Naming with the Name of Allah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 19047 )
All praise is due to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the honorable judge of the Khafji Court in his letter No. (1244) dated 19/7/1417 AH, which was referred to the Committee by
the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with No. (4084) dated 22/7/1417 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: We received a letter from the Chief of Police in Khafji, No. (21\12\4298\ 5 Kh. Sh), dated 30/5/1417 AH, regarding what was received from His Excellency the Governor of Khafji in his capacity as acting governor, No. (2316) dated 25/5/1417 AH, based on the letter of the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Prohibiting Vice in Khafji in its capacity as acting authority, No. (191\T\S) dated 19/5/1417 AH, which included what was observed regarding the name of the worker known as: Basim Allah Muhammad Bashir , of Indian nationality, who works under the sponsorship of the one known as Naif Jathali al-Shamri. The Chief of Police requested in the aforementioned letter that consideration be given to changing the name of the person mentioned. I hope you will inform His Eminence and advise me on the validity of this name from the perspective of Islamic law.
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it responded as follows: It is not permissible to be named "Basim Allah" (In the Name of Allah); because it is a form of dhikr (remembrance) and du'a (supplication); therefore, it must not be used for anything other than what it was revealed for. The same applies if another person is named "Subhan Allah" (Glory be to Allah) or "Alhamdulillah" (Praise be to Allah), and so on. Accordingly, it is obligatory for anyone who has taken such a name to change it to names that are free from religious prohibitions.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
All praise is due to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the honorable judge of the Khafji Court in his letter No. (1244) dated 19/7/1417 AH, which was referred to the Committee by
the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with No. (4084) dated 22/7/1417 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: We received a letter from the Chief of Police in Khafji, No. (21\12\4298\ 5 Kh. Sh), dated 30/5/1417 AH, regarding what was received from His Excellency the Governor of Khafji in his capacity as acting governor, No. (2316) dated 25/5/1417 AH, based on the letter of the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Prohibiting Vice in Khafji in its capacity as acting authority, No. (191\T\S) dated 19/5/1417 AH, which included what was observed regarding the name of the worker known as: Basim Allah Muhammad Bashir , of Indian nationality, who works under the sponsorship of the one known as Naif Jathali al-Shamri. The Chief of Police requested in the aforementioned letter that consideration be given to changing the name of the person mentioned. I hope you will inform His Eminence and advise me on the validity of this name from the perspective of Islamic law.
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it responded as follows: It is not permissible to be named "Basim Allah" (In the Name of Allah); because it is a form of dhikr (remembrance) and du'a (supplication); therefore, it must not be used for anything other than what it was revealed for. The same applies if another person is named "Subhan Allah" (Glory be to Allah) or "Alhamdulillah" (Praise be to Allah), and so on. Accordingly, it is obligatory for anyone who has taken such a name to change it to names that are free from religious prohibitions.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.