The Impact of the Objectives of Islamic Law (Maqasid al-Shari'ah) on the Rulings of Adoption and Changing Names and Surnames

Abstract

This study aims to trace the methodological influence and foundational guidance of Islamic legal objectives (Maqasid al-Sharia) on the rulings governing adoption and the changing of names and surnames, as well as their role in regulating contemporary jurisprudential and legislative issues related to these matters. It further seeks to clarify their organic connection to the system of essential universals — such as the preservation of lineage, property, and honor — and to examine the outcomes of balancing interests and harms within the contemporary legislative environment. To fulfill the study's requirements, the researcher employed an integrated approach combining inductive, descriptive, and analytical methodologies to survey the reality of naming-related contemporary issues and assess them through a Maqasid-based framework. The study was structured into two sections: the first addressed the jurisprudential foundations of adoption and its Maqasid-related implications, while the second examined the various forms and cases of name and surname changes — including the father's name and family name in official documents — along with proposed jurisprudential solutions for those legally obligated, and an analysis of the stance of Yemeni Penal and Civil Status Law on the forgery and impersonation of names and surnames.  The study yielded a number of significant results. Most notably, the Islamic prohibition of affiliative adoption was not a suppression of the principle of humanitarian care; rather, it represents a purposeful guidance toward "alternative guardianship" (Kafala) as a Maqasid-based alternative that preserves human dignity and prevents the intermingling of lineages. The findings also established the permissibility of modifying given names and surnames indicative of profession or region of origin — subject to defined conditions — while affirming the absolute prohibition against changing a direct father's name or any substitution that leads to undermining judicial trust or dismantling the financial rights of heirs. The researcher concluded with the necessity of formulating balanced practical solutions, directing recommendations to legislative, legal, educational, and oversight bodies concerned with civil status and social welfare affairs. These recommendations call for the adoption of innovative mechanisms that accommodate the dimensions of identity and their psychological and social implications in contemporary reality, without compromising the definitive constants of Islamic law.