The ruling on naming a child 'Abd al-Mawjud or 'Abd al-Sitar and changing names
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The questioner, Muhammad Sa'id al-Juhani, asks: Is it permissible to name children 'Abd al-Maqsood, 'Abd al-Sitar, and 'Abd al-Mawjud? Also, is it permissible to name them with names that cause laughter and provoke mockery? Furthermore, is it permissible for a person named with such a name to change it? What is the ruling on changing it in his case? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
The default is that it is obligatory for the father to choose a good name for his newborn, because this is part of being kind to the newborn. The best names, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, are 'Abd Allah and 'Abd al-Rahman. So one chooses a good name, a name that worships Allah the Exalted, using the divine names established in the Book and the Sunnah, such as Allah, al-Rahman, al-Rahim, al-Karim, al-'Aziz, al-Ghafur, and so on from the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). One worships Him by the names of Allah the Exalted: 'Abd Allah, 'Abd al-'Aziz, 'Abd al-Karim, 'Abd al-Rahman, 'Abd al-Ghafur, and so on. As for al-Mawjud, this is not one of the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And al-Sitar, the intention here is that this has also not been established as one of the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), but it is lighter than naming someone 'Abd al-Mawjud, because al-Mawjud is not one of the names of Allah. As for Allah intending, and it being good, these are attributes of Allah, and that He covers the faults of His servants, this is an attribute of Allah the Exalted, but it has not been established that these are names of Allah the Exalted. If a person is given a bad name, and if it worships other than Allah, such as 'Abd al-Masih or 'Abd al-Husayn or 'Abd al-Ka'bah, then it is obligatory to change it; it is obligatory for him to change it to a prescribed name. But if it does not involve worshipping other than Allah the Exalted, and he wants to change it to a better name, there is no harm in that, but it is not obligatory for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) changed the name of Hazn to Sahl, and changed the names of some of his Companions to better names, so this is a matter of recommendation, unless the name worships other than Allah, in which case it is obligatory to change it. Yes.
The questioner:
Is the father's consent required in this, since he is the one who gave the original name?
The Shaykh:
What is required in this? It is obligatory for the father to change his son's name. If he does not change it, the son has the right to change his name.
The questioner:
May Allah greet you.
The Shaykh:
To a prescribed name. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
The questioner, Muhammad Sa'id al-Juhani, asks: Is it permissible to name children 'Abd al-Maqsood, 'Abd al-Sitar, and 'Abd al-Mawjud? Also, is it permissible to name them with names that cause laughter and provoke mockery? Furthermore, is it permissible for a person named with such a name to change it? What is the ruling on changing it in his case? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
The default is that it is obligatory for the father to choose a good name for his newborn, because this is part of being kind to the newborn. The best names, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, are 'Abd Allah and 'Abd al-Rahman. So one chooses a good name, a name that worships Allah the Exalted, using the divine names established in the Book and the Sunnah, such as Allah, al-Rahman, al-Rahim, al-Karim, al-'Aziz, al-Ghafur, and so on from the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). One worships Him by the names of Allah the Exalted: 'Abd Allah, 'Abd al-'Aziz, 'Abd al-Karim, 'Abd al-Rahman, 'Abd al-Ghafur, and so on. As for al-Mawjud, this is not one of the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And al-Sitar, the intention here is that this has also not been established as one of the names of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), but it is lighter than naming someone 'Abd al-Mawjud, because al-Mawjud is not one of the names of Allah. As for Allah intending, and it being good, these are attributes of Allah, and that He covers the faults of His servants, this is an attribute of Allah the Exalted, but it has not been established that these are names of Allah the Exalted. If a person is given a bad name, and if it worships other than Allah, such as 'Abd al-Masih or 'Abd al-Husayn or 'Abd al-Ka'bah, then it is obligatory to change it; it is obligatory for him to change it to a prescribed name. But if it does not involve worshipping other than Allah the Exalted, and he wants to change it to a better name, there is no harm in that, but it is not obligatory for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) changed the name of Hazn to Sahl, and changed the names of some of his Companions to better names, so this is a matter of recommendation, unless the name worships other than Allah, in which case it is obligatory to change it. Yes.
The questioner:
Is the father's consent required in this, since he is the one who gave the original name?
The Shaykh:
What is required in this? It is obligatory for the father to change his son's name. If he does not change it, the son has the right to change his name.
The questioner:
May Allah greet you.
The Shaykh:
To a prescribed name. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/085 — archive.org (17:13)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.