[Abanijo]

So I was just wondering , what do you all think ? Does arabic names or other names in general that have meanings have effect on the persons personality ? characteristics ? traits , etc...

So it important to have choose a wise name ? just a thought , anyone


( so if a persons name means flower , he will have some sort connection , or if a name is means sword the person might not be a murderer but u know have anger or something or maybe even something positive about a sword )

Anyone... good to hear some more thoughts..

It can - especially for converts who take on Arabic names - I know a convert who chose the name Ayyub, he was tested with simalar tests as Ayyub - he has suffered from an unknown illness for the last 10 years which prevents him from eating. When we chose our Muslim names, we were all told to pick a name we can live up. I chose Mujahid so.....

[UTHZzJ6f]

The simple answer is NO. Islam forbids Omens/superstitions.

[errolurberozy]

http://darulifta-deoband.org/showuse...ll=en&id=11075
http://darulifta-deoband.org/showuse...ll=en&id=23166

[mincbiori]

Names do have effect on a person. This is why one of the baby's rights is that it is named a good name. Rasulullah would change unsuitable names of his companions.

Check this link: http://www.askimam.org/fatwa/fatwa.p...c4930170d18034

[AgJ5mNXM]

The simple answer is NO. Islam forbids Omens/superstitions.

SubhanAllah, what is your name...

[UTHZzJ6f]

SubhanAllah, what is your name...

Its a simple thing to understand. As the OP is asking about the effects of names on personality , we will have to assume that the names and their meaning have certain tendency of Tasaruf. It takes us to conclude

1. Either the names and their meaning have a self generating power of Tasaruf , which will become Shirk if one thinks so

2.Allah has put certain pre-destined tendencies in the names which effect a person . Thats correct to assume but had that been the case , it should have been explained in Quran and Hadith.

PS. The OP is obviously asking about the Islamic names so lets keep the issue of prohibited names away.

[resegooredo]

So I was just wondering , what do you all think ? Does arabic names or other names in general that have meanings have effect on the persons personality ? characteristics ? traits , etc...

So it important to have choose a wise name ? just a thought , anyone


( so if a persons name means flower , he will have some sort connection , or if a name is means sword the person might not be a murderer but u know have anger or something or maybe even something positive about a sword )

Anyone... good to hear some more thoughts..

If you think about it, there are plenty of guys called Muhammad and Abdullah (some of them might even be kings) but they are not on the straight and narrow path.

Having said that... just remembered Bernie Madoff...

[feAilei1]

I know a sister who took the name "Karima" when she became Muslim at the suggestion of her husband and those around her who knew her to be very giving.
She went through a time where she wasn't practicing and was extremely stingy and cold even to her own children.
When she returned to practicing Islam she lived up to her name once again and became generous with everyone.

Allah knows best.

[shodulsilfeli]

The simple answer is NO. Islam forbids Omens/superstitions.

Since you are hanbali i suggest you take a look at this quote from Ibn al-Qayyims book Tuhfat al-Mawrud bi ahkam al-mawlud:
الفصل التاسع في بيان ارتباط معنى الاسم بالمسمى

وقد تقدم ما يدل على ذلك من وجوه أحدهما قول سعيد بن المسيب ما زالت فينا تلك الحزونة وهي التي حصلت من تسمية الجد بحزن وقد تقدم قول عمر لجمرة بن شهاب أدرك أهلك فقد احترقوا ومنع النبي من كان اسمه حربا أو مرة أن يحلب الشاة تلك التي أراد حلبها [ 1 ] وشواهد ذلك كثيرة جدا فقل أن ترى اسما قبيحا إلا وهو على مسمى قبيح كما قيل
وقل ما أبصرت عيناك ذا لقب ... إلا ومعناه إن فكرت في لقبه
والله سبحانه بحكمته في قضائه وقدره يلهم النفوس أن تضع الأسماء على حسب مسمياتها لتناسب حكمته تعالى بين اللفظ ومعناه كما تناسبت بين الأسباب ومسبباتها قال أبو الفتح ابن جني ولقد مر بي دهر وأنا أسمع الاسم لا أدري معناه فآخذ معناه من لفظه ثم أكشفه فإذا هو ذلك بعينه أو قريب منه
فذكرت ذلك لشيخ الاسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله فقال وأنا يقع لي ذلك كثيرا وقد تقدم قوله أسلم سالمها الله وغفار غفر الله لها وعصية عصت الله ورسوله ولما أسلم وحشي قاتل حمزة وقف بين يدي النبي فكره اسمه
وفعله وقال غيب وجهك عني

وبالجملة فألاخلاق والأعمال والأفعال القبيحة تستدعي أسماء تناسبها وأضدادها تستدعي أسماء تناسبها وكما أن ذلك ثابت في أسماء الأوصاف فهو كذلك في أسماء الأعلام وما سمي رسول الله محمدا وأحمد إلا لكثرة خصال الحمد فيه ولهذا كان لواء الحمد بيده وأمته الحمادون وهو أعظم الخلق حمدا لربه تعالى ولهذا أمر رسول الله بتحسين الأسماء فقال حسنوا أسماءكم فإن صاحب الاسم الحسن قد يستحي من اسمه وقد يحمله اسمه على فعل ما يناسبه وترك ما يضاده ولهذى ترى أكثر السفل أسماؤهم تناسبهم وأكثر العلية أسماؤهم تناسبهم وبالله التوفيق ]ا.ه

[dgdhgjjgj]

Its a simple thing to understand. As the OP is asking about the effects of names on personality , we will have to assume that the names and their meaning have certain tendency of Tasaruf. It takes us to conclude

1. Either the names and their meaning have a self generating power of Tasaruf , which will become Shirk if one thinks so

2.Allah has put certain pre-destined tendencies in the names which effect a person . Thats correct to assume but had that been the case , it should have been explained in Quran and Hadith.

PS. The OP is obviously asking about the Islamic names so lets keep the issue of prohibited names away.

Is saddens me how quick you are in making judgement not knowing what is in ahadeeth. The way of our aslaf is when they do not know of something they say that we are not aware of this in ahadeeth. The do not say say that such and such is not in ahadeeth. Since should it be there, then one would have negated a hadeeth.

There is a difference in prohibited name and wrong names. Essentially there should be no prohibited name. Since once you say there is no effect of it, then whats in a name not to keep. But lets say that you regard those names which Rasulullah called despicable to be "prohibited", even so there are riwayat which mention of changing names simply because of their meanings..

The most famous being the grand father of Sa'eed ibn Musayyib r.a.

حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ أَنَّ ابْنَ جُرَيْجٍ أَخْبَرَهُمْ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ بْنُ جُبَيْرِ بْنِ شَيْبَةَ قَالَ جَلَسْتُ إِلَى سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ فَحَدَّثَنِي أَنَّ جَدَّهُ حَزْنًا قَدِمَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ مَا اسْمُكَ قَالَ اسْمِي حَزْنٌ قَالَ بَلْ أَنْتَ سَهْلٌ قَالَ مَا أَنَا بِمُغَيِّرٍ اسْمًا سَمَّانِيهِ أَبِي قَالَ ابْنُ الْمُسَيَّبِ فَمَا زَالَتْ فِينَا الْحُزُونَةُ بَعْدُ
Its a Bukhari Hadeeth, so isnaad are not an issue. The last red part clearly indicates the the Huzunah remained in the progeny because of not changing the name Hazn. Do take note that should the name had been prohibited, there would have been no choice but to change it.

The other issue you erred is in saying there is no taking omen in name. Atleast you must have heard of Rasulullah himself taking omen from good names! When Suhail ibn Amr came on the treaty of Hudaibiyah What omen did Rasulullah take?

لَمَّا جَاءَ سُهَيْلُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَقَدْ سَهُلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ
The above is also from Bukhari Shareef.

1. Either the names and their meaning have a self generating power of Tasaruf , which will become Shirk if one thinks so In academia, unless someone makes that claim, it is stupid to think that the tasarruf is in the name bidhatihi. So to make that as a hujjah itself is incorrect in our discussion.

The matter of discussion is about ta'theer of names, and that issue is understood from the advices about names which Nabi has given over time.

[Misebeita]

Is it possible that it's more of a psychological thing? Even if a non-Muslim by the name of George regard his name to have an effect on him, it'll actually have one. And on the other side if brother Muhammad doesn't regard his name to have an effect, then it will not have any either. I mean effect in terms of impact on ones way of life and thinking, of course not in terms of virtue or reward. (Just so noone thinks I'm trying to disrespect the name of Rasulullah .)

[dgdhgjjgj]

Is it possible that it's more of a psychological thing? Even if a non-Muslim by the name of George regard his name to have an effect on him, it'll actually have one. And on the other side if brother Muhammad doesn't regard his name to have an effect, then it will not have any either. I mean effect in terms of impact on ones way of life and thinking, of course not in terms of virtue or reward. (Just so noone thinks I'm trying to disrespect the name of Rasulullah .)

Ta'theer in wording is something more detailed than psychological reaction. Although psychological condition can cause some results, but the who reason behind ruqiya is that a word, or statement, quranic verse etc effects some outcome. Some people in india (who are Sikh by religion) used to recite Bismillah before begining their work day to gain the barakah of it. Whether it worked for them or not, I cannot say but I have come across one account in the books of akabir of affirmation in its effect.

The names two will have their ta'theer. The ta'theer is not binding, but with Allah's permission and Allah's wisdom it will affect whosoever Allah wishes.

[UTHZzJ6f]

The most famous being the grand father of Sa'eed ibn Musayyib r.a.

حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ أَنَّ ابْنَ جُرَيْجٍ أَخْبَرَهُمْ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ بْنُ جُبَيْرِ بْنِ شَيْبَةَ قَالَ جَلَسْتُ إِلَى سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ فَحَدَّثَنِي أَنَّ جَدَّهُ حَزْنًا قَدِمَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ مَا اسْمُكَ قَالَ اسْمِي حَزْنٌ قَالَ بَلْ أَنْتَ سَهْلٌ قَالَ مَا أَنَا بِمُغَيِّرٍ اسْمًا سَمَّانِيهِ أَبِي قَالَ ابْنُ الْمُسَيَّبِ فَمَا زَالَتْ فِينَا الْحُزُونَةُ بَعْدُ

Its wrong to conclude your point from this Hadith. The matter is purely related to a wrath which came as the result of opposing the view of Prophet PBUH not because of any effect of the name itself. Ibn Hajjar in Fatah ul Bari says in the explaination of this Hadith

Ibn at-Tin said: "What Ibn al-Musayyib meant when he said "...this sadness has remained in our lineage ever since," is the absence of an ease in acquiring anything they want. "
ad-Dawudi said: "He meant that they always have some type of harshness in their mannerisms, except that Sa'id's harshness was directed into anger for the Sake of Allah."
Others have said: "This is an indication of the harshness that has remained in the character of his descendants, as the experts in lineage have mentioned that the character of all of his descendants are well-known for bad manners that have not left them until now."
['Fath al-Bari'; 10/590]

[shodulsilfeli]

Salam aleikum
Did you read the quote from Ibn al-Qayyim?

[dgdhgjjgj]

Salam aleikum
Did you read the quote from Ibn al-Qayyim?

no sidi, its hard to read what doesnt agree with our preconceived notions. While one of the main reason Rasulullah would change these names was because on Qiyamah a person would be called by them in front of whole makhluq. but at the same time ulama also mentioned that Nabi did so taking omen from good names.. Ibn Battal mentions under the topic

شرح صحيح البخارى ـ لابن بطال - (9 / 346)
قال المؤلف : قد قدمنا قبل هذا أن النبي عليه السلام كان يعجبه تغيير الاسم القبيح بالاسم الحسن على وجه التفاؤل والتيمن ؛ لأنه كان يعجبه الفأل الحسن

Besides, What ibn Hajar r.a writes in not contradictory to what Ibn Qayyim write or what shuraah mention in generality under qabeeh names..

[cafeviahe]

Mufti Zarwali greatly stresses on the importances of a good name and says that this knowledge of names is not anymore practiced by the Ulama. He has mentioned time and time again examples where he changed bad names into good names, whereupon the child got better.

[cafeviahe]

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

Because names have meanings, it is wise that there should be a proper connection between the meaning of the names and the object that is carrying the name. It should not be the case that the meaning is not suited to the object and there is no connection between the meaning and the object, because this is what is decreed by the Most Wise, and reality testifies to that. Indeed names have a great impact on the objects to which they are applied, and the objects that carry these names will definitely be influenced by these names, whether these names are good or ugly, whether they refer to meanings of lightness or heaviness, kindness or cruelty.”

Zaad al-Ma’aad, 2/336

[cafeviahe]

The topic reminds me of an anecdote mentioned by Sh. Sa'id Hawwa (Diwan al-Qa'id) about how strong the martyr Marwan Hadid (iron!) was in his personality and where he cites Sh. Muhammad Muhammad how he wished he had a thousand men like this Hadid.

أتراه حديداً فقط ؟.. أم أنه أشد أنواع الفولاذ صلابة ؟.. لقد كان شيخنا محمد الحامد : يود
في الظاهر لو أن الشيخ مروان خفف من شدته ، لكنه : قال لي مرة يتمنى : لو كان عندكم ألف
رجل من مثل هذا الرجل الحديدي الشيخ مروان حديد ، ويوم حماة عام ١٩٦٤ وقد أخذ الشيخ
محمد : على عاتقه إنقاذ البلد وإنقاذ المحكومين والمعتقلين ، وأنقذهم فعلا ، ولامه الشيخ مروان على
هذا الإنقاذ فقد كان مستعجلا للقي ام الله شهيدا ً، فحدثت فجوة بينه وبين الشيخ ، فرؤي رسول الله
صلى الله عليه وسلم في المنام وكأنه قادم لإصلاح ذات البين بين الطرفين.

[ptolerezort]

Not only do names have their effect on individuals but also words that he/she speaks, hears or reads have great effect. So effort should be made to speak, hear and read good words.

The incident of Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Sha'bi comes to mind...


I think about the implications of my name all the time.

[eFDMBwKH]

...I have been asking people about the meaning of "salman" all my life and nobody knew it...can anybody here tell me the meaning of "Salman"....