Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamualaikum,

I am now expecting a child. Question 1 - My husband is a converted muslim. He would like to give 'Daniel Harith' as a name if it is a baby boy and 'Ayra Ameera' if it is a baby girl. What is your opinion on those names and meanings, since we would like to give a good muslim name for our child.

Question 2 - When the baby is born, is it compulsary to put bin or binti with its father's name or father's original sirname is acceptable.

Your advice on this matter is very much appreciated.

Thank you

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Answer:

Name of New born

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Ref: Giving a name to a new-born.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) recommended that the believers give the adhaan (call to prayer) in the ears of the new born.

It is also the Sunnah, that on the 7^th day:

1. Appoint a good name to the new born.
2. Shave the head of the new born, and give the equivalent weight of the shaved hair in silver as sadaqa (charity).
3. Do the ‘aqiqa’(sacrifice one animal for a female born, or two animals for a male born).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said that it is the right of the new-born upon their parents, that they appoint a good name for him/her. He (saws) also said that the best names in the sight of Allah are: Abdur-Rahmaan and Abdullah.

Other good names could be anything which personifies being the slave of Allah by using any of the hundred names of Allah: like Abdus-Shukoor, Abdur-Razzak, Abdul-Hameed, Abdul-Aziz, etc.

Then there are the names of any of the Prophets of Allah; like Mohamed, Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Ishaaq, Ismael, Musa, Isa, etc.

Then there the names of any of the noble companions of the Last Messenger of Allah (saws); like Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmaan, Ali, Salmaan, Ammar, Abbas, Saad, Muaadh, Khalid, Hasan, Hussain, etc.

For a female, one can use the names of any of the wives or mothers or daughters of the Prophets; like Sarah, Hajrah, Maryam, Aisha, Fatemah, Zainab, Safeeyah, Hafsah, etc.

There is no condition in Islam, that one must use only Arabic names. If one wishes to keep the name of the child in his own language, this is allowed; but one must be careful to choose a good and respectable name, which has an honorable meaning.

Your Question: He would like to give 'Daniel Harith' as a name if it is a baby boy and 'Ayra Ameera' if it is a baby girl. What is your opinion on those names and meanings,

Although ‘Daniel’ is the name of a Prophet amongst the People of Israel in the Bible, there is absolutely no mention in the Quran and Sunnah regarding the story of a Prophet by this name. Harith means one who works or ploughs the land, and is a name that was particularly liked by the Messenger of Allah (saws).

To the best of our knowledge ‘Ayra’ is not an Arabic term, and the literal meaning of ‘Ameerah’ is a ‘female leader’.

In our humble opinion both, Daniel and Ayra, are neither particularly good names, nor bad; but are acceptable in Islam.

Harith is indeed a very good name, and so is Ameerah.

Question 2 - When the baby is born, is it compulsary to put bin or binti with its father's name or father's original sirname is acceptable.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 5: Call them by (the names) of their fathers: that is juster in the sight of Allah.

Allah has commanded the believers to call or name them by the name of their fathers. The literal meaning of the Arabic term ‘ibn’ means ‘son of’, and ‘binte’ means the ‘daughter of’. It is not obligatory at all to affix these terms, if one does not wish to do so.

Thus if the father’s name is Khalid and his family name or surname is Mills; the new born boy would be called Daniel or Harith Khalid Mills, and the new born girl would be called Arya or Ameerah Khalid Mills.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan