Boreal

A Proliferation of Muhammads

Naming Children of Rapists After the Prophet

ISIS captive gives birth to child of rape

When they ordered her into a car she thought death was imminent. She was wrong.

"'You will be our slave,'" she said, recalling their words.

For more than a year she lived as a prisoner, "like a dead person, but they had not killed me yet."

Toward the end of her captivity one of her captors beat and raped her.

"I tried to fight, I cried a lot. There was a lot of pain, I was beaten a lot, but I couldn't do anything," she told CNN's Arwa Damon.

By the time she was released she was pregnant with a son. She named [him] Mohammed.

CNN November 4, 2016

The Prophet, as spokesperson for the Almighty, made it more likely that rape would lead to pregnancy.

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:

that while he was sitting with Allah's Apostle he said, "O Allah's Apostle! We get female captives as our share of booty, and we are interested in their prices, what is your opinion about coitus interruptus?"

The Prophet said, "Do you really do that? It is better for you not to do it. No soul that which Allah has destined to exist, but will surely come into existence."

Bukhari 34.432

Is it honouring the Prophet naming children of rapists after him, even if, somehow it seems appropriate? I don't think that is what God's Messenger intended when he invited believers to name their male progeny after him.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Name yourselves after me (by my name), but do not call yourselves by my Kuniya (part of an Arabic name which usually begins with "abu" and refers to a father's first-born son), and whoever sees me in a dream, he surely sees me, for Satan cannot impersonate me (appear in my figure).

And whoever intentionally ascribes something to me falsely, he will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire."

Bukhari 73.217

Naming Children After Terrorists

On the evening of July 14, 2016 a large truck, with at its wheel a holy warrior, drove into a Nice crowd celebrating Bastille Day crushing 84 people to death, including 10 children.

In August, a woman decided to test the waters and the forbearance of the locals by wearing the widely detested by those who see nothing holy in what holy warriors do, the burkini. In November, a family whose last name is Merah wanted to name their newborn Mohammad.

So what's the problem? Muhammad, and variations thereof, is the most common boy's name on the planet. It so happens that Mohammad Merah is also the name of another notorious holy murderer of children, shooting three of them dead, along with four adults during a murderous rampage a few years earlier.

When the parents showed up at the Nice city hall to register the infant, officials decided that it was not in the best interest of the child to be saddled with an infamous moniker for the rest of his life as a French citizen, and asked the Court to intervene.

A believer's existence is an extremely rationed one and that rationing extends to naming their children which may also account for a proliferation of Muhammads, in addition to wishing to honour God's Messenger.

Out of respect for the most insecure of omnipotent deities, Islam does not sanction the naming of children after Roman, Greek or even Norse deities who may, at one point in time have competed for your ancestors' attention and for whom Allah has only disdain. And lets not forget the countless Eastern gods and goddesses whose worshippers must convert or be killed on the spot.

It is also not recommended to name your child after an enemy of Islam past or present, further restricting the pool of choices for devout parent.

Finally, if you are going to blame anyone for a child's name, blame the father, for the mother has only as much say in the naming of her child as her husband will allow.

Bernard Payeur