from entering their churches on their feast days; and, as we noted, this functions as a precaution so that a Muslim will not end up doing what they do.

As for adopting their jargon and calling the months by foreign names, Abū Muḥammad al-Kirmānī—known as Ḥarb—said under the heading “Naming the months in Persian”:

“I asked Aḥmad, ‘The Persians have days and months that they name with words whose meanings we do not know. What is the ruling on using them?’ He regarded that with the strongest disapproval and, in this connection, transmitted a report from Mujāhid that he disliked people saying ‘Ādharmāh’ and ‘Dhī Māh.’ I then asked, ‘Suppose it happens to be a man’s personal name—may I name someone after it?’ He still disapproved.”

He went on: “I asked Isḥāq, ‘If the date on a document is written using the Persian months, such as Ādharmāh or Dhī Māh, is that permissible?’ He replied, ‘So long as none of those names contains something objectionable, I hope it is allowed.’”

He further related that Ibn al-Mubārak disliked the use of the word “Īzadan” when taking an oath, saying, “I cannot be sure it is not connected to something that is worshiped.” He applied the same caution to Persian names—and to Arabic ones as well—whenever a name is formed by annexation to something else.

He also said: “I asked Isḥāq on another occasion, ‘May a man learn the names of the Roman or Persian months?’ He answered, ‘Any name whose meaning is well-known in their language entails no harm.’”