عن أبي درداء قال قال رسول الله صلي الله عليه و سلم: تدعون يوم القيامة بأسمائكم و أسماء آبائكم فأحسنوا أسماءكم
The Messenger of Allah (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said, “You will be called on the day of judgement by your names and the names of your fathers, so make your names good ones.”
There is a monument in the North American city of Quartzite, Arizona, marking the “Last Camp” of Hi Jolly. Part of the inscription on the monument reads: “Born somewhere in Syria About 1828 Died at Quartzite December 16, 1902 Came to this Country February 10, 1856”. Hi Jolly was a Syrian Muslim named Haji Ali. He came to America to help the United States form a “Camel Corps”. The Americans had trouble pronouncing his name and took to calling him Hi Jolly.
In Surah Aali Imraan, Allah Tala, informing us about Hannah, the mother of Maryam (Peace be upon both of them), mentions the following:
فلما وضعتها قالت رب إني وضعتها أنثي و الله أعلم بما وضعت و ليس الذكر كالأنثي و إني سميتها مريم و إني أعيذها بك و ذريتها من الشيطان الرجيم
“Then, when she gave birth to her, she said, ‘My Lord, I have given birth to a female,’ and Allah was more knowledgeable of what she gave birth to, ‘and the male is not like the female. Indeed I have named her Maryam, and sought refuge with You for her, and her progeny, from the accursed Shaytaan.'”
In Tafseer Raazi, it is mentioned that Maryam means “a female worshipper”, and that what was desired from naming her thus was Allah’s protection from the misfortunes of this life and the one after this one. Concerning the statement ‘I have named her Maryam’, Imam Ath-Tha’labi relates the following hadith:
عن أبي درداء عن النبي صلي الله عليه و سلم أنه قال: إنكم تدعون يوم القيامة بأسمائكم و أسماء آبائكم فأحسنوا أسماءكم
The Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “You will certainly be called on the Day of Qiyamah by your names, and the names of your fathers, so make your names good ones.”
In another hadith, related by Imam Muslim in his Sahih, the Messenger of Allah (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have changed the name Aasiyah (عاصية) to Jamilah (جميلة). Explaining this hadith, the author of Takmilah Fathul Mulhim, a commentary of Sahih Muslim, writes: “(He changed the name Aasiyah) because it is not one of the characteristics of a muslim that they should be disobedient. This hadith proves that it is disliked to give names that have an abominable meaning.”
Continuing, the author states: “The gist of the ahadith in this chapter is that the Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) disliked names that had ugly meanings, or names from which a bad omen might be taken (even though taking bad omens, in itself, is not permissible), or names which sanctify the one being named…”
Please don’t let anyone, including yourself, call you Hi Jolly. Appreciate the beautiful name you were given.
References:
Mirqaat Al-Masaabih 9:22 Hadith Number: 4768
Tafseer Raazi 8:25-29
Tafseer Thalabi 2:34-35
Takmilah Fathul Mulhim 4:185
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11284
Muslims in American History: A Forgotten Legacy
