‘Hindu astrologer gave me my Muslim name’, when AR Rahman revealed how he changed his real name Dileep Kumar

‘Hindu astrologer gave me my Muslim name’, when AR Rahman revealed how he changed his real name Dileep Kumar

• A R Rahman celebrates his birthday, reflecting on faith and identity.
• A Hindu astrologer suggested Rahman's Muslim name during a personal phase.
• He chose Sufism, influenced by family and spiritual openness.

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As A R Rahman turns a year older today (January 6), his life story once again invites reflection not just on music, but on faith, identity, and the quiet choices that shape a human being behind global fame.

Years ago, AR Rahman spoke with rare openness about his spiritual journey and the moment he chose the name the world now reveres. In Naseer Munni Kabir’s book AR Rahman: The Spirit of Music (2015), the composer revealed that his Muslim name was, in fact, suggested by a Hindu astrologer during a deeply personal phase of his life.

Born as A S Dileep Kumar in then Madras (Chennai), Rahman grew up in a home where faith was never rigid or singular. His father’s untimely death marked a turning point, pushing the family inward toward spirituality. Rahman recalled how his mother, a practising Hindu, shaped that environment with quiet openness.

“My mother was a practising Hindu. She had always been spiritually inclined. We had Hindu religious images on the walls of the Habibullah Road house where we grew up. There was also an image of Mother Mary holding Jesus in her arms and a photograph of the sacred sites of Mecca and Medina,” he shared.

This coexistence of belief systems wasn’t curated or performative. It was simply how the family lived. Rahman was clear that his eventual move toward Sufism was never forced or driven by external pressure.

“Nobody is forced to convert to the path of Sufism. You only follow if it comes from your heart,” he said.

After meeting Qadri Saaheb, a Sufi saint who profoundly influenced the family, Rahman described how life itself began nudging them toward clarity. A year later, in 1987, the family moved homes. That transition sparked a deeper inner reckoning.

Also Read: When AR Rahman spoke about converting to Sufism, changing his original name Dileep Kumar: “My problem is killing or harming others in the name of religion...”

“When we moved, I was reminded of what Jesus Christ, peace be upon Him, once said: ‘I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth,’” Rahman recalled.

Those words stayed with him. “These words taught me that it is better to choose one path. The Sufi path spiritually lifted both my mother and me, and we felt it was the best path for us, so we embraced Sufi Islam.”

Perhaps the most unexpected detail of this journey was how his new name came to him. Around the same time Rahman was seeking a new identity, his family visited a Hindu astrologer for a completely different reason.

“We went to an astrologer to show him my younger sister’s horoscope because my mother wanted to get her married. This was around the same time when I was keen to change my name and have a new identity,” he said.

The astrologer suggested two names. “He suggested the names ‘Abdul Rahman’ and ‘Abdul Rahim’ and said that either name would be good for me. I instantly loved the name ‘Rahman’.”

Rahman paused before adding a line that continues to resonate years later. “It was a Hindu astrologer who gave me my Muslim name.”

What this really shows is how Rahman’s life defies narrow labels. Faith, for him, was never about boundaries but about alignment. As he once put it, “No one around us cared about the conversion. We were musicians, and that allowed us greater social freedom.”

Today, as he celebrates his birthday, this throwback reminds us that Rahman’s greatest compositions may not only be melodies, but the harmony he found between belief, choice, and compassion.