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:

Brother,

Does its allowed in Islam to keep name as Akbar, Akbar khan, Nizamuddin, Kuttubudeen, Abdul Jeelani, Ghulam Ghouse, Ghulam Rasool.

And what was the name of those Two children who killed Abu Jahl in Battle of Badr (thru authentic source please)

And also can you please send me Islamic name list if you have any.

Thanks a lot for usual help.

Please clarify, Jazak Allah Khair 

(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:

Can one keep name Akbar

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

A name assigned to each individual is no more than a sign or recognition of that person; and there is absolutely no obligation or compulsion in Shariah that a believer is obliged or required to keep a ‘traditional’ Islamic or ‘muslim’ name. One is at complete liberty to assign any good wholesome name to their off-spring in absolutely any language they will or please.

The only names which Islam prohibits from assigning to a believer are names which connote or denote polytheism or disbelief (Abdul-Lat, Abdul-Uzza, (slaves of the pagan gods like Lat and Uzza, etc.) or names like Ramdas (slave of the Hindu god Ram), etc.; or names which have an inherit evil or vile meaning.

Other than names which connote polytheism and disbelief, or names which have an inherently evil meaning….Islam has allowed the believers the complete freedom to chose and assign any good wholesome name in any language they will and please.

Does its allowed in Islam to keep name as:

Ref: Akbar: The literal meaning of ‘Akbar’ is one who is greater and is a perfectly acceptable name in Islam.

Ref: Akbar khan: ‘Khan’ is literally a term of honor, thus ‘Akbar Khan’ is an acceptable name.

Ref: Nizamuddin: The literal meaning of ‘Nizam’ is administration; thus ‘Nizamddin’ would mean one who strives towards the administration of the religion….acceptable and lawful name for a believer.

Ref: Kuttubudeen: The literal meaning of the term ‘Qutb’ is a personality or a celebrity; thus ‘Qutbuddin’ is one who strives to become a personality or celebrity in the religion. Not a particularly good name to be assigned to a believer, but still permissible.

Ref: Abdul Jeelani: The literal meaning of ‘Abd’ or ‘Abd-ul’ means a slave-servant of someone….and it only befits a believer to be a slave servant of none save Allah Subhanah. ‘Jeelani’ is obviously not one of the Blessed Names or Attributes of Allah Subhanah, thus the name ‘Abdul Jeelani’ would be absolutely inappropriate and unacceptable to be assigned to a believer.

Ref: Ghulam Ghouse: ‘Ghulam’ is the Urdu synonym of ‘Abd-ul’ or a slave-servant of someone. ‘Ghulam Ghouse’ would again be an absolutely inappropriate and unacceptable name to be assigned to a believer.

Ref: Ghulam Rasool: would mean ‘slave-servant of the Messenger’; it simply does not behove or befit a believer to be recognized as a slave-servant of any save their Lord Creator Allah Subhanah….thus ‘Ghulam Rasool’ would be an absolutely inappropriate and unacceptable name to be assigned to a believer.

Your Question: And what was the name of those Two children who killed Abu Jahl in Battle of Badr (thru authentic source please)

The name of the two youths who killed Abu Jahl during the Battle of Badr is recorded in history as Muadh and Muawwadh, the sons of Afrah.

Your Question: And also can you please send me Islamic name list if you have any.

A name that is assigned to each person at birth is no more than a sign or element of recognition of that person. Islam guides that the parents choose a good wholesome name for their child…thus any name assigned to a new-born which has a good meaning, or implies their servitude to their Lord, or is based upon the name of any pious slave of Allah Subhanah (like His Prophets, or the companions of the Prophets, etc.) are considered acceptable in Islam.

Among the best Islamic names one may assign are Abd-Allah or Abd-ar-Rahmaan. Also, any name whereby one declares one’s utter subjugation to one of the many Names and Attributes of Allah Subhanah, like Abddus-Shukoor, Abdul-Maalik, Abdur-Razzaak, Abdul-Khaalik, etc. are considered good Islamic names.

Then there are the names of any of the Prophets of Allah like Adam, Nuh, Ibraheem, Moosa, Yahya, Isa, Idrees, Sulaimaan, Dawood, Mohamed, etc. Any of these names are good names for boys.

And then there are the hundreds if not thousands of names of the noble companions of the Last Messenger of Allah (saws) like Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Bilaal, Salmaan, Hudhaifa, Khalid, Ammaar, Yaasir, etc. Any of these names will be considered good Islamic names.

The deen of Islam is rich in history… from the times of Prophet Adam (a.s.) to the present day… And any good name of any of the God-fearing and pious slaves of Allah would make for a good Islamic name for the new born.

If one wills, one may choose from any of the terms which possess a good wholesome meaning, like Saleh (righteous), Saajid (one who prostrates), Jameel (graceful), Fawwaz (successful), Muhsin (benevolent), etc.

Any name which has a good meaning is perfectly acceptable to be assigned to a believer in Islam.

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