Who Has the Right to Name the Child?
✍ Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
◈ The Father’s Right in Naming the Child
There is no difference of opinion regarding this matter: if both parents dispute over naming the child, the name chosen by the father will be upheld.
The reason is that the child is always called by the name of his father, not his mother. For example, it is said: “so-and-so, son of so-and-so.”
Allah ﷻ also commanded:
ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِن لَّمْ تَعْلَمُوا آبَاءَهُمْ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ [الأحزاب: 5]
"Call them by their fathers’ names; that is more just in the sight of Allah. But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in faith and your clients."
◈ Prophetic Example
Anas (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
ولـدلــي الليـلـة غـلام فسميتـه بـاسـم أبى إبراهيم
"This night a son was born to me, and I named him after my father Ibrahim (عليه السلام)."
[Muslim: 2315 | Bukhari: 1303 | Abu Dawud: 3126 | Ahmad: 3/194 | Ibn Hibban: 4/245 | Tahawi: 1/454 | Bayhaqi in Sunan al-Kubra: 9/589, and in Dala’il al-Nubuwwah: 5/430 | Sharh al-Sunnah: 11/269]
◈ The Principle in Lineage and Naming
The child is considered under the mother in matters of freedom and slavery, but in lineage and naming he follows the father.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) affirmed this as well.
[Tuhfat al-Mawdud bi-Ahkam al-Mawlud, p. 129]
Conclusion:The right to name the child belongs to the father, as the child is identified by his father’s name, and the Qur’an and Sunnah affirm this principle.
