Is It Permissible to Name My Baby Dhul-Qarnayn?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question: Assalamu alaykum

Is it permissible to name my baby Dhul-Qarnayn?

Answer: Assalamu alaykum, sister,

Historians and Quranic exegetes (mufassirun) mention that Dhul-Qarnayn was a pious king that ruled ancient Yemen around the year 1330 B.C. He conquered lands and ruled much of the East and the West.

His good deeds are mentioned in the Qur`an when he erected a barrier between a people and the evil Ya’juj and Ma’juj. [Qur`an, 18:93-98]. Dhul-Qarnayn is a nickname which lexically means “the owner of the two horns” or “the owner of the two centuries”.

It is permissible to name one’s child Dhul-Qarnayn. It also would be fine to nickname your son Qarnayn.

May Allah give you an easy pregnancy, delivery and make him the coolness of your eyes.

Wassalam,
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterwards, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.