Question
In Islam people are named in their father’s name. I have observed that here in Pakistan when a girl is married her name ends with her husband’s name, not with her father’s name. Take for example a girl named Ayesha Ali as her father’s name is Ali. When the same girl is married to a man named Hussain she will be either called Ayesha Hussain or Mrs. Hussain. Kindly advise the right way of naming a girl after marriage. Also advise that is this right to call a lady like “Mrs. Hussain”?
Answer
Thank you for writing to us. We believe that naming is a cultural practice and it has nothing to do with the religion and the Shari’ah. Believers however make sure that their children are not given a polytheistic name. All other variations and customs in different cultures are acceptable and normal. Therefore, the prevalent custom of changing the name of the girl after marriage to match the name of her husband cannot be validly challenged. In our culture a married woman’s identity is more closely related to her husband and the new family both form. This I believe is perhaps the reason that people have adopted the practice of altering the names of the married women.
We believe that calling a married women Mrs A or B is perfectly fine. The religious and moral codes do not prohibit this practice.
Answered by: Tariq Mahmood Hashmi
Date: 2015-01-01
