Why pick an arab name?

[AbuZarqaa]

Allah has named the followers of His religion "Muslims" not only in the Qur'an but also in Books that He had revealed to previous Prophets.Note also the following verse which states that Prophet Noah, who lived long before Prophet Abraham, told his people that Allah ordered him to be "one of the Muslims":
"But if you [O people!] turn away [from my call], I have not asked you for any reward; my reward is only with Allah, and I have been commanded to be one of al-Muslimin (the Muslims)" (10.72).
So all the prophet are Muslims none are jewish or christians.
If the name is forbidden in Islam. For example, if the name implies worshipping other than Allah like Abdush-Shams (slave of the sun), Abdun-Nabi (slave of the Prophet), Abdul-Maseeh (slave of the Christ), etc. Also, if the name symbolizes idols like Naelah, Hubal or Buddha, then it must be changed immediately if the name is typical of the non-believers like Botros, John, Diana, Suzanne or Victoria, then a Muslim should stay away from these names If the name praises oneself, as in the case of Barrah (pious), the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, changed it to Zainab and said, "Do not praise yourself. Allah knows the pious ones more than you do." (Muslim)
If the name has a bad meaning like the names of animals such as Faar (mouse), Kalb (dog), Hanash (snake). Or pronounced badly in another language such as Tom (many pronounce it Toom, which sounds like garlic in Arabic). If the non-Muslim name is like one of the above then it must be changed to a good Muslim name, one that is desirable in Islam. For example Abdurrahman, Abdullah, any of the Prophets' names, the companions names, the wives of the Prophet, allallahu alayhe wa sallam, or his daughters. It should be taken into consideration that only the first name is changed and not the father's name in any case.

 

[snakelegs]

Plus, I like the look of surprise on peoples faces when they discover somebody named Woodrow is Muslim. I do not fit their preconceived stereotypes, it does open doors for conversation.

quite true!! ;D who thinks "muslim" when you hear the name "woodrow"?

 

[Whatsthepoint]

If someone's got an unislamic name, do they have to change it to an Arabic Islamic name or to any Islamic name (Daniel, Aaron..)?

 

[Strzelecki]

Belief_is_power: I am a revert and I am also named Daniel. Our name, as I have been told and from all the research I have done is indeed and Islamic name, as posted earlier. Alhamdulillah.
Whenever anyone asks me what my name is, I'll tell them Daniel [naturally]. And then if they proceed to ask me for my Islamic name I will repeat "Daniel". [Yeah, I think I'm hilarious.]

 

[Woodrow]

In this shrinking world it is getting to be difficult to identify a Muslim by name alone. Not all people named after Prophets(PBUT) or with Arabic names are Muslim. In fact there are several non- Muslim faiths that often do use Islamic names.

It is wonderful to choose an Islamic name when one reverts. However, I feel the name should be chosen with care and should be a name you desire to live up to the meaning of.

To change a name after reverting is a personal choice and need not be done unless a persons current name is anti-Islamic.

I suspect that a thousand years from now, some writings of pious Muslims will be of Muslims with non-Arabic names. Yet, they may very well be names that future generations will associate with Service to Allaah(swt) and piety.

The question is does the name make the Muslim Islamic, or does the Muslim make the name Islamic?

 

[crayon]

I think the main reason converts change their name is for a "fresh start", if that makes sense. Starting over, and the new name is just a part of that.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with keeping your own name though, as long as it doesn't contain kufr or anything against islam, and Daniel doesn't, then it's perfectly fine.

Salam.

 

[Daffodil]

Belief_is_power: I am a revert and I am also named Daniel. Our name, as I have been told and from all the research I have done is indeed and Islamic name, as posted earlier. Alhamdulillah.
Whenever anyone asks me what my name is, I'll tell them Daniel [naturally]. And then if they proceed to ask me for my Islamic name I will repeat "Daniel". [Yeah, I think I'm hilarious.]

Asalamualaykum Wr Wb

Daniel is pronounce differently in arabic, it is Dhanyaal. Daniel and Dhanyaal are totatly different.

 

[axess1907]

hi!

Dont pick an arab name just because your muslim now. I am muslim also but I dont have an arab name And I am not the only one.. But you can use names like Mehmet, Ahmet, etc. These are turkish names which have a religious meaning. My name for example does not have a islamic meaning but I dont care I like my name and I am Muslim. What I want to say is, that you dont need an Arabic name just because ya muslim. I mean its not a must be.

 

[Esther462]

I didn't change my name to arab name when I converted to Islam as I like my name and it's a biblical name and I think it's beautiful and it would just confuse everyone if I change my name, mainly my family as they are not Muslims.

 

[Al-Zaara]

hi!

Dont pick an arab name just because your muslim now. I am muslim also but I dont have an arab name And I am not the only one.. But you can use names like Mehmet, Ahmet, etc. These are turkish names which have a religious meaning. My name for example does not have a islamic meaning but I dont care I like my name and I am Muslim. What I want to say is, that you dont need an Arabic name just because ya muslim. I mean its not a must be.

Mehmet is really a beautiful name, mashaAllah.

 

[axess1907]

I didn't change my name to arab name when I converted to Islam as I like my name and it's a biblical name and I think it's beautiful and it would just confuse everyone if I change my name, mainly my family as they are not Muslims.

You did the right thing. Doesnt matter if your name if biblical or a jewish name the fact is that you are muslim now the name isnt important because you wasnt born as a muslim.

@Al-Zaara: Yep there are a lot of names like Mehmet in Turkey which have a islamic meaning. Ehmm i dont know if they are that religious but here are some names: Ahmet, Mehmet, Muhammed (male)
Hayrunnisa, Nur, Arzu (Female)

 

[Umm Yoosuf]

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatulaah,

Don’t mind people. Sometimes you come across people who never meant reverts or except everyone to have an Arabic name. You do come across the few ignorant people. So long as your name is not unislamic (in which case it isn't) Alhamdulilaah khayr.

 

[syilla]

:salamext:

you have to remember that...not all arabic names are islamic.

Even some of the born muslim have unislamic meaning without realising it.

wassallam.

 

[Woodrow]

Also not all people with Islamic names are Muslim. Today I met a non Muslim named Muhammad. I suspect they are more. Some of the minority race groups give their children names that they do not see associated with Caucasians. The fad at the moment seems to be Arabic or Japanese names. There are also Arabic people that are not Muslim and often they will have Islamic names. So the best guide line is there is no need to change a name unless it is anti-Islamic.

 

[crayon]

:salamext:

you have to remember that...not all arabic names are islamic.

Even some of the born muslim have unislamic meaning without realising it.

wassallam.

Very true.
I know several girls called "Diana", which in mythology is the name of a Roman goddess.

Salam.

 

[Andrew]

Just out of interest, is there an arabic equivalent of Andrew?

 

[crayon]

Just out of interest, is there an arabic equivalent of Andrew?

I don't think so, Andrew, no.

 

[Muezzin]

Your name is beautiful! And there is a prophet Daniel in Islam too! Danyel I think it's written like. I see no reason for you to change, to be honest.

Same here. Just tell them to pronouce it 'Daanyel' if it makes 'em feel better.

Just out of interest, is there an arabic equivalent of Andrew?

If you take the meaning of 'Andrew' to be simply a derivation of 'man', then the Arabic names Aariz, Wasif, Akhtar and Amir have similar kinds of meanings. There's no equivalent for the apostle Andrew though. Or at least none that I'm aware of.

 

[Woodrow]

Same here. Just tell them to pronouce it 'Daanyel' if it makes 'em feel better.


If you take the meaning of 'Andrew' to be simply a derivation of 'man', then the Arabic names Aariz, Wasif, Akhtar and Amir have similar kinds of meanings. There's no equivalent for the apostle Andrew though. Or at least none that I'm aware of.

The name Andrew was not used as an Apostles name until the first printing of the KJV. Prior to that the most common was the the Greek version. Andros. We probably will never know the actual Aramaic Name he would have had. but, because of the close relationship between Aramaic and Arabic it would have been very similar if not identical to one of the Arabic variations.

It can also carry the connontation of anonymous as to call somebody :
"of a man" does not necessarily mean any specific person, just simply a man.

ANDREW

Gender: Masculine

Usage: English, Biblical

Pronounced: AN-droo [key]
From the Greek name Ανδρεας (Andreas), which derives from ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive ανδρος (andros) "of a man"). In the New Testament the apostle Andrew was the brother of the apostle Simon Peter. According to legend he was crucified on an X-shaped cross, and he is the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. This was also the name of kings of Hungary.

 

[Andrew]

Wow thanks for that guys especially Woodrow, it was interesting to know (I've never known of my name as anything but just that!).