Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Aslamo Alikum.

I live in Sydney Australia & need your help to sort out a confusion regarding name of my Daughter. One year ago when Allah blessed me with a daughter I gave her name "ABEEHA" which is the part of name of Hazrat Fatima tu Zahra (RU), known as "UMME-ABEEHA". I have read in Islamic books that Hazrat Muhammad (PBU)used to call Hazrat Fatima (RU) with this name "UMME-ABEEHA" which means "Mother of her Father". He (PBU) used to call Her with this name because of her wisdom.

Now I have given name to my daughter "ABEEHA SOHAIL" & some of my friends having more knowledge of Islam than me says that it is odd to give name like this. According to them name should be complete "Umme-Abeeha" not Abeeha Sohail.

I also have a refernce from a religious group in USA (Pakistan Based) who says that "ABEEHA" means beautiful & I can call my daughter with only Abeeha too.

As yourself can understand that it is getting confused for me to have different opinions, I do not want to call my daughter with any name which has bad meaning or not considered good in Islam.

Pls let me have your opinion that what should I do. Either I can call my daughter as "Abeeha Sohail" or I should change her name to "UMME-ABEEHA SOHAIL". Does the world "ABEEHA" has some other meaning in Arabic or any other language.

Pls help me as my daughter is already one year old & I am quite upset due to this contradictory opinions.

May Allah bless all of us with wisdom to do only whatever is liked in

Islam.

Awaiting your reply.

Aslamo Alikum.

Thanks & Regards,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Name Umm Abeeha

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Statement: I have read in Islamic books that Hazrat Muhammad (PBU)used to call Hazrat Fatima (RU) with this name "UMME-ABEEHA" which means "Mother of her Father". He (PBU) used to call Her with this name because of her wisdom.
Beloved Brother in Islam, to the best of our knowledge there is no mention in any of the authentic books of Hadith or Seerah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) whereby he called his beloved daughter Hadrat Fatimah (r.a.) as ‘Umme-Abeeha’ or ‘mother of her father’! 

We would really appreciate the name of the book and/or the reference number of the hadith where this is mentioned so that we may increase our knowledge in this context.

Your Statement: Now I have given name to my daughter "ABEEHA SOHAIL" & some of my friends having more knowledge of Islam than me says that it is odd to
give name like this. According to them name should be complete
"Umme-Abeeha" not Abeeha Sohail.
The Arabic term ‘Abeeha’ by itself would mean ‘…of her father’ and in truth is not a particularly good name to be given to a child, especially when there are numerous good names which can be chosen for a child in Islam.

‘Umme-Abeeha’ would mean ‘mother of her father’, and again this term in itself would be an ironic and illogical, and thus a meaningless term; thus again, not a particularly good name in Islam. 

Your Statement: Pls help me as my daughter is already one year old & I am quite upset due to this contradictory opinions.
One of the rights of the child due from one’s believing parents in Islam is that they choose a good name for them.  In truth, neither ‘Abeeha’ nor ‘Umme-Abeeha’ are particularly good Islamic names, especially when there is no shortage of good names that can be chosen for a child in Islam from the names of many eminent and pious believing women in the annuls of the history of Islam. 

If you have the opportunity, it would be best if you could change the name of your child and appoint a good Islamic name with a good meaning or from amongst any of the pious God-fearing and righteous believing women from the annuls of Islamic history.  Your child would have to live with the name you appoint for her for the rest of her life, and it would be best if you could appoint a good name by which she would be called and recognized for a lifetime.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan