Question:

Alhamdulillaah, by Allah's Grace I'm going to be a father very soon. Could you help me out with the name of the child?  Although I don't know about the sex of the child, but presuming if it’s a girl, I searched Muslim-names site and found a name called Naaila'h.  In one site it was mentioned it as the name of the wife of Hazrat 'Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him. But one of my relatives was objecting to it saying that it was the name of a magician lady in Islamic History. Could you please clarify this at the earliest, as I'm quite confused about it?

Fatwa:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger as well as that of his family and all his companions. 

Giving a good name to a new born child is recommended in Islam. Giving the names which are mentioned in the following narration is desirable.  The Prophet said: "The dearest names to Allah are 'Abdullaah and Abdur-Rahmaan, the truest are Haarith (the cultivator) and Hammaam (always thinking of initiating something)."

Among the most favored names are the names of Prophets, Angels, companions and known pious people.

For females, the best names are the names of the wives of the Prophet the names of the pious women mentioned in the Quran, the names of the daughters of the Prophet and the names of the female companions of the Prophet as well as the names of the good, pious Muslim women.

It is dislikeable to use names with bad meanings like 'fire' and the similar words, or those which suggest exaltness.

Moreover, Islam forbids names that declare servitude to anyone other than Allah such as “slave of Jesus…..”.   Islam also forbids names that are similar to the Names of Allah such as Ar Raheem (The most compassionate) or Al Hakeem (The most Wise).  But if the definite article “Al”, “The” is omitted, then such names become permissible.

Naming 'Naa'ilah' is allowed, it was the name of the wife of 'Uthmaan ibn 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him.  If it were a bad name, he would certainly have changed it to a good one.

We did not find any proof in Islamic history that Naa'ilah was the name of a female magician. But historically it is said to be the name of an idol to which the people of Quraysh used to offer sacrifices.

Allah knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb