The simple
answer to this is
defiantly NO! The Quran is very
clear on this matter.
Verse (33:5) Translation Sahih
International:
Call them by
[the names of] their fathers; it is more just in the sight of Allah.
But if you do not know their fathers - then they are [still] your
brothers in religion and those entrusted to you. And there is no blame
upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your
hearts intended. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
There is no
obligation on any new convert to Islam to change their name.
In fact it
is a requirement in Islam to keep your father’s name. Knowing
your family roots
is very important in Islam. Islam prohibits marriage to direct or close
relatives.
Therefore knowing who you are related to is very important.
Many people
are mislead into abandoning their family name for a new Arabic name on
conversion. This is
wrong! You must keep
your family name no matter what it is. There is no obligation in Islam
to
change your first name either. If your name is David or Ann then keep
it as it
is fine.
One should
know what the meaning of your name is. If your first name is a word
that is associated
with something bad or forbidden in Islam then you are free to change
it. There
is no obligation to change it to an Arabic name.
For Women in
Islam it is essential that they keep their fathers name even when they
marry.
The trend to follow western system of taking the husband’s
name on marriage is
only a recent trend now being adopted by many Muslims.
This is a
western trend from the time when women became the husband’s
property on marriage.
In Islam the Woman is not the property of her husband. They are equal
partners
in marriage. It is better for Muslim women to keep their Fathers name
on marriage
even if they also take their husbands name.
One should
always remember that when Islam was revealed to the world it was
revealed to
people who already had names. The Prophet Muhammad was known by this
name
before Islam was revealed to him. He was already named by his father
and did
not change his name on acceptance of Islam. So the statement Islamic
name
simply means the name of anyone who is a Muslim.