'ood
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 11/487
7.
There is no reason why the kunyah cannot refer to the daughters of the
person who is called by that kunyah.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:Chapter on the
permissibility of a man being called by a kunyahreferring to either a
male or a female, or a woman being called by akunyah referring to a
either a male or a female. It should noted that there is no
restriction in this matter.Some of the best of the earliest
generations of this ummah -- the Sahaabah and the Taabi'een who came
after them -- were known by kunyahs referring to their daughters, such
as 'Uthmaan ibn 'Affaan (may Allah be pleased with him) who had three
kunyahs: Abu 'Amr,Abu 'Abdullah, and Abu Layla. There was also
Abu'd-Darda' and his wife Umm ad-Darda' al-Kubra… End quote.
Al-Adhkaar, p. 296
8.
The rulings mentioned above apply equally to men and women.
9.
The person who has a kunyah may be someonewho does not have any
children; this does not mean that he cannot be called by a kunyah.
It was narrated from 'Aa'ishah that she said: O Messenger of Allah,
all my friends have a kunyah except me. He said: "Take a kunyah from
the name of your son (nephew) 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr." So she was
called Umm 'Abdullah until she died.
Narrated by Ahmad, 43/291. Classed as saheeh by the editors of
al-Musnad and by al-Albaani in as-Silsilah as-Saheehah, 132.
10.
A man or a woman may be given a kunyah after marriage and before
having a child; there is nothing wrong with that.
(a)
It was narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be pleased with
him) that the Messenger of Allah (sa) gave him the kunyah Abu 'Abd
ar-Rahmaan when he had not had a child.
Narrated by al-Haakim, 3/353; at-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 9/65; classed
as saheeh by Ibn Hajar inFath al-Baari, 10/582
(b)
al-Bukhaari narrated in al-Adab al-Mufrad, underthe heading Chapter on
giving a kunyah before one has a child: It was narrated from Ibraaheem
an-Nakha'i that 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood was given the kunyah Abu Shibl
when he did not have a child.
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Adab al-Mufrad, 848.
11.
There is no impediment to giving a child a kunyah, even before weaning
or at the time of birth, whether the child is male or female. The
scholars mentioned several benefits of giving a kunyah to a child,
such as: strengthening his character and avoiding bad nicknames; it is
also a sign of optimism that he will live to adulthood and have
children of his own.
Giving kunyahs to children is an established part of the Sunnah and
was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him).
It was narrated that Anasibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) was the best of people in attitude. I had a brother who was
called Abu 'Umayr -- I think he was weaned. When the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saw him he said: "Abu
'Umayr, what happened to (your pet) bird?" He used to play with the
bird.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,5850; Muslim, 2150.
Al-Bukhaari included thishadeeth in a chapter entitled: Kunyahs for
children, and before a man has a child.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:We learn many things from
this hadeeth, such as the permissibility of giving a kunyah to someone
who has no children and giving a kunyah to a child; it is not regarded
as lying.
End quote from Sharh Muslim 14/129
In al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (35/170, 171), it says: The scholarssaid:
They used to give kunyahs to children as a sign of optimism that the
child would live untilhe grew up and had a child, and so as to avoid
nicknames.
Ibn 'Aabideen said: If a person gives his small child the kunyah of
Abu Bakr and so on, some of the scholars regarded that as makrooh, but
themajority did not regard it as makrooh, because people intend
optimism by doing that.
End quote.
Thus the answer to the question itself is that it ispermissible to
give appropriate kunyahs to children, both male and female, even if
they are still breastfeeding. If they are given the kunyahs of some of
the Sahaabah, male or female, this is somethinggood and is not
objectionable.
And Allah knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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