DO YOU HAVE A KUNYAH?

[Abu biscuit - Abu Halwah - Abu boxing] ▪️What is a Kunyah? It is a nickname which starts with Abu (father of) or Umm (mother of) (eg. Abu 'Umar & Umm 'Ali). Some also include nicknames which start with Ibn (son of), Akh (brother of), 'Amm (paternal uncle of) or Khāl (maternal uncle of). ▪️What purpose does it serve? A Kunyah has various usages: - It may be used as a form of praise, eg. Abu Al-Ḥakam - It may be used as a form of dispraise, eg. Abu Jahl - It may be used to refer to a trait, eg. Abu Lahab; he was known as such because his face was shiny. - It may be used to refer to a person's attachment to something, eg. Abu Hurairah; because he was fond of cats. - It may just be used as a name, eg. Abu Bakr; he didn't have a son called Bakr. ▪️Is it legislated to have a Kunyah? You don't have to be married to have a Kunyah; Abu Al-'Abbās was the Kunyah of Sheikhul Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, and we all know he was never married. In fact, you don't even have to be an adult to have a Kunyah Anas (raḍiyallāhu 'anhu) narrated: The Prophet (ﷺ) had the best character among all people. I had a younger brother named Abu 'Umayr, who, as I recall, had recently been weaned. Whenever he was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ), he would say: يا أبا عمير، ما فعل النغير؟ "O Abu 'Umayr! What happened to Nughayr?". Nughayr was a small bird Abu 'Umayr used to play with. [Reported by Bukhārī (6203) and Muslim (2150); this is the wording of Bukhārī.] An-Nawawī in 'Sharḥ Muslim' explained: “This ḥadīth proves it is permissible for a person without children to adopt a Kunyah and to give a Kunyah to a child, and this is not considered deceit.” - Your Kunyah does not have to conform to the name of your eldest child, although this is better. - it is permissible to have a Kunyah after a male or female child. -------------------------------------- ▪️Impermissible Kunyas - It is not permissible to take a Kunyah after any of Allah's SPECIFIC names, eg. Abu Allah, Abu Ar-Rahman, Abu Al-A'dham, etc. - It is also not permissible to take a Kunyah after any of Allāh's UNSPECIFIC names, particularly if the meaning contained in that Kunya is used as a description of that person. If, however, the meaning is not intended as a description for the one who goes by this name, then it is permissible to use. - If someone wants to include one of the above names in their Kunyah, they must insert 'Abd (servant of) before Allah's name, eg. Abu 'Abdir-Raḥmān, Umm 'Abdil-'Adheem, etc. - "Abu Murrah" is Shayṭān's Kunyah, so it is not permissible for a Muslim to adopt this Kunyah. Likewise, it is not permissible to adopt "Abu Lahab" as a Kunyah because this was the Kunyah of one of the greatest enemies of Islam. - It is not permissible to ascribe oneself as a slave to anything from the creation, hence why names like عبد الحجر (slave of the rock) are forbidden. - It is not permissible to have a name that consists of self-praise, like برّة (righteous) & أبرار (most righteous). - If someone has a name or Kunya that is forbidden, they must change it. #tarbiyah@masjidsahabah #فوائد_تربوية