Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah

Are you allowed to change a name on a grave stone?

· 18 Dhuʻl-Qiʻdah 1433 AH1 min readFatwa 22577English

Question

Are you allowed to change a name on a grave stone

Answer

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The purpose of a grave stone is to identify the inhabitant of the grave. Therefore:

1) If, only by changing the name, the person can be identified by those that visit the graveyard then one is allowed to change the name.

2) If, by changing the name, the person cannot be identified by those that visit the graveyard, then one should not change the name.[1]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mahmood Patel
Azaadville, South Africa

Student Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

[1] وقال الشيخ الإمام فخر اللأئمة البزدوي-رحمه الله تعالى-: ولو احتيج إلى العلامة حتى لا يذهب الأثر ولا يمتهن لا بأس به. اهـ (الفتاوى السراجية، ص133، زمزم)

فَقَدْ أَخْرَجَ الْحَاكِمُ النَّهْيَ عَنْهَا مِنْ طُرُقٍ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: هَذِهِ الْأَسَانِيدُ صَحِيحَةٌ وَلَيْسَ الْعَمَلُ عَلَيْهَا، فَإِنَّ أَئِمَّةَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ الْمَشْرِقِ إلَى الْمَغْرِبِ مَكْتُوبٌ عَلَى قُبُورِهِمْ، وَهُوَ عَمَلٌ أَخَذَ بِهِ الْخَلَفُ عَنْ السَّلَفِ اهـ وَيَتَقَوَّى بِمَا أَخْرَجَهُ أَبُو دَاوُد بِإِسْنَادٍ جَيِّدٍ «أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - حَمَلَ حَجَرًا فَوَضَعَهَا عِنْدَ رَأْسِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ مَظْعُونٍ وَقَالَ: أَتَعَلَّمُ بِهَا قَبْرَ أَخِي وَأَدْفِنُ إلَيْهِ مَنْ تَابَ مِنْ أَهْلِي» فَإِنَّ الْكِتَابَةَ طَرِيقٌ إلَى تَعَرُّفِ الْقَبْرِ بِهَا. (حاشية ابن عابدين، 2/ 237-238)

Answered by
Mahmood Patel
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
View original Compare with other Darul Iftas
Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, please ask a Mufti. Report an issue

For corrections or mistakes, please email us at fatawasa786@gmail.com.

Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/22577
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-22577

People also ask

Are tombstones and building on graves permissible?

“A grave should be simple without any sort of decorations. However, it is permissible to erect a gravestone for identification purposes only.”

Ask Imaam · 16 fatawa from 3 Darul Iftas on this

What the Darul Iftas say

Related fatawa