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 Burhan

Assalam o Alaikum

I have a question regarding one of the mails in this mailing list that described the 'shirk' relevant to Zodiac signs. Infact i want to extend this thought and want to ask that:

"Just similiar to a person's star or zodiac sign, is it valid to judge someone on the basis of a person's first or last name? There are some websites which give this sort of information by analyzing someone's character based on his/her name. One of the websites is http://www.kabalarians.com. What is true in this regard in the light of Islam?"

I am waiting for your kind reply in thei regard. May Allah bless you and us all. Jazkallah o khair.

Muhammad Shoaib

Regards,

(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:

Analyse persons character by 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.

Your Question: Just similiar to a person's star or zodiac sign, is it valid to judge someone on the basis of a person's first or last name?

Allah Subhanah will not judge or determine the result of the test of life on whether the person’s name was Abdullah, or Abdur-Rahmaan, or Rashid, or Khalid, etc.! The results will be based solely on one’s belief in Allah Subhanah, and the deeds which he has done in the transitory period of ones life on earth.

There is absolutely no truth or validity in judging someone on the basis of his first or last name, as the name of a person has absolutely no bearing on the beliefs and actions of a person.

Some unscrupulous people falsely claim that the stars have something to do with ones life and its happenings, or read the lines of one’s palms to determine the future, or throw dices or arrows to determine the future! In some countries like India and Pakistan, there are street-astrologers who claim to foretell the future of the person by what kind of pre-written card their PARROT pulls from the stack of cards; for a small fee, or course! These are all false beliefs of the ignorant, and do not have even an iota of truth attached to it!

The Truth is that Allah Subhanah Alone is the All Knowing, and He Alone has the knowledge of the ‘unseen’. Anyone else who claims to have knowledge of the ‘unseen’ is nothing but a confirmed and manifest liar!

Even if one uses simple logic and common-sense, they would realize that these future-tellers are nothing but absolute liars, who try to make their living by fleecing the ignorant person of their hard-earned money! Why else would someone who has the knowledge of the future or the ‘unseen’, foretell the future of another for a small paltry sum on the streets or shady booths, when they could make millions for themselves if they knew the winning lottery numbers, or the future of the Stock Markets, etc.?

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