Question # 497: I have read in your website in Q.235 regarding naming of child- last point of the page- that it is haram to name a child after anybody other than his father. I have a concern, my father’s name- mohd Haneef; my name – mohd asif Haneef; my daughter’s name- ayana Haneef; if you notice, my father’s name is haneef and my name is asif (haneef), so did I do wrong by naming my daughter ayana haneef.

bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Shorter Answer: There is no harm in attributing the child to any of his male ascendants (including grandfather) and not necessarily giving him the direct name of the father, but such pairing should not be an attempt to hide the father’s identity, so as to obscure the lineage.

Long Answer: [According to scholars], there is no hadith that recommends naming a child after his grandfather, but if it is part of the customs in some societies to name a child after his[/her] grandfather, then it is recommended to do so since this is considered a form of dutifulness to the grandfather and a means of bringing joy to his heart. Nonetheless, this should not be done if the name of the grandfather implies prohibited meanings such as slavery to other than Allah (سبحانه و تعالى).

[Consequently,] there is no harm in attributing the child to any of his male ascendants and not necessarily give him the direct name of the father. Imam Al-Bukhari allocated a chapter in his book “Saheeh Al-Bukhari” entitled “Whoever attributed himself to his male ascendants in Islam and the pre-Islamic era”, and he cited the hadith on the authority of Al-Baraa’ ibn ʻAazib (رضي الله عنه) in which the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “I am the Prophet of Allah, undoubtedly; I am the son of ʻAbdul Muttalib.” therein.

(The above reply is based on various answers on similar topics provided by Islamweb.net, a web site belonging to the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the State of Qatar)

According to Abul-‘Abbaas Moosaa Richardson, [if someone’s] son’s full name is: Bilal ibn Mudassar ibn Azam Butt. This can be casually shortened to, the following ways, as examples: Bilal Azam Butt, Bilal Butt, Bilal Mudassar, Bilal Mudassar Butt… [but such pairing should not be an] attempt to hide the father’s identity, so that the lineage is obscured.

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

Wassalaam