Source: http://qa.muftisays.com/?35
Question ID: #35
 
Question: ANSWERED: Keeping any name
Salam,

Can you confirm that you can keep any name. as when Muhamed(PBUH) was born he was born to parents who were idol worshippers, and as Islam spread people like Omer (RA) Abu Bakr (RA) Khatija (RA) and Abu Sufyan (RA) all kept thier pre-islamic names. So that leads to the conclusion that you can keep any name, as with names that are mentioned in Koran of prophets whose parents were of Idol worshippers who gave them their names and subsequently never changed them during prophethood e.g Ibrahim, Moosa, Ayoob, Lot and Muhammed etc.
 
 
Answered by: Ulamaa ID 01 ()
Date: 04/10/2004 16:49pm

In the time of Rasoolullah, if a person had a name that didnt have a suitable meaning and they embraced Islam, then the Prophet would change their name himself. Their are many examples of this in the Sahaabah. For this reason, the names referred to in your question will all be permissible to keep as they do not have any ill meaning in them otherwise they would have been changed by Rasoolullah.

Answer Approved by Shaikhul Hadeeth Mufti Farooq


Mufti Yaseen Shaikh
 
www.MuftiSays.com