Will people be called by their mother’s name on the Day of Judgment?
The narration is:
«يدعى الناس يوم القيامة بامهاتهم سترا من الله عزو جل عليهم»
On the Day of Judgment, people will be raised by attributing them to their mothers; in fact, Allah Almighty will conceal the faults of people.
Hadith Verification:
Its chain is fabricated.
Its chain is fabricated.
Al-Bani (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Ibn ‘Adi mentioned this hadith in 2/17 from Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Tabari who said: Marwan al-Fazari informed us, he narrated from Humayd al-Taweel, who narrated from our master Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) with a marfu‘ (raised) narration and said: with these chains, the text of this hadith is rejected, while Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (the narrator) is a denier of the hadith.
And Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) said that he narrates from Ibn ‘Uyaynah and Fadl ibn ‘Iyad and is a strong denier of the hadith; he narrates fabricated hadiths from trustworthy narrators. His hadith is not permissible in writing, but it can be taken as a matter of surprise.
While Al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that he narrated fabricated hadiths from Fudayl and Ibn ‘Uyaynah.
Ibn Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned it among fabricated hadiths according to Ibn ‘Adi’s method and said it is not authentic.
Ishaq the narrator is a denier of the hadith, while Imam Al-Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) pursued it in Al-Lani (449/2) that there is another version of this hadith mentioned by Imam Al-Tabarani (may Allah have mercy on him), i.e., the hadith that follows it, which is contrary to this hadith. According to the evidence, it clearly indicates that the intended are their mothers, while this hadith mentions their names, showing how different these two words are. Ibn ‘Iraq rejected it in (381/2) saying:
I say: This is from Abu Hudhayfah Ishaq ibn Bashir’s chain, so its authenticity is not correct.
I say: The condition for authenticity is that the weakness of the witness should not be well-known, but here it is not so because Ishaq ibn Bashir is counted among those who fabricated hadiths as previously mentioned in (223).
Further Verification:
Among the common people and scholars, it is widely believed that on the Day of Judgment, people will be called by their mothers’ names. This is an imagination that neither the common people nor the scholars are free from; rather, it is a fabricated story heard and narrated like tales, which our scholars and intellectuals have been narrating from the pulpit. Rather, it has been formally presented as a narration in these words:
On the Day of Judgment, people will be called by their mothers’ names so that the faults of people may be concealed; there is something to be concealed.
Mulla Ali Qari Nur al-Din, who died in 1014 AH, in his book on fabricated hadiths, quoted Hafiz Abu Abdullah Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, known as Ibn al-Qayyim, who died in 751 AH. He said:
This narration that people will be called by their mothers’ names is false.
Then Mulla Ali Qari writes further:
Muhammad ibn Ka‘b’s statement is that people will be called by the names of their Imams (i.e., rulers), not by their mothers’ names.
It is said that there are three reasons for being called by mothers’ names:
1. Because Prophet ‘Isa (Jesus) (peace be upon him) had no father, so people will be called by their mothers’ names.
2. So that children born out of unlawful relations will not be disgraced on the Day of Judgment.
3. Considering the status of Hasan and Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them), this rule will be adopted.
These explanations were presented by Al-Baghawi in Ma‘alim al-Tanzeel, but they are contradicted by authentic hadiths.
Bukhari established in his Sahih that “people will be called by their fathers’ names on the Day of Judgment.” Imam Bukhari narrated this hadith that on the Day of Judgment, every betrayer will have a flag planted before him indicating his betrayal, stating: This is so-and-so son of so-and-so, the betrayer. Ibn al-Qayyim writes that there are many other hadiths on this topic.
The hadith narrated by Bukhari was narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) in front of Abdullah ibn Mut‘i when he was spreading false propaganda against Yazid among the people of Medina. Abdullah ibn Umar’s purpose was to show that those who were spreading such propaganda and inciting against Yazid were all wrong. At that time, no one on earth had more knowledge, virtue, and precedence in Islam than Abdullah ibn Umar, and all people accepted his decisions.
Muhammad ibn Ka‘b’s statement that people will be called by the names of their Imams is probably based on this verse:
«يَوْمَ نَدْعُو كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِمْ ۖ»
“We will call all people with their leaders.”
In this verse, Imam means those who lead and mislead. So, this calling will be of two types: individual and collective. The issue under discussion here is the individual calling.
Regarding the explanation that Prophet ‘Isa (peace be upon him) had no father, so people will be called by their mothers’ names, our response is: By what name will Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) be called? Obviously, he will be excluded from any such rule you establish. Similarly, Prophet ‘Isa (peace be upon him) will also be considered an exception.
Regarding the explanation that children born out of unlawful relations will not be disgraced on the Day of Judgment, all such children are not considered criminals in Shariah. The criminals are the men and women whose unlawful acts caused their existence. Are these suspicious people trying to conceal their doubts by making such claims? Now, only Allah will decide whether to honor their wish or expose them openly, as Allah’s hidden watchers have recorded their deeds.
Only one reason remains: that this will be done because of Hasan and Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them). Such stories were fabricated so that these noble personalities could be attributed to their mothers and called Ahl al-Rasul (People of the Prophet) instead of Ahl Ali (People of Ali). We have no particular objection to this provided that Ali ibn Zainab, Imamah bint Zainab, and Abdullah ibn Ruqayyah are also considered Ahl al-Rasul. Then a settlement might be possible. Otherwise, this is a long discussion that requires a separate book. Insha’Allah, this topic will be discussed elsewhere.
Allama Abdul Rahman ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Umar al-Shaybani al-Shafi‘i al-Athari is the author.
This narration that Allah Almighty will call people by their mothers’ names on the Day of Judgment to conceal their faults was narrated marfu‘ (raised) by Hafiz Abu al-Qasim Sulayman ibn Ahmad ibn Ayyub al-Tabarani, who died in 360 AH, in “Al-Kabir” from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them). Narrations on this topic are also reported from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) and Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). All these narrations are weak. Ibn Jawzi counted them among fabricated hadiths. In Bukhari, the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) statement is that you will be called on the Day of Judgment by your own and your fathers’ names. This hadith refutes those stories.
Hafiz Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Abdul Rahman al-Sakhawi says:
This narration that Allah Almighty will call people by their mothers’ names on the Day of Judgment to conceal their deeds was narrated marfu‘ by Al-Tabarani in “Al-Kabir” through Ishaq ibn Bashir ibn Abi Hudhayfah from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them). On this topic, one narration is reported from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) and one from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). All are weak.
Ibn Jawzi included all of them among fabricated hadiths, and to refute it, the hadith narrated by Abu Dawud in his Sunan with several chains from Abu al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) is sufficient. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: You will be called on the Day of Judgment by your own and your fathers’ names. So keep your names good.
Moreover, Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) marfu‘ that on the Day of Judgment, when Allah gathers all the first and the last, a flag will be planted before every betrayer stating: This is so-and-so son of so-and-so, the betrayer.
From authentic hadiths, it is understood that on the Day of Judgment, people will be called by their fathers’ names. This is also supported by a verse of the Qur’an. The Qur’an says:
«ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ ۚ»
“Call the people by [the names of] their fathers; that is more just with Allah.”
When in this world we are commanded to call people by their fathers’ names and it is stated that this is just in the sight of Allah, then by the implication of the text, it becomes clear that calling someone by the mother’s name is unjust. Because offspring are attributed to the father, not the mother. Those who forcibly attribute the offspring of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) are unjust according to the Qur’an.
Also keep in mind that no one can be more just than Allah. He is Just, and justice is His attribute. Whatever He declares unjust is indeed injustice, and injustice cannot be attributed to Allah.
«وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ»
“Indeed, Allah does not wrong the people at all.”
So those who think or claim that Allah will call people by their mothers’ names are implicitly calling Allah unjust in hidden words. In our view, this story is pure Tabarra (disassociation), in which the daughters of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the pure wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and even Allah’s essence are involved.
«اعوذ بالله من شرها وشر ما فيها»
