Naming a child

[Abu Ilyas Abdul Aziz]

Asalaamu alaykum,
When it comes to naming a child I’ve heard many people saying, ‘I do not want to name my child, for example, Ahmad or Hamza, because all Ahmads and Hamzas that I know are bad or lazy (any negative quality). Is this correct?

الترجمـة:
عندما أريد تسمية المولود فقد سمعت الكثير From الناس يقولون:
"لن أسمي مولودي على سبيل المثال: أحمد أو حمزة لأن كل From أعرف واسماؤهم أحمد وحمزة إما سيئون أو كسالى مثNotً (أو أي صفة سلبية)" فهل هذا صحيح ؟

[Maher Bin Dhafer Al-Qahtani]

بسم الله الرحFrom الرحيم
هذا توهم فNotأصل له بل تشاؤم وشرك إذا اعتقد أن تسميته بهذه اNotسماء الموافقة لكسولين معاصرين قريبين
أنه سيكون مثلهم ظنا أن اختيار اسم موافقا لهم يكون مؤثرا في الولد وإن كان اNotسم جميNot وليس بقبيح كمحمد
فهذا إما شرك أكبر أو شرك أصغر في الربوبية بحسب مايقع في قلبه
روى أبو داود في سننه عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ الطِّيَرَةُ شِرْكٌ الطِّيَرَةُ شِرْكٌ ثَلَاثًا وَمَا مِنَّا إِلَّا وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُذْهِبُهُ بِالتَّوَكُّلِ

فليتوكل على الله وليسم بهذه اNotسماء وNotتضره موافقتها Notاسماء أصحابها ا000لآن لهم صفات ذميمة ولينظر الى From تسمى بها وله صفات حميدة كنبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم والسلف
نعم كره بعضهم رحمه الله التسمي باسم قد يؤثر على المسمى كما قال ابن القيم أو غيره كل رجل له نصيب From اسمه كFrom يتسمى بأحيمق فلعله يؤثر عليه From كثرة النداء حتى يتصف بصفات الحمقى
ويروى في ذلك أثر عن عمر وNotيصح
وهو ماخرجه مالك في موطئه عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ قَالَ لِرَجُلٍ مَا اسْمُكَ فَقَالَ جَمْرَةُ فَقَالَ ابْنُ مَنْ فَقَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ قَالَ مِمَّنْ قَالَ مِنْ الْحُرَقَةِ قَالَ أَيْنَ مَسْكَنُكَ قَالَ بِحَرَّةِ النَّارِ قَالَ بِأَيِّهَا قَالَ بِذَاتِ لَظًى قَالَ عُمَرُ أَدْرِكْ أَهْلَكَ فَقَدْ احْتَرَقُوا قَالَ فَكَانَ كَمَا قَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ

ثم لو صح لكان مما الهمه عمر رضي الله عنه وليس بوحي فقد جاء في الحديث الذي خرجه البخاري في صحيحه َ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَقَدْ كَانَ فِيمَا قَبْلَكُمْ مِنْ الْأُمَمِ مُحَدَّثُونَ فَإِنْ يَكُ فِي أُمَّتِي أَحَدٌ فَإِنَّهُ عُمَرُ زَادَ زَكَرِيَّاءُ بْنُ أَبِي زَائِدَةَ عَنْ سَعْدٍ عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَقَدْ كَانَ فِيمَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ رِجَالٌ يُكَلَّمُونَ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَكُونُوا أَنْبِيَاءَ فَإِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْ أُمَّتِي مِنْهُمْ أَحَدٌ فَعُمَرُ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا مِنْ نَبِيٍّ وَلَا مُحَدَّثٍ (انتهى)


وقد كنت قد صنعت محاضرة في ثكنة عسكرية ورأيت أحد العسكر اسمه مغلي (From الغليان )
فسألته هل انت عصبي سريع الغضب
فقال نعم
000فسبحان الله وبحمده والله أعلم0

This is an illusive thinking that is not based on firm reasons rather it's pessimism and shirk if he believed that the new born would turn out to be like those bad people he knows and that the name itself affects his son, and this is either minor or major shirk depending on what he thinks and believes.

Ibn Mas'ud narrated that the prophet (pbuh) said: {Tiara (pessimism) is shirk , he said it three times, and no man's mind would escape thinking
of it but Allah makes these thoughts vanish with Tawakul} narrated by Abu dawood.

So you should have Tawakul (depend on Allah) and name your child whatever you please even if like you mentioned before. And remember the good, virtuous people that once held these names.

It is true that Ibn Al-Qayim said that every man takes after his name and affected by it because you are too often addressed by it, like calling someone (Ohaimiq) which means the very stupid one, so this person is called stupid all the time then he starts to act upon it (stupidly)
.

There is an unauthentic narration in Muatta Imam Malik that Omar asked a man: what's your name? He replied Jamrah (ember or live coal) then Omar asked: son of whom? The man replied: son of Shihab (flame) Omar asked again: what tribe? He replied: Al-Huraqa (burning) Omar asked: where do you live? He said: in Harrat alnar (fire mountain) Omar asked: which part of it? He replied: thatu latha (the flaming area) then Omar said: Go rescue your family they are burning.

And even if this narration is authentic, it would be Ilham (inspiration) not Wahi (elevation) because Al-Bukhari narrated that: The Prophet said, "Amongst the men of Bani Israel there was a man who had murdered ninety-nine persons. Then he set out asking (whether his repentance could be accepted or not). He came upon a monk and asked him if his repentance could be accepted. The monk replied in the negative and so the man killed him. He kept on asking till a man advised to go to such and such village. (So he left for it) but death overtook him on the way. While dying, he turned his chest towards that village (where he had hoped his repentance would be accepted), and so the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment quarreled amongst themselves regarding him. Allah ordered the village (towards which he was going) to come closer to him, and ordered the village (whence he had come), to go far away, and then He ordered the angels to measure the distances between his body and the two villages. So he was found to be one span closer to the village (he was going to). So he was forgiven."

I myself asked one military officer what's your name? he said : it's Maghli (boiling or boiled) the I asked him : are you a quick-tempered man? or do you get angry quickly? He said: yes.

And Allah knows best.