A reaction from an Islamic scholar on a private TV transmission regarding Pakistani actress Urwa Hocane spelling her last name as “Hocane” instead of “Hussain” has gone viral on social media.

In a recent program, the topic of deliberately altering Islamic names or giving them modernised spellings was discussed. The host asked about the trend among celebrities to change the spelling of their names, citing Urwa’s example, and sought the religious viewpoint.

The Mufti responded that it is not permissible to distort someone’s name. “Hocane” is not an Arabic name, and adopting such a style is incorrect. He cited an incident where Ali ibn Abi Talib observed someone mispronouncing a name and remarked that doing so was unjust, as correctly pronouncing a person’s name is their right, given by their parents.

The scholar further emphasised that caution is needed even when choosing Islamic names, and deliberately changing a name is not appropriate in Islam.