1. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
  2. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

46 Questions

What is the relationship between the name parents give their children and their soul? Can the child later choose to change their name to one that they prefer even though there was nothing inherently wrong with their birth name?
Amina Inloes

A person is allowed to change their name even if there is nothing inherently wrong with their birth name.

Whether there is a relationship between one's birth name and one's soul is a more difficult question. I am not aware of anything in our religious sources that discusses this apart from that on the Day of Judgment it is said that people will be addressed by their names and their mothers' names (apart from Shi'i texts which say that the Prophet's descendants will be addressed by their names and fathers' names), but it is hard to say without being there whether that will be a recognizably verbal utterance of a name or just some means of identifying us that we will understand. Also, there are situations where the Imams (A) informed people of their birth names (as part of demonstrating their comprehensive knowledge) and perhaps there is a hint of some significance there. But in those cases it seems that the birth names were changed due to circumstances and not because the person actually wanted to be identified by a different name.

So, I think the best answer to the first question is that maybe there is a relationship, but if there is, it isn't something that is focused on in the Twelver Shi'i tradition.

Certainly the Prophet (S) did not see a problem in encouraging people to change their names where necessary. 

As a side note, although I've never seen this discussed, I would imagine that some of the mothers of the Imams (A) were not born with the names they were born with because their names are usually given as Arabic/Persianate whereas some of them were said to come from far-off regions, so perhaps some of them acquired these names during their life journey. 
Can you suggest any books on how to purify our soul?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

There are many books on this subject, but not all of them are translated in English.

One of the well known books which are translated in English is Jami' Al-Sa'adaat by Al-Naraaqi (The Collector of Felicities). 

You may also see Mir'aat Al-Rashaad مراة الرشاد by Shaikh Abdullah Al-Mamaqani.

Wassalam.
Does the soul have a gender? What gender will be represented when we go to Jannah?
Amina Inloes

There isn't full agreement on whether the soul has a gender, although a common view is that the soul does not have a gender. However one can deduce from Qur'an and hadith that we will appear in the afterlife similar to how we appear in this world including gender. It is said that the soul is affixed to a sort of body in the afterlife (less "heavy" than the physical body but still a sort of body) and so perhaps this is why it will appear gendered. 

[Edit: Hereby is demonstration that there is no agreement on the matter! In tafsir of 4:1, Allamah Tabataba'i expresses the view that the Qur'anic reference to creating the "nafs" of a person and its mate is the compound of worldly body and soul, not the soul in and of itself or what persists after the worldly life.

However, it should be said that there have been multiple trends of thought in the Islamic world regarding the nature of the soul, and some scholars accept some views - like Molla Sadra's - whereas others do not. As for non-Islamic sources, while it is true that extra-Islamic philosophical ideas were introduced to the Islamic world early on and became part of Islamic thought, just because something is extra-Islamic does not automatically mean it is wrong. For instance, pre-Islamic sources also say that 2+2=4, and we do not disagree with that. What can be said is that non-Islamic sources cannot be taken as proof of matters known through revelation, although one could consider the logic presented in them.

In any case, this may not be what the question is actually intending to ask, because it seems that the question is aimed at asking whether we will appear gendered in the barzakh and heaven/hell. From the Qur'an and hadith, it seems as if we will appear recognizably gendered, regardless of whether or not that is an inherent nature of the soul. In any case, we will all find out.

In contrast, some people ask whether the soul is essentially gendered because they have an interest in questions such as the position of women and men spiritually in Islamic thought.

An interesting read on the spiritual aspects of gender in the Islamic, including Shi'i, tradition is _The Tao of Islam_.]
Does the soul have a gender? What gender will be represented when we go to Jannah?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

Non Islamic sources claim that souls have no gender but Quran and authentic Hadeeths are clear that human soul is linked with human body, and as every human being has a gender either male of female, so, the souls has the same gender of the human being . Allah (SWT) says in Quran : (O mankind, We have Created you from a male and a female and made you in people and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is most pious (Sura 49, Verse 13).

Wassalam.