Just as the naming of the newborn is the right of the father, likewise the newborn is also ascribed to the lineage of the father, not the mother – and he is addressed with his father’s name, not his mother’s name. So, he is named as follows: “So-and-so the son of… father’s first name” or, “so-and-so the daughter of… father’s first name.”
So if, for example, the father names his child Abdullah, and the father’s name is Abdul-Kareem Hasan, the child’s name would be Abdullah Abdul-Kareem Hasan.
So, when the child is called upon or addressed, it is said: “O son of so-and-so (father’s name)” or “O daughter of so-and-so (father’s name).” Allah (the Most High) said:
ٱدْعُوهُمْ لِـَٔابَآئِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ
“Call them (children) by the names of their fathers: that is more just with Allah.” (Al-Ahzāb: 5)
Imam Al-Bukhari has a chapter heading in his saheeh:
باب مَا يُدْعَى النَّاسُ بِآبَائِهِمْ
“Chapter: Calling the people by their father’s name.” Then he reports the hadeeth where the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said: “For every betrayer, a flag will be raised on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be announced: ‘This is the betrayal of so-and-so, the son of so-and-so (i.e., the father’s name).’” (no. 6177)
(See: Tasmiyat al-Mawlood, p. 29-31, of Shaikh Bakr Abu Zayd)
Read also: Rights of Children Born of Fornication and Ascription to their Fathers ― by Shaikh Ibn Bāz
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