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Since war and bitterness are among the things people most dislike and find most repugnant, the ugliest names are Harb (war) and Murra (bitterness). By the same reasoning, this applies to Hanzala (colocynth), Hazn (rough ground), and similar names. How apt such names are to leave their mark on their bearers, just as the name Hazn imparted roughness to Saʿīd (1) and his household.

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Since the prophets are the foremost of the children of Adam, their character the noblest, and their deeds the most righteous (2), their names are the noblest names. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, therefore encouraged his community to adopt their names, as reported from him in the Sunan collections of Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasā’ī (3):

“Name yourselves after the prophets.”

Even if the only benefit were that a name brings its bearer to mind and inspires attachment to what it signifies, that alone would suffice. Moreover, this preserves the prophets’ names and keeps them in remembrance, so that they are not forgotten and are recalled together with their qualities and circumstances.

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As for the prohibition against naming a boy Yasār, Aflah, Najīh, or Rabāh (4), this is