Mufti reacts to Urwa Hocane's name spelling, sparks debate on altering Islamic names
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Mufti warns against altering names for style, citing Urwa Hocane’s spelling change. He stresses Islamic guidance: original names must be respected and pronounced correctly.
KARACHI (Dunya News) - A reaction from an Islamic scholar on a private TV Ramadan transmission regarding Pakistani actress Urwa Hocane spelling her last name as “Hocane” instead of “Hussain” has gone viral on social media.
During the ongoing Ramadan transmissions across various TV channels, scholars from different Islamic schools of thought discuss social and religious matters from an Islamic perspective.
In a recent program, the topic of deliberately altering Islamic names or giving them modernized spellings was discussed. The host asked about the trend among celebrities to change the spelling of their names, citing Urwa’s example, and sought the religious viewpoint.
The Mufti responded that it is not permissible to distort someone’s name. “Hocane” is not an Arabic name, and adopting such a style is incorrect.
He cited an incident where Ali ibn Abi Talib observed someone mispronouncing a name and remarked that doing so was unjust, as correctly pronouncing a person’s name is their right, given by their parents.
The scholar further emphasized that caution is needed even when choosing Islamic names. Some avoid the name “Muhammad” due to the respect and responsibilities it entails, and similarly, deliberately changing a name is not appropriate in Islam.
