Mufti Menk – No way! Why should a woman change her surname?
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the wife of a woman who is married to her father. The speaker also advises against changing their names and suggests that it is best to maintain their own.
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Assalamualaikum my brothers and sisters, people are asking about women changing their surnames after marriage. Well, in a world where women's rights are being discussed, people look at Islam and say, Islam does not give women their rights. Islam actually upholds rights that people haven't even thought of Subhana Allah, why give up your entire identity for a man Subhana Allah? Don't you have the right to maintain your own identity, your lineage? Islam says, Don't change it. You belong to your own lineage, your father, your family, your own surname? Why should you adopt someone else's surname simply because you're married to them? I've known of people who've had to change their
surnames thrice, because of divorce, and because of being a widow, may Allah subhanahu wa taala protect us. So what does Allah say subhanho wa Taala. Allah says, you maintain your lineage lineage is sacred. And what we need to understand is, you will be called the daughter of so and so. And that would be your father's first name. So if your father's first name is Abdullah II, your name is Fatima, you would be known as Fatima, the daughter of Abdullah, nothing will ever change that on the Day of Judgment, you will be called by that name. Now, what is a surname? A surname is just a name of the family, something that people would recognize you and your family by so you maintain your
surname.
If you really have to change the surname or add your husband's name, because of immigration purposes, because of some legality where you're staying, there is scope of permissibility in that regard for as long as there is no deception in the name or the surname. So it is best to keep your name as you were born your father's name and surname, that is the ideal that is the Islamic teaching. If you really have to change it, you make a minimum change to it. Subhana Allah, if need be, like I said, So, instead of being known as Fatima, the daughter of Abdullah, it is not wrong to be known as Fatima, the wife of schreib, for example. So if someone says this is Fatima, which
Fatima is she, well, she is the wife of shrine. That's okay. So, Fatima schreib, there is a there is a little word that is missing there, which they usually hide. So, when you say Fatima, Abdullah, you actually mean Fatima, daughter of Abdullah, the word daughter of a bent in the Arabic language is normally dropped. Although by right a lot of scholars say you should say that word, you know, Fatima bint Abdullah, but if you haven't, it's understood that this is the daughter of in the same way, it would be understood that that hidden word, if it is not there, could mean wipe off. So you say Fatima zodat schreib. She is the wife of schreib you have deceived no one. Everyone knows this is
the wife of schreib. But the thing is, when you start changing your documents and your identity and your identification, as is taught by some cultures, what would happen the day you are divorced, and now the divorce is so rampant? What would happen if you were to go through two or three divorces? Why should you keep changing names and keep you know, isn't that Subhanallah a beautiful way that Islam has protected a woman to say, you maintain your identity, who you are shall remain who you are, you don't start belonging to a man in this sense that your lineage is also gone. May Allah subhanho wa Taala protect us. So I hope I've put things into perspective because while Islam teaches
you that your lineage is sacred, you're just not allowed to deceive people. And so if you really have to be called by your husband's name,
for as long as you're not deceiving people, and you make it clear that this is referring to the wife of so and so, there is a scope of permissibility Some people have asked me, is it okay to add my married surname after my father's surname? So for example, someone would say Fatima, the daughter of Abdullah, the wife of Xu, a, so and so. So the daughter of Abdullah Zan, for example, and the wife of schreib maybe malloc. So if that is the case, you have not deceived anyone still. Consider this my brothers and sisters, as far as possible.
Try not to change your names. And if you really have to, then you may do it. But for as long as there is no deception in it, and you've made it clear that I am not the daughter of so and so I'm just the wife of so and so. Similarly, when people talk about defending the rights of women, I think that one of the rights you have as a female, is to keep your name. May Allah subhanho wa Taala protect all of us. And I really thank Allah for giving us such beautiful teachings regarding our lineage, our names, the fact that it's sacred, you know, I actually had, someone asked me that, is it okay for me to ask my husband to change his surname to mine? And I said,
No, it's not okay. And they say they, they argued back to say, but why, you know, if, if this is okay, why is that not okay? And that's when you put things into perspective. And you realize that, you know, either way, you should just maintain your own identity, I think it's just the culture that we've got. And it's been, you know, across the globe, many cultures actually say, a woman loses her identity when she gets married to her husbands. And people change their identity, meaning their documents and so on. Some of those who are more popular and famous have actually,
even the powerful, the rich, they've actually maintained their surnames, they might just attach their husband's surname to let people know I'm married. Like I said, if there's no deception, there may be scope of permissibility. Still, I would advise you not to change your name. May Allah bless you all. akula Kohli hava sal Allahu wa salam ala nabina Muhammad