Does changing the father's name in official documents to a name other than the biological father's, fall under the category of "Whoever attributes himself to other than his father has disbelieved," knowing that the biological father is known to everyone and that this change was necessary to obtain identification documents?
The affiliation of a person to someone other than their father in official documents does not fall under the prohibition mentioned in the Hadith, as long as the questioner has not disavowed her father's lineage but was compelled to do so for a specific interest. This is unlike someone who disavows their father's lineage and affiliates themselves with another out of desire.
However, this affiliation in official documents must be corrected if possible, or necessary precautions must be taken to avoid the ensuing harms, such as establishing illegitimate rights like inheritance and mahramiyyah (unmarriageability).
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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