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Naming baby Lut (after Prophet Loot, may Allaah exalt his mention)

Question

Assalaamu alaykum Brother. I was wondering; can you name your son Lut after the prophet Lut? Mainly, though, what is the meaning of the name Lut? No one has been able to tell me, so I was wondering if you knew. May Allaah reward you. The word 'lot' in Hebrew means 'veiled'; is that a nice baby name? I mean is the word 'veiled' a good meaning or a bad meaning to name a child?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

It is permissible to name your son Lut after Prophet Loot (Lut) or to name your child after any other Prophet; rather, it is recommended to name children after Prophets in general. An-Nawawi  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him wrote, “The scholars all agreed that it is recommended to do 'tahneek' with dates for the child when he is born (a date is chewed until it becomes soft enough, then the inside of the baby’s mouth is rubbed with it) and to carry him to a righteous person to do tahneek for him, and it is allowed to give the child a name on the day of birth. It is recommended to name him ʻAbdullaah or ʻAbdur-Rahmaan or to give him any of the names of the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention.” [Sharh Saheeh Muslim]

Scholars underlined that Prophet Loot  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention was given this name because he was deeply loved by Prophet Ibraaheem (Abraham)  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention. Linguistically, the verb 'laata' denotes clinging to or joining together (as if with glue). In other words, Prophet Ibraaheem loved Prophet Loot intensely.

Covering one's face is not a dispraised meaning. The Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, covered his face in the story of Hijrah. ʻAa'ishah  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  her said, “One day, while we were sitting in our house at midday, someone said to Abu Bakr, 'Here is the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, coming with his face covered...'” [Al-Bukhari]

Allaah knows best.

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