Muhammad’s Renames

According to hadith, Muhammad would often change or rename names:

It was narrated that ‘Ali said:
When al-Hasan was born, I named him Hamzah. When al-Husain was born, I named him after his paternal uncle Jafar.

Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called me and said: “I have been commanded to change the names of these two.”

I said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.”

And he named them Hasan and Husain.

Musnad Ahmad 1370

Narrated ‘Aishah:
that the Prophet would change abhorrent names.”

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2839

Narrated Ibn ‘Umar:
that the Prophet changed the name of ‘Asiyah, he said: “You are Jamilah.”

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2838

Narrated Abu Bakra:

The Prophet said:

Time has taken its original shape which it had when Allah created the Heavens and the Earth. The year is of twelve months, four of which are sacred, and out of these (four) three are in succession, i.e. Dhul-Qa’da, Dhul-Hijja and Al-Muharram, and the fourth is Rajab which is named after the Mudar tribe, between (the month of) Jumaida (ath-thania) and Sha’ban.

Then the Prophet asked, “Which is this month?”

We said, “Allah and His Apostle know better.”

On that the Prophet kept quiet so long that we thought that he might name it with another name. Then the Prophet said, “Isn’t it the month of Dhul-Hijja?”

We replied, “Yes.”

Then he said, “Which town is this?”

We replied, “Allah and His Apostle know better.”

On that he kept quiet so long that we thought that he might name it with another name. Then he said, “Isn’t it the town of Mecca?”

We replied, “Yes.”

Then he said, “Which day is today?”

We replied, “Allah and His Apostle know better.”

He kept quiet so long that we thought that he might name it with another name.

Then he said, “Isn’t it the day of An- Nahr (i.e. sacrifice)?”

We replied, “Yes.”

He said, “So your blood, your properties, (The sub-narrator Muhammad said, ‘I think the Prophet also said: And your honor…) are sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this city of yours, in this month of yours; and surely, you will meet your Lord, and He will ask you about your deeds. Beware! Do not become infidels after me, cutting the throats of one another. It is incumbent on those who are present to convey this message (of mine) to those who are absent. May be that some of those to whom it will be conveyed will understand it better than those who have actually heard it.”

(The sub-narrator, Muhammad, on remembering that narration, used to say, “Muhammad spoke the truth!”)

He (i.e. Prophet) then added twice, “No doubt! Haven’t I conveyed (Allah’s Message) to you?”

Sahih al-Bukhari 4406

There are other hadith where Muhammad renames men and women:

Muti’ said:

I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say on the day of the Conquest of Makka:

“No Qurayshi will be killed in custody from today until the Day of Rising.”

None of the rebels of Quraysh except Muti’ became Muslim. His name had been al-‘As and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, renamed him Muti’ (obedient).

Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 826

Ibn ‘Abbas said that Juwayriyya’s name had been Barra and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had renamed her Juwayriyya.

Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 831

Abu Hurayra said, “Maymuna’s name was Barra and then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, renamed her Maymuna.”

Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 832

Juwayriyya, the daughter of al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar, (whose name had been Barra but the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had renamed her Juwayriyya) reported:

that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had left her and he did not want to go back in while her name was Barra. Then he went back to her while it was late in the day and found that she was still sitting:

“Are you still sitting?” he asked, “After I left you I uttered four phrases three times. If they were to be weighed against all your words, they would outweigh them. They are: ‘Glory be to Allah and by His praise in number as great as His creation and in accordance with His own pleasure and the weight of His Throne and the extent of His words.'”

Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 647

Zainab, daughter of Umm Salama, reported:
My name first was Barra. Allah’s Messenger gave me the name of Zainab.

Then there entered (into the house of Allah’s Prophet as a wife) Zainab, daughter of Jahsh, and her name was also Barra, and he gave her the name of Zainab.

Sahih Muslim 2142a

So we prepared the baggage quickly and put some journey food in a leather bag for them. Asma, Abu Bakr’s daughter, cut a piece from her waist belt and tied the mouth of the leather bag with it, and for that reason she was named Dhat-un-Nitaqain (i.e. the owner of two belts).

Excerpt, Sahih al-Bukhari 3905

Through the Koran, Muhammad changes names, which can be confusing. For example:

Some people resisted Muhammad’s changing of their names:

Narrated Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab:

That when his grandfather, Hazn visited the Prophet, the Prophet said (to him), “What is your name?”

He said, “My name is Hazn.”

The Prophet said, “But you are Sahl.”

He said, “I will not change my name with which my father named me.”

Ibn Al-Musaiyab added: So we have had roughness (in character) ever since.

Sahih al-Bukhari 6193

Muhammad was a false prophet, for a false god, Allah, for a false religion, Islam, without even a false book, the Koran.