Fadail al-Tasmiya bi-Ahmad wa Muhammad
- Author died
- 388 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Sahaba li-l-Turath
Fada'il al-Tasmiya bi-Ahmad wa Muhammad (The Virtues of Naming [Children] Ahmad and Muhammad) is a hadith treatise compiled by the Baghdadi scholar Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Bukayr al-Sayrafi (d. 388 AH / 998 CE) concerning the virtues and blessings associated with giving children the names of the Prophet Muhammad .
Purpose and Scope
In his opening prologue, Ibn Bukayr describes the work as a concise monograph (juz' latif) compiled to assemble the transmitted reports (athar) commanding or encouraging naming children with the Prophet's names, Muhammad or Ahmad, in hope of obtaining the blessings (baraka) of his name .
The work records narrations furnished with full chains of transmission (isnad) attributed to the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, and early figures . Among the texts cited in the tract are:
- A report traced through Ali ibn Abi Talib stating: مَا اجْتَمَعَ قَوْمٌ فِي مَشُورَةٍ مَعَهُمْ رَجُلٌ، اسْمُهُ مُحَمَّدٌ، وَلَمْ يُدْخِلُوهُ فِي مَشُورَتِهِمْ إِلَّا لَمْ يُبَارَكْ لَهُمْ فِيهَا ("No group of people gathers in consultation with a man among them named Muhammad and fails to include him in their consultation except that they are not blessed in it") .
- A statement attributed to Muhammad al-Baqir: أَحَبُّ الْأَسْمَاءِ إِلَى اللَّهِ: مُحَمَّدٌ، وَأَصْدَقُهَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ وَأَبْغَضُهَا خَالِدٌ ("The most beloved of names to God is Muhammad, the truest of them is Abd Allah, and the most hateful of them is Khalid") .
- A report through Ibn Jurayj stating: مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ ذُو بَطْنٍ فَأَجْمَعَ أَنْ يُسَمِّيَهُ مُحَمَّدًا رَزَقَهُ اللَّهُ غُلَامًا وَمَا كَانَ اسْمُ مُحَمَّدٍ فِي بَيْتٍ إِلَّا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ فِي ذَلِكَ الْبَيْتِ بَرَكَةً ("Whoever has an unborn child and resolves to name him Muhammad, God will grant him a boy; and the name of Muhammad is never in a household except that God places blessing in that household") .
- A tradition from Wathila ibn al-Asqa' regarding naming one's children Muhammad .
- A narration through al-Hakam ibn 'Atiyya from Anas ibn Malik that the Prophet ﷺ said: تُسَمُّونَهُمْ مُحَمَّدًا ثُمَّ تلعنونهم ("You name them Muhammad and then you curse them") .
Scholarly Reception and Criticism
Hadith scholars have evaluated the authenticity of the material compiled in Ibn Bukayr's treatise critically:
- Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya stated that none of the reports regarding the virtue of naming someone Muhammad are authentic, asserting that all of them are fabricated (mawdu'), and remarked that Ibn Bukayr compiled a well-known monograph on the topic whose narrations are entirely ruined (talifa) .
- Abu Hatim al-Razi, as cited by Umar ibn Badr al-Mawsili, noted that none of the hadiths related from the Prophet ﷺ regarding this topic are sound (sahih) .
- Regarding the narration transmitted by Ibn Bukayr from Abu Umama al-Bahili— من ولد له مولود فسمّاه محمدًا حبًّا لي وتبرّكًا باسمي كان هو ومولوده في الجنة ("Whoever has a child born to him and names him Muhammad out of love for me and seeking blessing through my name, he and his child will be in Paradise")—Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani evaluated its chain as acceptable (la ba'sa bih) and graded it fair (hasan) elsewhere . However, other scholars disputed this appraisal, noting that its transmission hinges on Ibn Bukayr's teacher, Abu al-Hasan Hamid ibn Hammad al-Askari, whom al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar identified elsewhere as the defect responsible for the fabrication of this report, alongside Ishaq ibn Sayyar, who was considered unknown (majhul) .
Publication
The tract was edited by Majdi Fathi al-Sayyid and published in Tanta by Dar al-Sahaba li-l-Turath (also appearing under the imprint Maktabat al-Sahaba) in 1411 AH / 1990 CE .
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