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Is there evidence in the Quran and Sunnah for addressing one's husband or wife as "father of so-and-so" (Abu Fulan) or "mother of so-and-so" (Umm Fulan), and if not, how did this practice begin, and is it wrong in Islam for spouses to mention each other's names?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible for a woman to refer to her husband by his kunya (a teknonymic name, e.g., "father of so-and-so"), as Umm al-Darda' and the wife of Abu Amr ibn Hafs did. There is also no objection to mentioning his name, as Zaynab, the wife of Abdullah, and Khawla bint Malik did. As for mentioning the husband's or wife's name in front of people, it depends on the prevailing custom in society; some societies disapprove of it. However, if the woman is well-known by her name, there is no harm in mentioning it. It is preferable to use the kunya in some societies or in front of some people to avoid problems.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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