Why can Muslims have normal names?
It is fashionable among Muslims, as it is in Britain generally, to choose a name based upon how it sounds. There is nothing wrong with this although Prophet Muhammed said that one of the rights of a child is that his/ her parents choose a good name for them, with a good meaning or they be named after notable people. So many Muslims choose names that are mentioned in the Qur’an, or are the names of the men and women who were dedicated disciples of the Prophet Muhammad, or the names of famous prophets, some of whom are also mentioned in the Bible, such as Ibrahim (Abraham), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses), Yahya (John), Adam and Issa (Jesus). Other common Muslim names include Ahmed and Mustafa, both of which refer to the Prophet Muhammad. A name beginning with “Abdul” simply means ‘servant of’ and is followed by one of God’s holy names. The reason why these names may sound strange is because they are in Arabic and there often is no simple equivalent in English. However, many new English Mus
