Source: http://qa.muftisays.com/?2718
Question ID: #2718
 
Question: Issue with mame AbdulMunaf. Should I change it.
Recently I joined classes for learning Arabic, at
which my arabic teacher said that my name i.e.
AbdulMunaf is not a good name. As Munaf was the
name of pre-islamic idol the meaning of name is
Slave of Munaf an idol, and thus must be changed.

I searched internet to find the meaning and found:
1) Munaf/Manaf was indeed name of an Idol.
2) AbdulMunaf was name of great gradfather of our
beloved Prophet Muhammad(P.B.U.H.).
3) Meaning of Munaf is "the Exalted/ the high",
and who is more high than Allah SWT. So this may
mean Slave of Allah.

So now I am bit confused.

Now my questions are:
1) Should I change my name?
2) If I change my name, should I have to change
is officialy i.e. change it in all my degrees,
documents etc?

Allah Hafiz
 
 
Answered by: Ulamaa ID 04 (London)
Date: 29/11/2008 21:20pm

Bismillah

Al-jawab billahi at-taufeeq (the answer with Allah's guidance)


Abdul Manaf means "servant of Manaf, " Manaf is the name of the pre-Islamic idol in Makkah. Also, the name Abdul 'Uzza which means "servant of 'Uzza," was also a name of an idol.

Therefore, it is necessary to change this name, even in documents etc.


Please refer to: http://www.muftisays.com/qa.php?viewpage=viewQA&question=922

http://www.muftisays.com/qa.php?viewpage=viewQA&question=35



And Only Allah Ta'ala Knows Best.
Mufti Qamruzzaman

London, UK
 
www.MuftiSays.com