General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)

Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Musaddad said: Yahya narrated to us, from ‘Ubayd Allah, from Nafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ changed the name of ‘Asiyah and said, ‘You are Jamila.’

‘Isa ibn Hammad informed us; al-Layth informed us, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Muhammad ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Ata’, that Zaynab bint Abi Salamah asked him, ‘What did you name your daughter?’ He replied, ‘Barrah.’ She said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade this name. I was named Barrah, but the Prophet ﷺ said not to declare yourselves pure, for Allah knows best who among you is righteous.’ He asked, ‘What should we name her?’ He replied, ‘Name her Zaynab.’

Musaddad narrated to us; Bishr—meaning Ibn al-Mufaddal—narrated to us, saying: Bashir ibn Maymun told me, from his paternal uncle Usamah ibn Akhdari, that a man named Asram was among a delegation that came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘Asram.’ He said, ‘Rather, you are Zur‘ah.’

Al-Rabi‘ ibn Nafi‘ narrated to us, from Yazid—meaning Ibn al-Miqdam ibn Shurayh—from his father, from his grandfather Shurayh, from his father Hani, who said: When he came with his people as a delegation to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he heard them calling him Abu al-Hakam. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ summoned him and said, ‘Allah is the Judge, and judgment belongs to Him. Why are you called Abu al-Hakam?’ He replied, ‘When my people disagree about something, they come to me, and I judge between them, so both sides are satisfied.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘How good that is! What children do you have?’ He said, ‘Shurayh, Muslim, and ‘Abd Allah.’ He asked, ‘Which is the eldest?’ I said, ‘Shurayh.’ He said, ‘Then you are Abu Shurayh.’ Abu Dawud said: This Shurayh was the one who broke the chain and was among those who entered Tustar. Abu Dawud also said: I was told that Shurayh broke the gate of Tustar, entering through a tunnel.

Ahmad ibn Salih narrated to us; ‘Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us, from Ma‘mar, from al-Zuhri, from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: The Prophet ﷺ asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘Hazn’ (Roughness). He said, ‘You are Sahl’ (Ease). The man replied, ‘No. Ease is trodden on and humiliated.’ Sa‘id said: I thought that roughness would remain among us after him. Abu Dawud said: The Prophet ﷺ changed the names al-‘Asi, ‘Aziz, ‘Atalah, Shaytan, al-Hakam, Ghurab, Hubab, and Shihab, naming him Hisham; he changed Harb to Silm; al-Mudtaji‘ to al-Munba‘ith; a land called ‘Afrah to Khadrah; Shi‘b al-Dalalah to Shi‘b al-Huda; Banu al-Zinyah to Banu al-Rishdah; and Banu Mughwiyah to Banu Rishdah. Abu Dawud said: I have omitted the chains for the sake of brevity.

Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Hashim ibn al-Qasim narrated to us; Abu ‘Aqil narrated to us; Mujalid ibn Sa‘id narrated to us, from al-Sha‘bi, from Masruq, who said: I met ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. He asked who I was. I replied, ‘Masruq ibn al-Ajda‘.’ ‘Umar said that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘Al-Ajda‘ is a devil.’

Al-Nufayli narrated to us; Zuhayr narrated to us; Mansur ibn al-Mu‘tamir narrated to us, from Hilal ibn Yasaf, from Rabi‘ ibn ‘Umaylah, from Samurah ibn Jundub, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Do not name your boy Yasar, Rabah, Najih, or Aflah, for you might ask whether he is there and be told no. These are only four, so do not add to me.’

Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us; al-Mu‘tamir narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Rukayn relate, from his father, from Samurah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us to give our servants four names: Aflah, Yasar, Nafi‘, and Rabah.

Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Muhammad ibn ‘Ubayd narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Sufyan, from Jabir, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘If I live, God willing, I will forbid my community to use the names Nafi‘, Aflah, and Barakah.’ Al-A‘mash said: I do not know whether he mentioned Nafi‘. The reason is that a man might come and someone ask, ‘Is Barakah there?’ and they would answer, ‘No.’ Abu Dawud said: Abu al-Zubayr also narrated a similar report from Jabir from the Prophet ﷺ, but did not mention Barakah.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah narrated to us, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-A‘raj, from Abu Hurayrah, attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ, who said, ‘The most contemptible name before Allah, Blessed and Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection is that of a man who calls himself Malik al-Amlak (King of Kings).’ Abu Dawud said: Shu‘ayb ibn Abi Hamzah narrated it from Abu al-Zinad with the same chain, using the wording akhna ismin instead.

Musa ibn Isma‘il narrated to us; Wuhaib narrated to us, from Dawud, from ‘Amir, who said: Abu Jubayrah ibn al-Dahhak told me: This verse was revealed concerning us, Banu Salimah: ‘Do not call one another by offensive nicknames. Evil is the name of wickedness after faith.’ He said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to us, every man among us had two or three names. The Prophet ﷺ would call out, ‘So-and-so!’ They would say, ‘Wait, Messenger of Allah; he gets upset at that name.’ Then this verse was revealed: ‘Do not call one another by offensive nicknames.’

Umar ibn al-Khattab struck one of his sons for taking the kunyah Abu Isa. Al-Mughirah ibn Shu`bah also used the kunyah Abu Isa. Umar said to him, Is it not enough for you to be called Abu Abd Allah? He replied, The Messenger of Allah gave me this kunyah. Umar said, The Messenger of Allah was forgiven what came before and after of his sins, while we are still exposed to the consequences of our deeds. Mughirah continued to be called Abu Abd Allah until he died.

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet said to him, My dear son. Abu Dawud said: I heard Yahya ibn Main praise Muhammad ibn Mahbub, saying that he transmitted many hadiths. The chain also notes that Ibn Mahbub called Abu Uthman al-Jad.

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, Give yourselves my name, but do not take my kunyah. Abu Dawud said: Abu Salih also transmitted it from Abu Hurayrah. Similar reports were transmitted by Abu Sufyan from Jabir; Salim ibn Abi al-Jad from Jabir; Sulayman al-Yashkuri from Jabir; Ibn al-Munkadir from Jabir; and Anas ibn Malik.

Jabir reported that the Prophet said, “Whoever is named with my name must not use my kunyah, and whoever uses my kunyah must not be named with my name.” Abu Dawud noted the variant transmissions: Ibn Ajlan from his father from Abu Hurayrah transmitted it with this meaning; Abu Zurah from Abu Hurayrah has two differing versions; the report of Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Amrah from Abu Hurayrah is also disputed. Al-Thawri and Ibn Jurayj transmitted it in Abu al-Zubayr form, while Maqil ibn Ubayd Allah transmitted it in Ibn Sirin form. Musa ibn Yasar transmission from Abu Hurayrah also differs between these two forms, as do the versions of Hammad ibn Khalid and Ibn Abi Fudayk.

Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah reported that Ali said: I asked, “Messenger of Allah, if a child is born to me after you, may I give him your name and your kunyah?” He replied, “Yes.” Abu Bakr did not include the words “I asked”; instead, he transmitted it as Ali saying this to the Prophet.

Aisha reported that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah and said, “Messenger of Allah, I have given birth to a boy, named him Muhammad, and given him the kunyah Abu al-Qasim. I was told that you disapprove of this.” He replied, “What has made my name lawful and my kunyah forbidden?” Or he said, “What has made my kunyah forbidden and my name lawful?”

Anas ibn Malik said: The Messenger of Allah used to visit us. I had a young brother called Abu Umayr by his kunyah, and he had a small bird with which he played. The bird died. One day the Prophet came and saw him grieving. He asked, “What is the matter with him?” They said, “His bird has died.” He said, “Abu Umayr, what happened to the little bird?”

Aisha said, “Messenger of Allah, all my co-wives have kunyahs.” He said, “Take the kunyah Umm Abd Allah,” meaning her nephew, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. She was thereafter called Umm Abd Allah. Abu Dawud said Qurran ibn Tammam and Maamar transmitted a similar version from Hisham. Abu Usamah transmitted it from Hisham, from Abbad ibn Hamzah; Hammad ibn Salamah and Maslamah ibn Qanab likewise transmitted it from Hisham in the form reported by Abu Usamah.

Sufyan ibn Asid al-Hadrami said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say, “It is grave treachery to tell your brother something that he believes you about, while you are lying to him.”