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:

Assalamu alaikum, jazakum Allah alfa khair for the efford and time.

my question is:

A) is it allowed in islam for muslims according to the shareea to name their children non muslim names?

1)what if the name have good and beautiful meaning?

2) does a nonmuslim need to change his name to a muslim name when he becomes to islam?

another question is:

B) if a muslim man marrys a nonmuslim women, and she becomes muslim after that with her own wish. is it accepted that she is muslim then? and if she becomes for her husbend, and then she starts realizing that it`s the right path she is going at. Allah will forgive her? I asume that Inna Allaha la raoofun raheem. but there is one lady who said to me that he a muslim man has to marry a muslim women then only Allah will accept her as a muslim, and not when she becomes a muslim after she marries a muslim man.

jazakum Allah khair.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatuhu wa barakaatuh

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Marrying non Muslims

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.

Your Question: is it allowed in islam for muslims according to the shareea to name their children non muslim names?

Although there are abundant names in Islam one may choose from, from declaring one’s servitude to Allah and His Noble Attributes (like Abdullah, Abdur-Rahmaan, etc.), to the names of any of the Prophets (Adam, Nuh, Ibraheem, etc.), to any of the thousands of the companions of the Last Messenger of Allah (saws), etc.; there is absolutely no restriction in Islam if one wishes to name one’s children in any language, provided the name does not correspond or manifest any aspect of ‘shirk’ or has a particularly evil meaning. For example names like Ram, Sita, Ganesh, Ramdas, etc. would be names associated with pagan gods would not be permissible or appropriate for one who believes in Allah and the Last Day, nor would names which in its essence have an evil meaning or connotation.

It is one of the rights of the child that he/she be given a good name by their parents, regardless of whether the name is in Arabic or in any other language.  Thus depending on what exactly is meant by ‘non-muslim’ names, in general there is absolutely no prohibition in Islam in choosing a name provided the name is not associated with shirk and the name does not, in its essence, have an evil or derogatory meaning.

Your Question: what if the name have good and beautiful meaning?

There is absolutely no harm if a believer wishes to name his child with a name which has a good and beautiful meaning in a language other than Arabic, provided the name is not associated with ‘shirk’.

Your Question: does a nonmuslim need to change his name to a muslim name when he becomes to islam?

The Messenger of Allah (saws) did not change the names of most of his companions when they accepted Islam.  The only names he (saws) changed were if the names were associated with ‘shirk’ or they had a particularly evil or derogatory meaning.  The vast majority of the companions of the Noble Prophet (saws) like Umar, Uthman, Ali, Bilal, Salman, Ammar, etc. retained the names their then pagan parents had chosen for them at their birth.    

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4938  Narrated by AbuWahb

The Prophet (saws) asked: ‘What is your name?’  He replied: ‘Hazn (one who is rugged)’.  He (saws) said: ‘You are Sahl (easy, smooth).’  He said: ‘No, smooth is trodden upon and disgraced!’  Sa'id said: ‘I then thought that ruggedness would remain among us after it.’   AbuDawud said: ‘The Prophet (saws) changed the names al-'As, Aziz, Atalah, Shaytan, al-Hakam, Ghurab, Hubab, and Shihab and called him Hisham.  He (saws) also changed the name Harb (War) and called him Silm (Peace). He (saws) also changed the name al-Munbaith (one who lies) and called him al-Mudtaji' (one who stands up).  He (saws) changed the name of a land Afrah (barren) and called it Khadrah (green). He (saws) changed the name of a mountain path called Shib ad-Dalalah (the mountain path of a stray) and called it Shi'b al-Huda (mountain path of guidance). He (saws) changed the name of a tribe called Banu az-Zinyah (children of fornication) and called them Banu ar-Rushdah (children of those who are on the right path), and changed the name Banu Mughwiyah (children of a woman who allures and goes astray), and called them Banu Rushdah (children of a woman who is on the right path).

If the given maiden name of the brother or sister who accepts Islam does not connote ‘shirk’ or does not have a particularly evil or derogatory meaning, there is absolutely no harm and no restriction in Shariah if the person wishes to keep his original name in Islam. 

Your Question:  if a muslim man marrys a nonmuslim women, and she becomes muslim after that with her own wish. is it accepted that she is muslim then? and if she becomes for her husbend, and then she starts realizing that it`s the right path she is going at. Allah will forgive her? I asume that Inna Allaha la raoofun raheem. but there is one lady who said to me that he a muslim man has to marry a muslim women then only Allah will accept her as a muslim, and not when she becomes a muslim after she marries a muslim man.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 221:

221    Do not marry unbelieving women (idolaters) until they believe; a slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman even though she allure you.  Nor marry (your girls) to unbelievers until they believe: a man slave who believes is better than un unbeliever even though he allure you.  Unbelievers do (but) beckon you to the fire.  But Allah beckons by His Grace to the Garden (of Bliss) and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind: that they may celebrate His praise.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 5:

5        This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you.  The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them.  (Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are believers but chaste women among the People of the Book revealed before your time when ye give them their due dowers and desire chastity, not lewdness nor secret intrigues.  If anyone rejects faith fruitless is his work and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good).

Your Question: if a muslim man marrys a nonmuslim women, and she becomes muslim after that with her own wish. is it accepted that she is muslim then?

Allah Subhanah has permitted the believing men to marry chaste believing women and/or chaste women from amongst the People of the Book (Jews or Christians).  If a muslim marries a non-muslim women of any faith other than the Jews or the Christians, such a marriage will be absolutely illegal and invalid in the Sight of Shariah and of Allah Subhanah; and their relationship will be deemed a relationship of sin.

If and when the non-muslim women accepts Islam, she will be welcomed in the fold of Islam and every right that is available to a believer will be accorded to her in full.  If the believer wishes to marry her, he must perform a brand new Nikaah with the sister after her acceptance of Islam.

Your Question: and if she becomes for her husbend, and then she starts realizing that it`s the right path she is going at. Allah will forgive her?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy!  Surely,  Allah forgives all sins.   He indeed is the All Forgiving,  All Merciful.   Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you;  for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who,  if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin,  remember Allah instantly,  and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings.  For who,  but Allah,  can forgive sins?   (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did.   These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah,  and with Gardens beneath which canals flow,  and they will reside therein forever!   How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs,  say: "Peace be on you!  Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy.  Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance,  and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct),  Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving,  Most Merciful."

Dear and Beloved Sister, regardless of whatever sins one might have done in one’s past, if one seeks sincere repentance from their Lord, it is expected that they will find Allah Merciful and Forgiving. 

Amr ibn al-'As says: "When Allah guided me to Islam, I went to the Prophet (saws) and said to him: 'O Prophet of Allah (saws)! Stretch out your hand so that I may pledge my allegiance to you.'  The Prophet (saws) stretched out his hand to me, but I withdrew my hand. The Prophet (saws) asked: 'O 'Amr! What is the matter with you?'  I said: 'I would like to stipulate a condition!'  The Prophet (saws) asked: 'What is it?'  I said: 'That all my past sins be forgiven!' The Prophet (saws) said: 'O 'Amr! Do you not know that (conversion to) Islam wipes off all past sins, and Hijrah (leaving one’s home and hearth for Allah's Cause) wipes off all sins, and (similarly) Hajj wipes off all past sins!"'

Related by Muslim.

If the sister sincerely converts from her pagan religion to the Truth of Islam, this conversion itself guarantees that Allah Subhanah will forgive all her past sins! 

Your Statement: but there is one lady who said to me that he a muslim man has to marry a muslim women then only Allah will accept her as a muslim, and not when she becomes a muslim after she marries a muslim man.

If the muslim man marries any non-muslim woman other than a Jew or a Christian, that marriage will be illegal and invalid in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.  If and when the non-muslim woman accepts Islam, she will be accepted as a believer in the Sight of Shariah and of Allah Subhanah. 

A marriage of a muslim man to a non-muslim woman by itself does not in any way guarantee that the non-muslim woman will become a believer; it is only the sincere acceptance of the non-muslim woman herself which will determine whether she is accepted as a believer in the Sight of Allah or not.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan