Question: What is your view on reverts not changing their name?

[T_E_S]

As I am a revert, who has a very ''western'' (read Anglo?) name, a lot of Muslims are first surprised to hear that I am a Muslim, and I continue to get questions about my ''Muslim name'' or if I am going to change my name.

Personally I do not see it as remotely necessary to change my name and have no plans to do so, not then and not now after some years have passed.

What are your views of people who keep their ''Non-Muslim'' name, and what does Islam say about this?

 

[Mabsoot]

Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatullah,

A lot of reverts change their name, it can help them mentally transition into practising Islam and being Muslim, almost like drawing a line symbolising a new start in their Islamic life. Others feel it would be "too much" for their family to have to consider, so either they keep using their birth name, or at least not make their family use the Muslim name they have chosen.

Whatever the choice an individual makes with their names, it does not make a person any better or worse than any other Muslim.

Islam gives people the choice of keeping their names, especially surnames - these should never change. As for your first name, then as long as the meaning is not unIslamic i.e. "Christian, Christina, Christopher " etc then it is fine not to change. Islam is universal, for all people, so a lot of Muslims from different ethnic backgrounds have names which are not necessarily "Arabic" nor would they exclusively be used by Muslims. My name is Ameer, it means Leader or Prince, others have Arabic names like Rima, Jamil, yet others have names which are in Turkish or Persian, e.g. Cengir, Pinar etc Sometimes Muslims who are from Muslim families, change their names because the meaning of their name was not good. "Peer Ditta", "Ghulam Muhammad" are real life examples, meaning "Saint given" and "Slave of Muhammad" respectively.

The authentic hadith do show the preference in names like Abdullah and Abdur-Rahman. It is also good to have names after those we love such as Muhammad, A'isha, Khadija, Yusuf, Ibrahim, Omar and so on.

Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The most beloved names to Allah the Exalted are Abdullah, the servant of Allah, and Abdur Rahman, the servant of the Merciful.”

Source: Sunan Abu Dawud 4949
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Ibn Taymiyyah

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Does a person who becomes Muslim have to change his name like George or Joseph etc?

He replied:

He does not have to change his name unless it is a name that reflects servitude to someone or something other than Allaah, but it is good to change his name to something better. So if he changes his name from a foreign name to an Islamic name, that is good, but as to whether it is obligatory, no it is not.

But if his name was ‘Abd al-Maseeh [= “slave of the Messiah”, a name common among Arab Christians; a similar name in English cultures would be “Christopher” -- Translator] or something of that nature, then he should change it, but if the name does not imply servitude to anything or anyone other than Allaah, such as George and Paul, etc., then he does not have to change it, because these names are shared by Christians and others. And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/404.

 

[MehmetHilmi]

Why should it be wrong? I don't know of the Islamic perspective on this I'm just stating my personal opinion. Islamic names are always Arabic, but not all Muslims are Arab. My uncle's name is Gokhan, which is a completely non Islamic name. It is actually a name which the shaman Turks used before Islam. Yet he has been a Muslim since birth. I think reverts should keep their original names in fact. As respect to their parents/ancestors and as a way to preserve culture and diversity.

 

[Hassan]

Being a revert who has changed his name, I can say what Br Mabsoot says about mental transition was very much what it was about for me. I kept my family name of course, it is not permitted to change that, but I made my first name a middle name as I realise family and some others will never get used to a change of name, and I took a new first name.

Br Mehmet also makes good points, reverts do seem to choose arab names. My name wasn't offensive to Islam, but it was difficult to pronounce for many, in fact, I've been very used to using nicknames when I was in another country, just because it is easier. Maybe if everyone I knew were Turkish, or Indonesian or whatever, maybe I would have done differently. But exactly, if a name isn't offensive in Islam, and it is the name of a Muslim, then it is a Muslim name.

So, what do I think of reverts not changing their name? Ma shaa Allah, how diverse and culturally varied the Ummah is!

Peace

 

[SonOfAdam]

You do not need to change your name unless it has some kind of bad meaning, even then you don't have to change it but it is better to. If it has a bad meaning then it is better to change it as the Prophet SAW used to change the names of people and places with bad meaning. The Prophet SAW and in the Quran it also says not to call people with bad nicknames even. The name of a person is very important because it identifies that person their whole life and helps form their personality and identity. If you call someone something good they will lean towards good, but if you call them something bad they will lean towards bad, similarly the meanings of peoples names (that they are aware of) will likely also take them towards good or bad. An example of this is have you ever heard of a person named Ameer (Leader/Commander) being timid, or are they mostly all very confident leadership seeking people? It is often seen that people with a certain name also have similar personalities because of this. This is more for younger kids and not reverts though, since reverts would have already established much of their personalities before reverting to Islam but even still choosing a good name after this will also have the same effect- you'd be proud of your new Islamic name and seek to be the best Abdullah (Slave of Allah SWT), Hasan (Goodnees) person, etc. (whatever your knew Islamic name means). It is actually an important duty of parents to give their kids good names because of this, so inshallah give your kids the best names for them to live up to. The Prophet SAW said the two names liked most by Allah SWT are Abdullah and AbdurRahman.

You don't need to change your name Akhi, it is just personal preference. If I met you I would not think anything of it. I know lots of reverts that still have their original names, it is not that important if you ask me. Be aware though a lot of Anglo names are rooted in pagan or greek mythology, and other concepts that are far from Islam... Even so if your name came from one of these, I would not care much if I found out, BUT I could not help but snicker at the idea (Muslim with such a name) and some brothers may think negatively of you because of this. If you are OK with that concept though, then I don't think there is anything in Islam that says you MUST change your name when you become Muslim, but I am not an expert in the subject. If it easy for you and you want to you can change it though, no one really cares about the names of legal paperwork- just have people call you whatever you like.

Also, I think it would be quite disrespectful to go to your mom and dad and say don't call me Johnny, I am now Abdullah.... especially when John is Yahya, an acceptable name to begin with (from John the Baptist A.S.). I would not even ask them to call me Yahya... think if your child changed his name that you gave him, I personally would have a big problem with this. This will make even more problems for you and make it even harder for them to accept your new faith. You can also just let them call you Johnny while outside you tell non family members to call you Yahya.

I hope this helps.

(Sorry just read the other posts now, sorry for the repeat info but happy to read confirmations of what I wrote, elhamdulillah)

 

[friend263]

Subhanallah i was searching for this questions answer.. but as my hubbys name is vikas and he is a revert should he change his name.. it means growth

 

[friend263]

Also i wanted to know that is circumcision obligatory on reverted muslims? Also my hubby is not even ready tdo circumcision on my two boys is it ok?? Any great answer which i can give it to him?