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The personal life of Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has suddenly become the centre of attention. The celebrated musician who rarely speaks about anything outside music is reportedly parting ways with his wife Saira Banu after 29 years of marriage. The news surfaced after Saira’s lawyer revealed the reason for their separation leaving fans stunned and curious about Rahman’s life beyond the stage. As discussions around the divorce continue an old chapter of Rahman’s life his conversion to Islam and how he came to be known as A.R. Rahman has once again become a talking point. His transformation from Dilip Kumar a quiet child from Tamil Nadu to an internationally acclaimed composer with a deeply spiritual identity is a story layered with family faith and circumstance. Why did AR Rahman convert to Islam? AR Rahman was born in a Hindu family in Tamil Nadu. His childhood name was Dilip Kumar and like his father who composed music for Malayalam films he dreamed of building a life in music. But Rahman’s early years were marked by emotional and personal turbulence. In a 2000 conversation with Karan Thapar on a BBC talk show Rahman opened up about the turning point. He said his father who was battling cancer was being treated by a Sufi healer. “Seven or eight years later when we met that Sufi again my family felt a spiritual pull” Rahman had shared. It was during this phase that the family gradually embraced a different faith and Dilip Kumar became A.R. Rahman in 1980. What role did his upbringing play? Rahman has repeatedly said that his conversion did not distance him from other faiths. In his biography The Spirit of Music he described his childhood home as a space where images of gods saints and holy places from multiple religions lived together on the walls. “My mother was a Hindu. She was inclined towards spirituality” he wrote. Their home included Hindu deities a picture of Mother Mary and even visuals of Mecca and Medina. The young Dilip grew up observing a blend of belief systems rather than a single path. When someone asked him if shifting religions created problems in his relationships Rahman responded “It doesn’t really matter to anyone.” He added that being musicians meant they already enjoyed a certain independence in social spaces. “It gave us more social freedom” he said. How did Dilip Kumar become ‘A.R. Rahman’? The story behind his globally recognised name is as fascinating as his music. Rahman once revealed that his mother dreamed of the name Allah Rakha which eventually became the “A.R.” in A.R. Rahman. The name “Rahman” meanwhile came from his extended family. There’s another layer to the story. According to The Spirit of Music and interviews quoted in Nasreen Munni Kabir’s book Rahman never felt connected to the name “Dilip.” “My name didn’t match my image of myself” he had confessed. What happened next was almost serendipitous. Before the family embraced Islam they had taken his younger sister’s horoscope to a Hindu astrologer for marriage discussions. During that meeting Rahman asked if he should change his name. The astrologer suggested two possibilities—Abdul Rahman and Abdul Rahim. He instantly gravitated towards “Rahman.” The musician later pointed out that the person who helped him pick his new name was in fact a Hindu astrologer—another example of how his spiritual journey moved beyond boundaries and labels.