I have seen muslims changing thier children`s name when something bad happens to the child
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:
Dear
Brother, Assalamualaikum
I have seen muslims changing thier children`s name when something bad happens
to the child or the child behaves abnormally or sometime when the child is
suffering from prolonged sickness.
Is
there any thing like changing the name will make things better in Islam ? What
if the names are like Muhammad, Khadija or Ayesha. I personally feel that these
names are the best in the world. Please comment.
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Answer:
Change names when
evil happens
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.
Beloved brother in Islam, a name is no more than an
appointed form of recognition of a said person and the name by itself has
absolutely no power or ability to change or influence ones characteristics, habits,
or conditions!
For example, ‘Salmaan’ (Al-Farsi) was the name of one of the
noble companions of the Noble Prophet (saws), whose belief and sacrifices for
Allah and His deen were so accepted that the Messenger of Allah (saws) would
say about this noble companion:
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Salmaan
(Al-Farsi) is from amongst my ‘ahlal-bayt’ (my household)’
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 6225 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "
But when the same exact name is applied or appointed to
Salman (Rushdie), the contemporary author who chose to blaspheme against
Prophet Mohamed (saws) and Islam in his evil writings….it is not the name which
is evil, but the person and his actions which are heinous!
Your Question: I
have seen muslims changing thier children`s name when something bad happens to
the child or the child behaves abnormally or sometime when the child is
suffering from prolonged sickness. Is
there any thing like changing the name will make things better in Islam ?
Both good and bad conditions are
from Allah Subhanah, Who tests His slaves to see who does what in the given
conditions ordained by Allah!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran in Chapter 67 Surah Al Mulk verse 2:
He (Allah) created
death and life that He may test you, to
see which of you is the best in deeds.
If one is blessed with some good
(health, wealth, life, etc.) from the Merciful Lord, then their test is whether
they are grateful for this favor from their Lord or not; and when one is tested
by the All Wise Lord with an affliction (loss of health, or wealth, or with
sickness, etc.), their test is whether
or not such a person is patient in the condition laid upon him by the Lord All
Mighty.
Allah Says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 155-157:
155 Be sure We shall test you with something of fear, and
hunger, some loss in goods or lives, or the fruits (of your toil); but give glad tidings to those who
patiently persevere.
156 Who say when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah we belong and
to Him is our return."
157 They are those on whom (descend) blessings from Allah and Mercy, and
they are the ones that receive guidance.
Abu Hurairah
reports that Allah's Messenger (saws) said: "For every misfortune,
illness, anxiety, grief, or hurt that afflicts a Muslim -even the hurt caused
by the pricking of a thorn - Allah removes some of his sins."
Ibn Mas'ud said: "I visited the Messenger of Allah (saws) while he had a fever. I exclaimed: 'O Messenger of Allah (saws)! You have a high fever!' He (saws) said: 'My fever is as much as two among you [might have].' I asked: 'Is it because you have a double reward?' He (saws) replied: 'Yes, that is right. No Muslim is afflicted with any hurt, even if it is no more than the pricking of a thorn, but Allah wipes off his sins because of it, and his sins fall away from him as leaves fall from a tree'."
Beloved brother in Islam, know
with absolutely conviction that one’s appointed or chosen name is not
responsible for the good or evil that befalls a person. Yours and ours, and the condition of every
animate and inanimate object in the Universe is at the Sole Discretion of the
All Mighty, All Powerful Lord, and He Alone has Power over all things!
Allah Says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 35 Surah Faatir verse 2:
2 What Allah out of His Mercy doth bestow on mankind, there is none
can withhold: what He doth withhold, there is none can grant apart from Him:
and He is the Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom.
Thus my beloved brother, those
who sincerely believe in Allah and the Last Day fear none and keep their hopes
on none but their Lord, Allah
Subhanah. If He Wills to cure or and
help one amongst His slaves, none can withhold His Mercy and Grace; and if He
Wills to test one with some trial and tribulation, none except He can remove
that tribulation.
Is there any thing
like changing the name will make things better in Islam ?
To believe that some name, or
some object, or some thing can relieve one from the affliction or condition
their Lord has inflicted upon them as a test is an absolutely baseless and
unjustified superstition…and superstitions have absolutely no place in the pure
and perfect way of life called Al-Islam.
A name is no more than an appointed form of recognition of
a said person and the name of the person by itself has absolutely no power or
ability to change or influence ones characteristics, habits, or conditions in
the least!
The only reason one may change their name or the name of
their children is if the appointed name has an inherently evil meaning…..for it
does not befit a believer that he be recognized or called by an evil or degrading
name.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4938 Narrated by Abu Wahb
The Prophet (saws) asked: ‘What is your
name?’ He replied: ‘Hazn (meaning
‘rugged’).’ He (saws) said: ‘But you are
Sahl (meaning easy or smooth.).’ The
Prophet (saws) also changed the name of one called Harb (war) and called him
Silm (peace). He (saws) changed the name al-Munba'ith (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 Shi'b
ad-Dalalah (the mountain path of a stray), the name of a mountain path and
called it Shi'b al-Huda (mountain path of guidance). He (saws) changed the name
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).
The few names which the Prophet (saws) changed were not
because of the condition or affliction the name itself would bring upon the
person; but because of the inherent evil meaning of the term which was chosen
or appointed as their name.
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
Wister