How Will We Be Called on Judgment Day?
Posted: 2 Rajab 1424, 30 August 2003
| Q.) On the Day of Judgment (Qiyamat), will a person be called by his father's name or his mother's name? [Muhammad Amir Jamil] |
A.) Imam Bukhari (RA) has included the following subtitle in his Sahih, 'Chapter on the fact that the people will be called by their father's name'. Under this chapter, he has recorded the narration of Sayyiduna ibn Umar, Radi-Allahu anhu, that Rasulullah 
said, 'Verily, a banner will be raised for the treacherous person on the day of Qiyamat and it will be proclaimed, 'This is the treachery of so and so, the son of so and so.' (Sahih Bukhari Hadith6177) (Note that the masculine tense was used for the parent of this 'so and so'.)
Imam Khattaabi, Imaam ibn Battaal, Haafiz ibnul Qayyim, Haafiz ibn Hajar, Allaamah 'Ainiy and Haafiz Qastalaaniy (RA) have all stated that this Hadith is a proof in argument against those who claim that people will be called by their mother's name. (Refer Sharah ibn Battaal vol.9 pg.335, Tazab ibnul Qayyim li Abi Dawud vol.7 pg.250, Fathul Baari vol.10 pg.689, Umdatul Qaari vol.22 pg.201 and Irshaadus saari vol.13 pg.184). The reason for this is that Rasulullah said that it will be proclaimed, 'This is . of so and so, the son of so and so - masculine (fulaan ibn fulaan)' and Rasulullah did not say, 'fulaan ibn Fulaanah' (which means 'so and so, the son of so and so - feminine)
Moreover, the argument of those who choose the contrary (i.e. people will be called out by their mother's name) is based on narrations which have been classified as extremely weak by Haafiz ibn Hajar and others (refer Fathul Baari vol.10 pg.289 and Irshaadus saari vol.13 pg.184). Haafiz ibnul Qayyim (RA) states that the Ulama have consensus on the fact that this hadith is weak (Tahzib of Ibn Qayyim vol.7 pg.250)
Hafiz Ibn Qayyim (RA) further states, 'This hadith is unsuitable for argument and more over it is in contradiction with a Sahih (authentic) narration.' (Ibid)
After contemplating the above, it would be understood that the stronger and more preferred view is that on the day of Judgment, a person will be called out by the name of his father and not his mother, as it is substantiated by the hadith of Sahih Bukhari and Sunan Abu Dawud.