Please can you confirm if a girl’s name AVA is accepted as a Muslim name?

· 4 Shaʻban 1436 AH1 min readFatwa 33071English

Question

Please can you confirm if a girl's name AVA is accepted as a Muslim name? Thank you

Answer

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

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh

Nabi (salallāhu ‘alayhiwasallam) said regarding the keeping of good names: “Indeed you shall be called on the day of Qiyaamah with your names and the names of your fathers, so give good names to yourselves”.[1]

The name is a feminine name of German and Persian origins. The name Ava in the Persian Language means “voice, sound and phoneme.” Saint Ava was a 9th-century princess, daughter of Pepin II of Aquitaine. Ava was also the name of a medieval German woman poet. The name has been popularised after a famous actress. [2]

It is permissible for one to keep such a name.[3] It is advisable for one to keep names of the Anbiyaa, Sahabah, Taabi’een and pious predecessors. We therefore advise one to refrain from keeping such a name. The name of a person has an effect on the life of the person.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Ismail Desai,

Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

[1] Abu Dawood, 4948. Ahmed, 5/194

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_(given_name), last accessed at 22/05/2015.

3 الاصل جواز التسمية باي اسم الا بما ورد النهي عنه مما سياتي.331/11.الموسوعة الفقهية الكويتية.ادارة الشؤن الاسلامية بكويت

Answered by
Ismail Desai
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