Attributing one’s lineage to a revered figure

Question

Question: Just as members of the weavers’ biradari (a kinship or caste community) call themselves “Shaykh Ansari” and the butchers’ community calls itself “Shaykh Qurayshi”, may we, the blacksmiths’ community, likewise call ourselves “Shaykh Dawudi” or not? May we name our association “Dawudiyya Anjuman” (Association of Dawud) or not? We have heard that Hazrat Dawud ﵇ practised the trade of iron. What is the ruling of the Shari‘a?

Answer

To call oneself the descendant of some revered figure without verification, or to change one’s lineage, is not right. As long as there is no verification, do not adopt any word for yourselves in the sense of lineage. A blacksmith is called haddad (حداد)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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