Deriving Names from Attributes and the Restrictive Nature of Names
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Question:
The questioner: Are names derived from the attributes, Your Eminence the Shaykh?
Answer:
The Shaykh: No, names are not derived from the attributes. Rather, the names must be based on revelation (taqifi). So one does not say "the Deceiver" for the one whom Allah deceives, nor "the Trickster" for the one who tricks Allah and them, nor "the Schemer" for the one who schemes and plots. Names are not derived from actions, but actions are derived from names. From the names, actions are derived. You say: "Indeed, Allah has mercy on His servants," "Indeed, Allah is the Most Merciful, He loves the merciful," "The Mighty, He honors whom He wills, He humbles whom He wills, He has mercy on whom He wills," and "He is able to do such and such" from "Al-Qadir" (the All-Able). Yes.
The questioner: Are names derived from the attributes, Your Eminence the Shaykh?
Answer:
The Shaykh: No, names are not derived from the attributes. Rather, the names must be based on revelation (taqifi). So one does not say "the Deceiver" for the one whom Allah deceives, nor "the Trickster" for the one who tricks Allah and them, nor "the Schemer" for the one who schemes and plots. Names are not derived from actions, but actions are derived from names. From the names, actions are derived. You say: "Indeed, Allah has mercy on His servants," "Indeed, Allah is the Most Merciful, He loves the merciful," "The Mighty, He honors whom He wills, He humbles whom He wills, He has mercy on whom He wills," and "He is able to do such and such" from "Al-Qadir" (the All-Able). Yes.
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم [ برنامج إذاعي ]، بداية من باب الرخصة في اللباس الجميل واستحباب التواضع قيه — islamhouse.com (9:43)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.