Naming the Baby and its Rules

1. When should a baby be named?

Collectors of Sunnah related that Samurah said, the Prophet (ﷺ)said, “Every child is bound to have aqiqah, to be slaughtered for him, and is given a name, and has his head shaved, all on his seventh day.” This Hadith shows that naming a child is to be done on his seventh day.

There are some other authentic Hadiths that show that a newly born child can be named on the day of his birth. Among them is Muslim in his Sahih quoting Anas ( رضی اللہ عنہ)as saying that the Prophet(ﷺ) said, “A boy has been born for me tonight and I named him after my ancestor Ibrahim.” It is deducted from these Hadiths that we have a choice. So a baby can be named on his first day, or his third day, or we can relegate it to his aqiqah day i.e. the seventh day. It can also be done before or after that.

2. Recommended names and disliked names

A parent must pay great attention to selecting a name for his newly born child by choosing the most beautiful name, following our Prophet’s guidance. Abū Dawûd related that Abu Ad-Darda said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “You will be called on the Doomsday by your names, and your fathers names, so choose nice names.” And Muslim related, in his Sahin that                          Ibn ‘Umar ( رضی اللہ عنہ) said that the Prophet(ﷺ) said, “The best of your names to Allah are “Abdullah and “Abdur-Rahman.”

The father must avoid an ugly name that may injure his dignity and be a reason for making fun of him. The Prophet (ﷺ) used to change the ugly names, according to what At-Tirmidhi quoted Aishah ( رضی اللہ عنہا) At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah related that Ibn ‘Umar ( رضی اللہ عنہ) said that a daughter of ‘Umar’s was called ‘Asiyah (disobedient) and the Prophet (ﷺ) called her Jamilah (beautiful). Abu Dawûd said that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) changed the names of Al-‘Asi. “Aziz, Uglah, Shaytan, Al-Hakam, Ghurab and Habbab and gave the name Silm (i.e. peace) to a man called Harb (ie. war), Al- Munbaith to a man called Al-Mudaji, Bani Al-Rishdah to a family called Bani Az-Zinyah, and Bani Rishdah to a family called Bani Mughwiyah. Abů Dawûd said, “I did not mention the chain of narrators for the sake of being brief.”

He also has to avoid names derived from pessimistic meanings for the sake of clearing the child from the harm of such names. Al-Bukhari related in his Sahih from Sa’id Ibn Al Musayyab, that his father, quoting his grandfather said, “I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said, “what is your name? I said, Hazn,¹ so he said, “You are called Sahl.² He said, I will not change a name given to me by my father. Ibn Al-Musayyab said, “Roughness is still manifest in us.”

He also has to avoid the names which are tokens of Allah such as Ahad, Samad, Khaliq, Rázzáq, etc. Abú Dawûd said in his Sunan: “When Hâni came to the Prophet(ﷺ) in Madinah with his people, he used to be called Abdul-Hakam. So, the Prophet(ﷺ) called him and said to him: “Verily, Allah is the Hakam, and He has the hukm (judgment), why then are you called “Abdul-Hakam? He said, My people resort to me whenever they differ in opinion, and I issue the judgment, and they accept my judgment. So, Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said, “How nice, do you have children?” He said, I have Shurayh Muslim, and ‘Abdullah. Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) asked, “Who is the eldest?” He said, Shurayh. Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said, “Then you are called Abů Shurayh” Muslim related in his Sahih that Abu Hurairah said that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)said, “The most enraging and worst man to Allah on the Doomsday is a man called the king of kings, there is no king but Allah.”

He also has to avoid names referring to good omens or optimistic meanings in order to avoid sadness that may result from using the names in a negative stucture. Examples are Aflah (successful), Nafi (useful), Rabah (gain), and Yasar (easy). Muslim, Abů Dawûd, and At-Tirmidhi related that Samurah Ibn Jundub said, Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said to me: “the most beloved phrases to Allah are four: Subhana Allah, (Glory be to Allah), Al-hamdu lillah, (praise be to Allah), la ilah illa Allah, (there is no God but Allah), and Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest). Do not call your son Yasår, Rabah Najih or Aflah, for when you say: “Where is he?” while he is not there, the answer negates the meaning of his name. These phrases are four, never add to them.”

He also has to avoid names that indicate submission to gods other than Allah such as: Abdul-‘Uzzá, Abdun-Nabi, Abdul-Hussayn and similar names, since they are obviously prohibited. As to the Prophet’s saying in the battle of Hunayn: “I am the Prophet undoubtedly, I am the son of Abdul-Muttalib.” It does not mean that he’s giving himself a new name, but it merely indicates the name by which he was known, especially in situations of challenging an enemy, as was the case with the Prophet(ﷺ)

So saying a name for identifying oneself is not prohibited, since the Prophet’s followers used to mention before the Prophet(ﷺ) the names of their tribes such as Bani Abdu-Manaf, Bani Abdush- Shams and Bani Abdud-Dâr, and the Prophet (ﷺ)did not forbid them to do so.

Finally, one must avoid the names that indicate softening, similarity to girls’ names and amour, such as Huyâm, Nihad, Sawsan, Mayyadah, Nariman, Ahlam and the like in order that the child may acquire a sense of good personality and distinct character. Therefore, the Prophet (ﷺ) urged the people to name their children after the Prophets names and the names of ‘Abdullah, Abdur-Ralman and similar names composed of ‘Abd and one of the Most Magnificent Names of Allah.

Abů Dawûd and An-Nasa’i related that Abü Wahb Al-Jushamiy( رضی اللہ عنہ) said that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)said, “Name yourselves after the Prophets and the most beloved names to Allah are “Abdullah and Abdur-Rahman and the most truthful of them are, Harith and Hammam, and the ugliest of them are Harb and Murrah.”

3. It is Sunnah to give the child a nickname

Among the educational principles laid down by Islam concerning raising a child is to give him a nickname composed of Abu (father of) and another part. This yields some educational gains such as:

– Inculcating a sense of dignity and respect into the child’s soul.

– Developing his social character and making him feel that he has grown up.

-Giving him amiable treatment and pleasing him through calling him by this lovely nickname.

For these benefits and considerations, the Prophet (ﷺ)used to nickname children and call them by these names. It is related in Sahihayn that Anas said, “The Prophet (ﷺ)was the best of all people in morals. I had a brother called Abů Umayr, who I think, had been newly weaned. Whenever the child was brought to the Prophet(ﷺ), he used to say to him, “O Abü Umayr! what did An- Nughayr (i.e. nightingale or bird) do?”

Some matters related to naming and nicknaming

 A. In case the parents had different opinions regarding naming their child, the right to name the child is given to the father. The Qur’an stated that the child carries the name of his father, not his mother. Allah says,

ٱدْعُوهُمْ لِـَٔابَآئِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ

“Call them (adopted sons) by (the names of) their fathers: that is more just with Allah.”

(Al-Ahzab, 5)

The Hadiths mentioned earlier show that the right of naming is given to the father, such as the Hadith that Muslim related quoting Anas( رضی اللہ عنہ) that Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said, “I had a son born to me tonight and I called him after my ancestor Ibrahim.”

B. The father, or any other person, is not entitled to give the child an ugly name like ‘Awar (one-eyed), ‘Araj (lame), or similar names for abiding by the general prohibtion stated by Allah’s saying:

وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا۟ بِٱلْأَلْقَـٰبِ ۖ

“Nor insult one another by nicknames…” (Al-Hujurat, 11)

 C. Is it permissible to nickname someone “Abul-Qasim”? Scholars have unanimously agreed that naming children after the Prophet’s name(ﷺ) is permissible since Muslim related that                       jabir  ( رضی اللہ عنہ) said, “A boy was born for a man of us, so he named him Muhammad. His people told him, “We will not permit you to name him after the Prophet(ﷺ). So the man carried his son and said, “O Allah’s Messenger, I have a boy born for me, and I named him Muhmmad, but my people said they would not permit me to do so.” So, Allah’s Messenger said, “Name yourselves after my name but do not call yourselves by my kunyah (i.e. nickname).

As to calling oneself by the Prophet’s(ﷺ) Kunyah, the scholars have different opinions:

First: absolute reprehension, quoting the above-mentioned Hadith, and the Hadith related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim quoting Abu Hurairah that Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said, “Name yourselves after my name, but do not call yourselves by my Kunyah.” Al-Shafi’i has adopted this stand.

Second: absolute permission; quoting what Abů Dawûd related in his Sunan that “Aisha said, “A woman came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger, I gave birth to a boy and called him Muhammad and nicknamed him Abul-Qasim, but someone told me that you dislike that. The Prophet (ﷺ)said, ‘Who allowed naming after my name, and prohibited my kunyah?” And Ibn Abu Shaybah said, ‘Muhammad Ibn Al Ash’ath, “Aishah’s nephew, was nicknamed Abul-Qasim.”

Ibn Abi Khaythamah related that Az-Zuhari said, “I saw four of the Companions’ sons, all of whom were named Muhammad, and had Al-Qasim as kunyah; they are: Muhammad Ibn Talhah Ibn ‘Abdullah, Muhammad Ibn Abů Bakr, Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Abu Talib and Muhammad Ibn Sa’d Ibn Abů Waqqas. Imam Malik was asked about naming of Muhammad and giving Abul Qasim as a kunyah. He said, “This is not prohibited and i do not see any harm in doing that. The scholars who said that it is allowed and that the Hadiths that prohibited it were abrogated.

Third: it is not allowed to combine both name and kunyah, but it is allowed to have either. Quoting what Abů Dawûd related, Jäbir ( رضی اللہ عنہ)said that Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said, “Whosoever is named after may name, is not to have my kunyah as his kunyah and whosoever has my kunyah as his kunyah, is not to be named by my name”. And Ibn Abū Shaybah related that Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said, “Do not combine my name and my nickname or kunyah.”

Fourth: prohibition of having the Prophet’s nickname or kunyah is confined to the Prophet’s lifetime but it is allowed after his death. Quoting what Abů Dawûd related, Muhammad Ibn Al-Hana- fiyyah said, Ali ( رضی اللہ عنہ)said, “In case I get a boy born for me after you, may I name him after your name, and give him you kunyah?” the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Yes.” Humaid Ibn Zangawayh said in his book Al-Adab: “I asked Ibn Abū Uwais about Malik’s opinion on a man

who combined the Prophet’s name and kunyah, he said that Mälik said, “This was forbidden during the Prophet’s lifetime, lest someone should be called by the Prophet’s name and kunyah and the Prophet(ﷺ) may respond to the call, but after the death of the Prophet (ﷺ) there is no harm in doing so.

The fourth opinion may be the preponderant one. So, it is permissible to name someone after the Prophet’s name and kunyah. The Hadiths that forbid it are restricted to the Prophet’s lifetime only for the purpose of evading confusion between the Prophet (ﷺ)and the person who is being called. But after the Prophet’s death, the problem of confusion will not emerge. Again, the above mentioned Hadith narrated by Az-Zuhriy that he saw four of the the Prophet’s companions’ sons having the Prophet’s name and kunyah proves that this practice is permissible.

REFERENCE:

Book: Child Education In Islam

“BY Abdullah Nasih ‘Ulwan”