Call Them by Their Fathers' Names

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, whichare 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 ismost 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 ismost 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, typically 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 namedafter
his father, or who takes as a benefactor andprotector 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
theirreal 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
alayhewa sallam became a Muslim in the year of al-Fatih or the
concurringof 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 alayhewa 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 notan honorable
one.
• Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan: The Mother of the believers, the wife of the
Prophet, sallallahu alayhewa sallam, married the Prophet before her
father himself became a Muslim. Yet, she did not change her name and
theProphet, sallallahu alayhewa sallam, did not order her to change
it, although he was one of the Prophet's strongest enemies at the
time.
• Safiyyah bint Huyay: Herfather 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 ofAllah 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 supposedto 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 hurther 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 alayhewa 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
theymight end up in it anyway, by carelessly misnaming themselves
toothers 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, andthat
Muhammad, who happens to be the son of John, the grandson of Roberts,
for example, made them up. This is nota 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 Westernnon-Muslim father. This isan 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 theirfathers. 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 allowedin 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 thesescripts 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 needsto 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 canbe 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
soforth.
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 relatedto a bad interval in their history.
The answer is that this action is a misconception and a direct
contradiction to the above verse. Allah hasobliged 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 knowthe 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, forwe 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 hastwo
problems. The first is the fact that the woman would fall into the sin
of changing the name of her real father who spenthis life and money
caringfor her. What a recompense! The second is making resemblance
tothe 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 thename 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 alayhewa 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 asTom (many pronounce it Toom, which sounds like garlic
in Arabic).
If the non-Muslim name islike 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
changedand not the father's name no matter how badit 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, 'Thisis 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 andgo 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.