Ruling on calling the wife's father "uncle" and the like
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[Ruling on calling the wife's father "uncle" and the like]
Among the customs that are followed is calling the wife's father "maternal uncle" and the wife's mother "maternal aunt," and some people call them "paternal uncle" or "paternal aunt." Some of the brothers heard from you in the explanation of Surat al-Nisa: that it is not permissible to use this name for the wife's father or mother. What is the alternative? And what is the correctness of this statement? May Allah reward you with good.
As for the wife's father, he is not called a maternal uncle or a paternal uncle, because he is not a maternal uncle in the Shari'ah, nor a paternal uncle in the Shari'ah. Likewise, the wife's mother is not a maternal aunt or a paternal aunt. Therefore, it is not befitting to call the wife's father a maternal uncle or a paternal uncle, nor is it befitting to call the wife's mother a maternal aunt or a paternal aunt. Rather, they are called by the name given to them by the scholars of knowledge, which is "in-laws" (asbahar).It is said: "My in-law so-and-so," "my wife's father is so-and-so," "my in-law (female) so-and-so," "my wife's mother is so-and-so." As for calling them by legal names that do not describe what those names imply, that is not befitting.
But we did not say that it is forbidden, and perhaps the one who heard my words,Meaning: my saying "it is not befitting," thought that this means prohibition. The better course is for a person to name things by their true legal names. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us from calling the Isha prayer "al-'atamah,"And he said: (Do not let the Bedouins overpower you regarding your Isha prayer, for it is in the Book of Allah called Isha) ,As Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Nur: 58] , and he did not call it "al-'atamah."And "al-'atamah" is: The Bedouins' "al-'atamah" is with the camels, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the Bedouins from overpowering us in naming the prayer by a name other than its legal name.
Among the customs that are followed is calling the wife's father "maternal uncle" and the wife's mother "maternal aunt," and some people call them "paternal uncle" or "paternal aunt." Some of the brothers heard from you in the explanation of Surat al-Nisa: that it is not permissible to use this name for the wife's father or mother. What is the alternative? And what is the correctness of this statement? May Allah reward you with good.
As for the wife's father, he is not called a maternal uncle or a paternal uncle, because he is not a maternal uncle in the Shari'ah, nor a paternal uncle in the Shari'ah. Likewise, the wife's mother is not a maternal aunt or a paternal aunt. Therefore, it is not befitting to call the wife's father a maternal uncle or a paternal uncle, nor is it befitting to call the wife's mother a maternal aunt or a paternal aunt. Rather, they are called by the name given to them by the scholars of knowledge, which is "in-laws" (asbahar).It is said: "My in-law so-and-so," "my wife's father is so-and-so," "my in-law (female) so-and-so," "my wife's mother is so-and-so." As for calling them by legal names that do not describe what those names imply, that is not befitting.
But we did not say that it is forbidden, and perhaps the one who heard my words,Meaning: my saying "it is not befitting," thought that this means prohibition. The better course is for a person to name things by their true legal names. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us from calling the Isha prayer "al-'atamah,"And he said: (Do not let the Bedouins overpower you regarding your Isha prayer, for it is in the Book of Allah called Isha) ,As Allah the Exalted said: