Who has the right to name the child?
Question
Who has the right to name the child? Assalamualaikum, I am pregnant for the first time and will have a baby boy InshaAllah. My father in law passed away 8 months ago, and my mother in law is insisting that I name my son after my father in law. I prefer a different name, but she is not listening. I am willing to use his first name as the babies middle name, but she has already thought of the full name and is not compromising. I am the mother, the one who has been pregnant this whole time, do I not have the right to name my own child?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Being blessed with a newborn baby is indeed a great blessing of Allah Ta'ala.
In principal, it is the parents (you and your wife's) right to name the child and not the right of the grandparents(yours and your husband's parents). However, if the parents of the child permit the grandparents to name the child, then that is considered a good gesture on their behalf.
Taking into consideration that your father-in-law recently passed away, may Allah Taa'lah fill his Qabr with Noor, taking his first name as your childs middle name will be a heart warming gesture.
May Allah Ta'ala make your children the coolness of your eyes. Ameen
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Ahmad Patel
Student Darul Iftaa
South Africa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
- Answered by
- Ahmad Patel
- Checked & approved by
- Mufti Ebrahim Desai
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