We looked last week at Hadiths which mention that the Prophet changed certain girls’ names, particularly Aassiyah, which means disobedient, and Barrah, which means righteous or dutiful.
The Prophet also changed boys’ and men’s names when he found fault with them. He particularly changed any name beginning with Abd, which means "servant of", if it was followed by a word that meant anyone or anything other than God Almighty. The reason here is very obvious, which shows the Prophet, who brought the message of absolute monotheism, not condoning any name that makes its appellant a servant of anyone other than God. Today, however, we are looking at some names the Prophet changed although they had not such an obvious reason.
We have a report which mentions that the Prophet changed the name of one who was called Al-Sarm, which means "cutting off." When the man came to declare his acceptance of Islam, the Prophet asked him his name. When he said that he was called Al-Sarm, the Prophet changed his name to Saeed, which means "happy," and was the name of the man’s grandfather. (This Hadith is related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad). Apparently the man was quite old when he accepted Islam at the time when Makkah fell to Islam. He fought with the Prophet in the Battle of Hunayn. It is reported that the Prophet asked him: "Which of us is older — you or me?" His answer shows a great degree of refinement, because the word akbar which means "older" also means "greater." In answer, he said to the Prophet: "You are greater than me, but I am more in years than you." He is said to have lived until he was 120.
It is consistent with the Prophet’s attitude to change this man’s name, which meant "cutting off," because the Prophet always encouraged kindness to others and maintaining good relations, particularly with relatives. But in pre-Islamic Arabia, a tribal warring society, such a name was considered good, because it implied toughness.
We mentioned a couple of weeks ago a Hadith quoting the Prophet as saying that the worst names were Harb, which meant war, and Murrah, which meant bitter. Again, such names sounded appropriate to the Arabs who were always at war with each other. But the strange thing is that Harb was a name given to the Prophet’s own grandson, as indicated in the following Hadith reported by Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law.
"When Al-Hassan (i.e. Ali’s first son by his wife Fatimah, the Prophet’s daughter) was born, I named him Harb. The Prophet came to visit us and said, "Show me my son.
What have you called him?’ I said, Harb. He said: "No. He is Hassan." Then, when Al-Hussayn was born, I named him Harb. When the Prophet came to visit us, he said, "Show me my son. What have you called him?" I said, Harb. He said, "No. He is Hussayn." When the third was born, I also called him Harb, and the Prophet came to visit us and said, "Show me my son. What have you called him?" I said, Harb. He said, "No. He is Muhassin." He then added, "I have called them by the names Aaron called his sons, Shabar, Shubayr and Mushabbir."(Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Al-Hakim, Ahmad and others).
We should note first of all that the third son of Ali’s mentioned here was born to Fatimah, but apparently he died in infancy because nothing further is reported of him. The three names the Prophet chose for his grandchildren are derived from a root that means "handsome, fine, acceptable, pleasing, etc." While it was not surprising that Ali should wish to call his son Harb, considering that he was one of the most heroic fighters for the cause of Islam, it was in line with the Prophet’s attitude to names that he should change the name.
The Hadith does not mention that the Prophet explained his reason for changing the name on any of the three occasions. Hence, it may not be taken against Ali that he should call his second son by the name Harb, which the Prophet changed the first time. However, what is amazing is that he should use it once more in naming his third son. It is very much unlike Ali to overlook the fact that the Prophet did not like that name. It is difficult to see how he could use it the third time. Hence some Hadith scholars have questioned the authenticity of this Hadith, or at least the part of it concerning the third child.
The Prophet’s reference to Prophet Aaron and the names of his three sons should be taken as it is. We do not know those names as they are apparently Hebrew names, but they have the same meanings as Hassan, Husayn and Muhassin.
Another Hadith is reported by Ra’itah bint Muslim who quotes her father as saying: "I fought with the Prophet in the Battle of Hunayn, and he asked me my name. I said, Ghurab. He said, "No. Your name is Muslim.’" (Related by Al-Bukhari).
Ghurab is the Arabic word for the two birds, raven and crow. It is associated in Arabic culture with long separation between relatives and loved ones. As such, these birds are said to bring bad omen. While it is forbidden to attach bad omen to anything, attributing all events, whether good or bad, bringing good fortune or misfortune, to God alone, the concept of bad omen is deeply rooted in human nature. Hence, the Prophet did not like that any of his companions should be associated with it. Hence, he changed the man’s name to Muslim.
Another name the Prophet changed is Shihab. Aishah reports that a man was present with the Prophet when he was referred to as Shihab. The Prophet said to him: "No. You are Hisham." Shihab means a luminous meteor, or a shooting star, but it also means "flame, blaze, fire." It is further said that it is the name of a place in hell. Hence the Prophet did not wish that his companion be associated with such connotations. He changed his name to Hisham, which was a well liked Arabic name.
We mentioned last week that the Prophet changed the name of a girl who was called Aassiyah, calling her Jameelah. We also have a Hadith which mentions that a man called Al-Aas ibn Al-Aswad whose name the Prophet changed. Al-Aas is the masculine form of the same name of that woman, and it means rebellious or disobedient. The Prophet changed his name to Mutee’, which has the opposite meaning.
