Having the name 'Khan' Fatwa No: 89662
- Fatwa Date:29-3-2005
Khan is a very common last name among Indian and Pakistani Muslims. It means ruler/king of the kings. In the light of Hadeeth below, should Muslims not have Khan as last names? If they do already have it, what should they do? Narrated Abu Hurayrah: Allaah's Apostle said, "The most awful name in Allaah's sight on the Day of Resurrection, will be (that of) a man calling himself Maalik Al-Amlak (the king of kings).
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 is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
According to our knowledge the name Khan does not mean king of the kings as you mentioned. Rather, it is a name for whoever is the king of Turkmen. Pharaoh is a surname for whoever owns Egypt. So Khan means king and not king of the kings, therefore, there is no harm in being named with this name. Therefore, this name is not included in the saying of the Prophet : "The most awful name in Allaah's sight is a man who is named the king of the kings.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Allaah knows best.