Do Names have any effect on a Person?

by Asma bint Shameem

My child is always sick and crying. I think his name is “heavy” for him.

Should I change his name?

ANSWER

This is a very common misconception, especially among people of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. 

They think that names have an effect on a person’s life, health or their destiny.

But that’s NOT a correct belief. 

It’s true that we’re are encouraged to name our children with names that have good meanings.

And we should avoid names that have bad meanings. 

But that’s because the name might affect the character of a person, meaning the ’kind’ of person he is. 

And not because the name will make a person’s life easy or difficult or that he’ll have more problems in life just because of his “name”. 

Yes, it’s true that the Prophet ﷺ changed the names of some of the Sahaabah.

But that was because their names had BAD meanings and he ﷺ simply changed their names to those with good meanings.

🍃 Ibn al-Musayyab said that his father came to the Prophet ﷺ and he said, “What is your name?” 

He said, “Hazn (meaning rough).” 

He said, “You are Sahl (meaning easy).” 

He said, “I will not change the name that my father gave to me.” 

Ibn al-Musayyab said, “And we have had roughness (in character) ever since.” 

(al-Bukhaari 6190)

🍃 And  Ibn ‘Umar radhi Allaahu anhumaa said that a daughter of ‘Umar was called ‘Aasiyah عاصية

(with a ص meaning disobedient)

(do not confuse it with آسية which is a good name)

but the Prophet ﷺ renamed her Jameelah (beautiful).”

(Muslim, 2139)

🍃 Ibn al-Qayyim said:  

“Because names have meanings, these meanings will inevitably have an effect on the person who carries the name. 

Names have an effect on the things that are named, and the things that are named have an effect on their names, whether they are beautiful or ugly, light or heavy, subtle or crude.” (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 2/336)

🍃 Shaykh Abu Zayd said:

“The name connects the newborn to the guidance and etiquette of Islaam, so the child will be blessed and his name will be a reminder of the one after whom he is named such as a Prophet or righteous slave of Allaah, so as to follow the example of the righteous forebearers, preserving their names, remembering their attributes, and so as to perpetuate a chain of righteousness in future generations of the ummah.”

(Tasmiyat al-Mawlood 25)

🍃 Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Kareem Al-Khudayr said:

“One should give one’s children good names and not give bad names. 

So we should use names like ‘Abd-Allaah (“slave of Allaah”), ‘Abd al-Rahmaan (“slave of the Most Merciful”), Muhammad, Ahmad, etc., and we should not use names which have bad meanings, such as Sa’b (difficult), etc.”

🔺What makes it wrong?

What is wrong is to believe that the name has an effect on the child’s fate and is the reason for him being sick or that the name does not “suit” the child or that the name is “causing hardships” or that a particular name is “heavy” on the child .

ALL that is NOTHING but superstition, and associating bad omens with the name. 

And that’s NOT allowed in our Deen. 

Our names do not have any effect on our fate or life. 

And our names have nothing to do with sickness or problems that come our way. 

Believing that my name can affect me and my future is a form of superstition and comes under the rulings of ‘Tiyaarah’ (belief in omens). 

And Tiyaarah is SHIRK. 

May Allaah protect us. 

🍃 The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Tiyaarah (belief in evil omens) is shirk.” 

(Abu Dawood- saheeh by al-Albaani)

Whatever good or bad that will happen in my life has already been written by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala LONG before I was born and whether I’m named Asma or Fatimah or Sumaayyah is not going to change that it any way. 

Even if my name was something totally different, whatever was written for me, would still reach me no matter what. 

Even if I didn’t have a name at all, my life would still be the same.

🍃 The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Know that if the whole world were to gather together in order to help you, they would not be able to help you except if Allaah had written so. 

And if the whole world were to gather together in order to harm you, they would not harm you except if Allaah had written so. 

The pens have been lifted, and the pages are dry.”

(Tirmidhi-saheeh)

🍃 And he said:

“Everything has a reality, and the servant will not reach the reality of faith until he knows that what afflicted him could never miss him, and that what missed him could never have afflicted him.” (Ahmad- saheeh by al-Albaani) 

So there’s NO NEED to change your baby’s name if he keeps getting sick or he’s not growing properly or if he’s a cranky baby or if you’re going through hardships, etc.

That has NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS NAME or YOUR NAME.

That simply may be a TEST from Allaah. Or there could be some other reasons.

But it’s certainly NOT because of his name.

And Allaah knows best