It has been reported of Imam al-Husayn (a) that, had many children been born to him, he would have given them the name (ʿAli); yet we find that history records for Imam al-Husayn (a) children with names other than that, such as the infant ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Husayn. So how do we explain this?
In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
And blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the Messengers and his good and pure Household,
This meaning, which expresses the Imam's desire to name all of his sons ʿAli, has indeed been reported in a narration. It has come in al-Kafi:
From ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-ʿAzrami, who said: Muʿawiya appointed Marwan ibn al-Hakam governor over Medina and ordered him to allot stipends to the young men of Quraysh, so he allotted stipends to them. ʿAli ibn al-Husayn (a) said: So I came to him, and he said: “What is your name?” I said: “ʿAli ibn al-Husayn.” He said: “What is your brother's name?” I said: “ʿAli.” He said: “ʿAli and ʿAli! Does your father intend to leave none of his children without naming him ʿAli?” Then he allotted me a stipend, and I returned to my father and told him. He said: “Woe is me over the son of al-Zarqaʾ, she who tanned hides! If a hundred were born to me, I would love to name none of them other than ʿAli.” Vol. 6, p. 99.
So although the Imam's statement expressed his love to name all of his sons ʿAli, we find in the books of history, among the names of the sons of Imam al-Husayn (a), more than one whose name differs from the name ʿAli; and the historians agree that three of them were named ʿAli.
ʿAllama al-Majlisi reported in Bihar al-Anwar, from Kashf al-Ghumma: Kamal al-Din ibn Talha said: He had ten children, male and female — six males and four females. The males were ʿAli al-Akbar, ʿAli al-Awsat — who is Sayyid al-ʿAbidin — ʿAli al-Asghar, Muhammad, ʿAbd Allah and Jaʿfar. Vol. 45, p. 331.
This is the well-known view, though there are those who mentioned more names than that in various sources; but what is certain is that the names Muhammad, ʿAbd Allah and Jaʿfar are names different from the name ʿAli.
We do not possess a textual answer on this, but we present possible explanations for it:
The first possibility: that this was in a context of defiance, so that if the reality of defiance ceased, the decision could change — especially since hatred of Imam ʿAli (a) at that time was something the enemies worked to promote, and his noble name was regarded as a challenge in the face of that deep-seated hatred.
The second possibility: that this was the wish of Imam al-Husayn (a) in cases where he was the one choosing the name; perhaps he chose the names of three of the children and named them all ʿAli, while as for the rest, their names were chosen by their mothers, and that is why the names differed.
On the first and second possibilities, the Imam's statement (If a hundred were born to me, I would love to name none of them other than ʿAli) is an answer from the Imam (a) expressing possibility, not actual occurrence; for there would be no harm in naming all the sons ʿAli were it not for impediments and contingencies.
It is reported in al-Manaqib, from Kitab al-Nasab, expressing this reality:
From Yahya ibn al-Hasan: Yazid said to ʿAli ibn al-Husayn (a): “How strange of your father: he named ʿAli, and ʿAli!” He (a) said: “My father loved his father, so he used his name repeatedly.” Vol. 4, p. 173.
And by this repeated naming among the three, what the Imam (a) aspired to was realized.
The third possibility: that it is acceptable for a child to have more than one name, so that the name ʿAli would be the first and real name of all of them, while the different names are the names apparent to people, being a second name. This is customary among some families, and it is what the view relies upon that Imam al-Husayn (a) had a single child who was martyred in Karbala, namely ʿAbd Allah, who is himself ʿAli al-Asghar. (Although the greater likelihood is that they were two different martyrs.)
The fourth possibility: that the naming as ʿAli took place at the beginning of the seven days for the rest of the children whose names differed, and then a change was made for them; so it would be true of them that he named all his children ʿAli. This was a practice that the Ahl al-Bayt (a) followed, as Imam al-Sadiq (a) mentioned regarding their naming their children Muhammad during the first seven days. In al-Kafi, al-Kulayni narrated:
From Abu ʿAbd Allah (a), who said: “No child is born to us but that we name him Muhammad; then when seven days have passed for us, if we wish we change it, and if we wish we leave it.” Vol. 6, p. 18.
And Allah knows best the realities of matters.
Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi
Muharram al-Haram 1444 AH