Islamic Names
Cont’d from page 1
You shall strive for the cause of God as you should
strive for His cause. He has chosen you and has placed no hardship
on you in practicing your religion-the religion of your father Abraham.
He is the one who named you Muslim (Submitters) originally. (22:78)
Abraham was neither Jewish, nor Christian; he was
a monotheist Muslim (submitter). He never was an idol worshiper.
(3:67)
We are also told that Abraham’s seed were Muslim:
Had you witnessed Jacob on his death bed; he said
to his children, “What will you worship after I die?”
They said, “We will worship your god; the god of your fathers
Abraham, Ismail, and Isaac; the one god. To Him we are Muslim (submitters).”
(2:133)
We are told that all the believers after Abraham and his seed were
Muslim, in the following verse we are told that Jesus and the disciples
were also Muslims (submitters):
Recall that I inspired the disciples: “You
shall believe in Me and My messenger.” They said, “We
have believed, and bear witness that we are Muslim (submitters).”
(5:111)
In other words, we are told in the Quran that all the genuine believers
from the time of Abraham onwards were Muslim. This includes prophets
like Lot, Jacob and Isaac and also disciples like Peter, John, Matthew
etc.
We take a closer look at some of these names (Lot, Jacob, Isaac,
Peter, Matthew etc) and compare them to some of the current names
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used by Jews (such as Jacob, Isaac etc) and some
others used by Christians (Peter, Matthew etc.)
None of these good Muslims (Submitters), like Lot, Isaac, Jacob or
Peter, had to go to any puppet establishment and change their names
to a name like Ali or Ahmad in order to become Muslims! did they?
If that is so, then why do those uninformed Muslims insist that new
converts must change their names to what they call an ‘Islamic
Name?’
This imposed requirement has its roots in a subtle act of idol worship.
One of the customs that is taught to Muslims since childhood is to
have great love and respect for all the prophet’s family and
friends. They grow up in the belief that all the family and friends
of Muhammad are saint-like figures. As a result they sadly use a great
part of their Salat (Contact Prayers) sending greetings and praise
for all the family and friends of Muhammad!
If you visit the home of one of these idol worshippers, you are
likely to find their collection of books made up primarily of books
detailing the life and words of such idols! This they call the “Seerah
of the Rasool and the Sahabah” (Lives and stories of
the messenger and his followers). Yes, you may find a copy of the
Quran, but many of them spend much more time reading about their
idols than reading the Quran. When they read the Quran, they read
it at the speed of light! The devil has tricked them to believe
that for every letter of the Quran they read they are credited with
ten credit points!!! So the faster they read the more credit points
they think they will get. |
It is thus easy to understand why they
advise you, with such authority, that you have to change your name
immediately to become a Muslim. If they idolize all the family and
friends of Muhammad and praise and greet them in their prayers,
it is understandable that they want everyone to be called with their
names!
Sadly, they have rejected the Quranic truth that it is God alone
who is worthy of constant praise. They have also been blind to the
fact that God never laid any importance on names, or appearance,
in the Quran. The Quran consistently confirms that those who will
be saved in the hereafter are those who arrive with a pure heart,
and not the ones who have certain names!
Paradise will be offered to the righteous, readily.
This is what was promised to every repenter, steadfast. They reverenced
the Most Gracious, in their privacy, and came with pure and faithful
heart. Enter it in peace; this is the Day of Eternity. (50:31-34)
Thus to claim that only the names of the Arab Muslims are fit to
be used by any new convert to Islam is in fact to show ignorance
of the Quran. In reality, the act of becoming a true Muslim (Submitter)
makes it necessary for a person to abandon their idolatry and not
their identity.
Furthermore, and since Islam is a universal faith that does not
distinguish between any culture, race or color, the act of insisting
on a name change does not make the person a Muslim but in fact alienates
the person from the universality of Islam.
A. Muhammad
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