Question

Dear Faculty,
I have read in few islamic sites that a wife cannot change her Family name with her Husband's name which is HARAAM in Islam.
For example, as my name is Atif so can my Wife change her name as SAMRA ATIF instead of her previous name SAMRA MAZHAR SINDHU. Please clarify it?

Answer

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.

It is not permissible for your wife to be named after you in a way that she will be named ‘‘Samra Atif’’ because this is contrary to the Quran, as Allah Says (what means): {Call them (adopted sons) by (the names of) their fathers, that is more just with Allah.}[Quran 33:5] This is also contrary to the Prophetic narration which states that it is prohibited for a person to be named after other than his father. In addition to this, being named after someone else is an act of imitating the non-Muslims.

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb