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Naming
A- Choosing a Good Name:
138. Imām al-Kāzim (a.s.) said: “Someone came to the Prophet (s.a.w.) and said: “O Messenger of Allah! What is the right of my child?”
He answered: “Choosing a good name for him, raising him well and facilitating a good life for him.”1
139. Imām al-Kāzim (a.s.) said: “The first benevolence a man can give his child is choosing a good name for him, so every one of you must choose a good name for your child.”2
B- Choosing a Name before the Birth:
140. Imām ‘Ali (a.s.) said: “Choose a name for your children before they are born. If you do not know whether the child is a male or a female, call them by the names which are good for both a male and a female, for the miscarriage whom you have not chosen a name, will meet you on Judgment Day and will say to its father: “Why didn’t you choose a name for me? Verily, the Messenger of Allah gave the name to Muhsin before he was born.”3
C- The Ahlul Bayt’s Tradition in Naming:
141. Sunan al-Tirmidhi, narrating from ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father from his grandfather who said: “Verily, the Prophet (s.a.w.) commanded the choosing of a name for a newborn on the seventh day [after his birth], and cutting his hair and offering a sacrifice.”4
1.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۶, p. ۴۸, h. ۱. Tahdhib al-Ahkām, vol. ۸, p. ۱۱۱, h. ۳۸۴. Both narrating from Durust.
2.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۶, p. ۱۸, h. ۳. Tahdhib al-Ahkām, vol. ۷, p. ۴۳۷, h. ۱۷۴۵. Both narrating from Musā ibn Bakr.
3.. al-Kāfi, vol. ۶, p. ۱۸, h. ۲, narrating from Imām al-Sādiq (a.s.) from his father (a.s.) from his grandfather (a.s.). al-Khisāl, p. ۶۳۴.
4.. Sunan al-Tirmidhi, vol. ۵, p. ۱۳۲, h. ۲۸۳۲.
