Asallam U Alaiku, Is it permissible to keep an animals name a name like 'zahra' There is a computer game that children play which has a zoo and the hippos name is zahra. Is this sinful? (The name 'zahra' is also used in other languages apart from Arabic).

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

There is no harm in naming an animal "Zahrah" (i.e. 'flower'). The basic principle is that everything is permissible unless proven otherwise. Naming animals is not an odd or new thing; it is a common practice since a long time ago. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, owned a number of animals all of which had been given Arabic names that are known and cited in the Hadeeth and biographical literature.

The author of “Qurrat Al-Absaar” designated a chapter for the animals owned by the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and their names. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had a she-camel named Qaswaa’; she was also known as Al-‘Adhbaa’ and Al-Jadd’aa’. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also owned a mule named Duldul and a donkey named ‘Ufayr.

Allaah Knows best.