Who has the right to name children, and what is the ruling on naming them after their fathers?
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The questioner : The questioner says: May the Shaykh be respected, in this time, it has become common to name children with strange names that have strange meanings and are not among the customs of Muslims. I have several questions regarding the naming of sons and daughters. First: Who has the right of naming, the husband or the wife? Second...
The Shaykh : The right of naming belongs to the father; he is the one who names his children. If the mother and father disagree, with the mother wanting one name and he wanting another, the ruling belongs to the father, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):Sahih al-Bukhari 2751. Yes.
The questioner : Second: The questioner asks, does the husband have the right to stipulate to his wife that she name the children after him?
The Shaykh : Or the reverse, meaning at the time of marriage, at the marriage contract.
The questioner : I do not know, that is his question.
The Shaykh : In any case, the right belongs to the father. However, along with my saying that the right belongs to the father, the father should be lenient with his wife and consult with her until he convinces her of the names he wants.
And a person should make the name of his son, or daughter, a good name, because people will be called on the Day of Resurrection by their names and the names of their fathers, as is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
And the names most beloved to Allah are 'Abdullah and 'Abd al-Rahman. And whatever is attributed to Allah is better than anything else, meaning 'Abdullah, 'Abd al-Rahman, 'Abd al-Rahim, 'Abd al-'Aziz, 'Abd al-Wahhab, 'Abd al-Karim, 'Abd al-Mannan, and the like. Whatever is attributed to Allah is better.
And it is forbidden to take the names of the Pharaohs, such as Pharaoh, or the names of the devils, such as Iblis. The scholars said: "or the names of the Qur'an". It is not permissible to take a name like Furqan or the like, because these are specific to the Noble Qur'an, and the names of the Qur'an are respected, so no human being is named with them. Some scholars even said: "It is also disliked to take the names of the angels", such as Jibril, Mika'il, and Israfil. Yes.
The questioner : Third: Naming children after their parents, especially if the father sees that this is dutifulness, and that if he does not do it, he will be undutiful to his parents?
The Shaykh : Yes, I say the best is for the father to say, "The names beloved to Allah are more beloved to me and to you. Since Allah the Exalted loves the names attributed to Him, 'Abdullah and 'Abd al-Rahman, give me, my father, the opportunity to name him with that. If he insists, and you see that he will consider it undutifulness on your part, there is no harm in naming him with his name, even if it is the weaker position. For example, if his name is Muhammad and he says, 'Name your son Muhammad,' and you say, 'My father, 'Abdullah is better and more excellent,' and he says, 'No, if you want to be dutiful to me, name him Muhammad,' there is no harm in naming him Muhammad, because it is a permissible and good name. The names of the messengers are better than the names of others, except for what is more beloved to Allah, which is better. Yes.
The Shaykh : The right of naming belongs to the father; he is the one who names his children. If the mother and father disagree, with the mother wanting one name and he wanting another, the ruling belongs to the father, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
and a man is a guardian of his family and is responsible for his charges
الرجل راعي في أهله ومسئول عن رعيتهThe questioner : Second: The questioner asks, does the husband have the right to stipulate to his wife that she name the children after him?
The Shaykh : Or the reverse, meaning at the time of marriage, at the marriage contract.
The questioner : I do not know, that is his question.
The Shaykh : In any case, the right belongs to the father. However, along with my saying that the right belongs to the father, the father should be lenient with his wife and consult with her until he convinces her of the names he wants.
And a person should make the name of his son, or daughter, a good name, because people will be called on the Day of Resurrection by their names and the names of their fathers, as is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
And the names most beloved to Allah are 'Abdullah and 'Abd al-Rahman. And whatever is attributed to Allah is better than anything else, meaning 'Abdullah, 'Abd al-Rahman, 'Abd al-Rahim, 'Abd al-'Aziz, 'Abd al-Wahhab, 'Abd al-Karim, 'Abd al-Mannan, and the like. Whatever is attributed to Allah is better.
And it is forbidden to take the names of the Pharaohs, such as Pharaoh, or the names of the devils, such as Iblis. The scholars said: "or the names of the Qur'an". It is not permissible to take a name like Furqan or the like, because these are specific to the Noble Qur'an, and the names of the Qur'an are respected, so no human being is named with them. Some scholars even said: "It is also disliked to take the names of the angels", such as Jibril, Mika'il, and Israfil. Yes.
The questioner : Third: Naming children after their parents, especially if the father sees that this is dutifulness, and that if he does not do it, he will be undutiful to his parents?
The Shaykh : Yes, I say the best is for the father to say, "The names beloved to Allah are more beloved to me and to you. Since Allah the Exalted loves the names attributed to Him, 'Abdullah and 'Abd al-Rahman, give me, my father, the opportunity to name him with that. If he insists, and you see that he will consider it undutifulness on your part, there is no harm in naming him with his name, even if it is the weaker position. For example, if his name is Muhammad and he says, 'Name your son Muhammad,' and you say, 'My father, 'Abdullah is better and more excellent,' and he says, 'No, if you want to be dutiful to me, name him Muhammad,' there is no harm in naming him Muhammad, because it is a permissible and good name. The names of the messengers are better than the names of others, except for what is more beloved to Allah, which is better. Yes.