Fatwa ID: 02496

Answered by: Molana Muhammad Adnan

Question:

Can a woman who is previously married and has a child with her 1st husband change the surname of her child if she gets divorced and remarries to the 2nd husband can she now alter the SURNAME of her child which she had with her 1st husband to either to her 2nd husbands surname or to another random islamic name because the initial surname of the child was not even derived/related to her first husband hence can she alter it inshallah because she doesnt want her child to have that surname anymore.

Answer

بسم الله الرحمن الرحي

ادْعُوهُمْ لاًّبَآئِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ﴾

(Call them (adopted sons) by their fathers, that is more just with Allah.) 33:5

This is a command which abrogates the state of affairs that existed at the beginning of Islam, when it was permitted to call adopted sons after the man who adopted them. Then Allah commanded that they should be given back the names of their real fathers, and states that this was more fair and just. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that `Abdullah bin `Umar said: "Zayd bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, the freed servant of the Messenger of Allah , was always called Zayd bin Muhammad, until this verse was revealed. This was also narrated by Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i. They used to deal with them as sons in every respect, including being alone with them as Mahrams and so on. Hence Sahlah bint Suhayl, the wife of Abu Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: "O Messenger of Allah! We used to call Salim our son, but Allah has revealed what He has revealed. He used to enter upon me, but I feel that Abu Hudhayfah does not like that  The Prophet said Breastfeed him and he will become your Mahram.

(tafseer Ibn Katheer)

The Prophet  said “One of the biggest lies is that a person attributes his lineage to other than his biological father” (Bukhari)

It will be permitted to change your child’s surname to match your own or any other surname as long as he is not ascribed to your current husband.  If a father and mother cannot agree on a name for a child then it is the prerogative of the father to name the child, in his absence it is down to the mother. (bringing up children in Islam by Maulana Habeebullah Mukhtaar)

Allah Knows Best

Written by Molana Muhammad Adnan

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham