Fatwa ID: 06563

 

Answered by: Muftiyah Habiba Akhtar

 

Question:

 

I was recently going through the names of the prophets and have come across methuselah being an ancestor of nuh (pbuh) is there an Islamic equal to this and can a child be named this?

 

Also, the name Mihyalil popped up once again as an ancestor of our beloved prophet saw. Can this name be used for a Male child?

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

Answer:

 

The name Methuselah is mentioned in Judaism and is relevant to their religious ancestry.

 

In Islam, there is no definite mention of the earlier Pre Islamic prophets other than those specifically referred to in the Quran and Sunnah.

 

In Arabic the name Methuselah is Mattūshalakh.

 

The only mention of Mattūshalakh and Mihyalil is in the Seerah compilation of Ibn Ishaq on pages 3-4. There is no reference to the source of the knowledge.

 

Naming a child is an essential and key practice as the act of keeping an honourable name or avoiding the act of keeping inappropriate names is the duty of a parent.

 

We can comprehend this from the practice of the Prophet Muhammad SAW from the following hadith:

 

Sa’id b. Musayyab said that his father said on the authority of his grandfather (Hazn):

 

The Prophet (ﷺ) asked: What is your name? He replied: Hazn (rugged). He said: You are Sahl (smooth). He said: No, smooth is trodden upon and disgraced. Sa’id said: I then thought that ruggedness would remain among us after it.

 

Abu Dawud said: The Prophet (ﷺ) changed the names al-‘As, Aziz, Atalah, Shaytan, al-Hakam, Ghurab, Hubab, and Shihab and called him Hisham. He changed the name Harb (war) and called him Silm (peace). He changed the name al-Munba’ith (one who lies) and called him al-Mudtaji’ (one who stands up). He changed the name of the land Afrah (barren) and called it Khadrah (green). He changed the name Shi’b ad-Dalalah (the mountain path of a stray), the name of a mountain path and called it Shi’b al-Huda (mountain path of guidance). He changed the name Banu az-Zinyah (children of fornication) and called them Banu ar-Rushdah (children of those who are on the right path), and changed the name Banu Mughwiyah (children of a woman who allures and goes astray), and called them Banu Rushdah (children of a woman who is on the right path).

 

 

(2)

 

From this Hadith, we can see that the Prophet SAW changed the names of the companions from what was deemed ill-fitting or inappropriate to terms with good meaning. Hence, to give a name a good meaning to a child is an encouraged act.

 

Therefore, it is better to give your child a name of a person whose virtues are known or you know the character will have a good effect on the child.

 

 

 

 

Only Allah knows the best

Written by Muftiyah Habiba Akhtar

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

Life of Muhammad, Sirat Rasulul Lah, Ibn Ishaq, pages 3-4, Oxford press

 

 

(2)

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ صَالِحٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ لَهُ ‏”‏ مَا اسْمُكَ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ حَزْنٌ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏”‏ أَنْتَ سَهْلٌ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ لاَ السَّهْلُ يُوطَأُ وَيُمْتَهَنُ ‏.‏ قَالَ سَعِيدٌ فَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ سَيُصِيبُنَا بَعْدَهُ حُزُونَةٌ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ وَغَيَّرَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم اسْمَ الْعَاصِ وَعَزِيزٍ وَعَتَلَةَ وَشَيْطَانٍ وَالْحَكَمِ وَغُرَابٍ وَحُبَابٍ وَشِهَابٍ فَسَمَّاهُ هِشَامًا وَسَمَّى حَرْبًا سَلْمًا وَسَمَّى الْمُضْطَجِعَ الْمُنْبَعِثَ وَأَرْضًا تُسَمَّى عَفِرَةَ سَمَّاهَا خَضِرَةَ وَشِعْبَ الضَّلاَلَةِ سَمَّاهُ شِعْبَ الْهُدَى وَبَنُو الزِّنْيَةِ سَمَّاهُمْ بَنِي الرِّشْدَةِ وَسَمَّى بَنِي مُغْوِيَةَ بَنِي رِشْدَةَ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ تَرَكْتُ أَسَانِيدَهَا لِلاِخْتِصَارِ ‏.‏

 

Sunan Abi Dawud 4956