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:

Assalam-ul-Alequm,

My name is Husain and my father name is Zoeb Ali and i Suffix Saify on my Name "Husain Saify" and all peoples in my office and every where knows me as Husain Saify. i want to ask a qn. is that right or wrong. and what i have to do in that matter.

i Hope u`ll solve my prob. and i`ll wait for ur reply.

KhudaHafiz!

Husain

(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:

Add second name

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.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 5:

Call them by (the names) of their fathers: that is more just in the Sight of Allah. But if ye know not their father's (names call them) your Brothers in faith or your friends. But there is no blame on you if ye make a mistake therein: (what counts is) the intention of your hearts: and Allah is Oft-Returning Most Merciful.

Dear and beloved brother, there is absolutely no harm or restriction in having two assigned names in Shariah (if one wishes to do so), but what is of absolute paramount importance is that one is always recognized and attributed by the name of one’s biological father.

If your second name ‘Saify’ is not attached to your name to disassociate yourself from your biological father’s name, and you are known and recognized by your loved ones and in society as Mr. Hussain Saify son of Zoeb Ali, there is absolutely no harm.

What is absolutely prohibited is that one intentionally disassociates and de-links oneself from one’s lineage or father’s name, and take on a name of someone else to make people believe he belongs to a linage other than his own….such an act is indeed considered a huge sin in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.712 Narrated by Wathila bin Al Asqa

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Verily, one of the worst lies is to claim falsely to be the son of someone other than one's real father, or to claim to have had a dream one has not had, or to attribute to me what I have not said."

Some of the closest companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) were known by two names, the second of which was not of their father but rather their geographical location, like Hadrat Salman Al-Faarsi (from Faris-Iran), Hadrat Sohaib Romi (from Rome), Hadrat Bilal Habashi (from Habash-present day Ethiopia), etc. Hadrat Abu-Dharr al Ghaffari was so named because he belonged to the Tribe of Ghiffar.

Thus beloved brother, there is absolutely no harm if you wish to have two assigned names, provided you are known and recognized in society as the son of none except your biological father.

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