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

asslamalaikum

I have two year old son whose name is Saamir everbody is saying that its not a good name we have already done his aqeeqa. kindly tell me is it a good name or not can we change his name after aqeeqa or not. Please help me as u are helping millions of people It would be so kind of u

allah hafiz

yours sister in islam

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Answer:

Meaning of name Saamir

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.

The literal meaning of the Arabic term ‘Saamir’ means one who tells stories, especially at night. Although ‘Saamir’ is not exactly amongst the best names one may keep (like Abdullah, Abdur-Rahmaan, Mohammad, etc), it is a perfectly acceptable and good name for a believer.

It is Sunnah to perform the ‘Aqiqah’ and appoint a name for the new-born on the seventh day, and there is absolute no restriction in Islam if one wills to later change the name given to the new-born at Aqiqah, if one wishes to do so.

Dear and Beloved Sister, regardless of what the people say, Saamir is a good and perfectly acceptable name for a believer in Islam, and if you do not desire to change the name there is absolutely no need to do so. The Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibited the believers from keeping names that have a connotation of shirk (like Abdus-Shams, or Abdul-Laat, etc.) and discouraged the keeping of names that have a particularly evil meaning; other than these, he (saws) permitted his companions to keep their names given by their parents at birth before the advent of Islam.

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