Naming with al-Fadil
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Fatwa No. ( 3862 )
Praise be to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon His Messenger, his family, and his Companions. After that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
the question submitted by His Excellency the Saudi Minister of Education to His Eminence the Grand President, and referred to the Committee under number 818 on 3/5/1401 AH. The text of the question is: “We are forwarding to Your Eminence the inquiry from the Ministry’s Examination Department, number 2121, dated 7/4/1401 AH, along with a table of Allah’s beautiful names, regarding the inquiry about the name (al-Fadil): is it one of Allah’s beautiful names? And what should be done with those named ‘Abd al-Fadil; should the name be changed or left as it is? Since the inquiry has begun to repeat from many departments regarding the beautiful names, due to the presence of a number of contract employees who bear names that the Shari’ah does not approve, such as ‘Abd al-Nabi, ‘Abd al-Imam, ‘Abd al-Zahra, and other such names. We hope you will provide us with a statement specifying the names to which the prefix (‘Abd) is permissible to add, and by which one may be named, especially since many books indicate that Allah’s names are not limited to the ninety-nine names, and that the narrations differ even in counting these ninety-nine names, and some scholars lean toward the view that Allah’s names are beyond counting, citing the hadith:Mishkat al-Masabih 2452 ... the hadith.
and responded as follows: First: Allah the Exalted said:[Al-A'raf 7:180] .
Thus, He informed about Himself that He is distinguished by the beautiful names that encompass the perfection of His attributes, and His greatness and majesty, and He commanded His servants to call upon Him by them, naming Him by what He named Himself, and to call upon Him by them with humility and secrecy in times of ease and hardship, and He forbade them from deviating in them; by denying them, or denying their meanings, or by naming Him with what He did not name Himself, or by naming another with them, and He threatened those who contradict this with evil punishment. Allah named Himself with names in the clear text of His Book, and in what He revealed to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) of the established Sunnah, and among them is not the name al-Fadil, and no one has the right to name Him with it; because His names are based on revelation, for He, Exalted is He, is most knowledgeable of what befits His majesty, and others are deficient in that. So whoever names Him with other than what He named Himself, or what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named Him with, has deviated in His names and strayed from the straight path. And no one among His creation has the right to make a servant of another among His servants, so it is not permissible to name someone ‘Abd al-Fadil, or ‘Abd al-Nabi, or ‘Abd al-Rasul, or ‘Abd ‘Ali, or ‘Abd al-Husayn, or ‘Abd al-Zahra, or Ghulam Ahmad, or Ghulam Mustafa, or similar names that involve making a created being a servant to a created being; because of the excess in the righteous and the prominent, and the encroachment on the right of Allah, and because it is
a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah) and tyranny. Ibn Hazm reported the consensus of the scholars on the prohibition of making a servant of other than Allah, and on this basis, it is obligatory to change the names mentioned in the question and those similar to them. Second: It is established from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said:Sunan Ibn Majah 3860Hasan (Darussalam) , narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim . This hadith was also narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah and Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi and others, and they added the specification of the ninety-nine names, with differences in their specification, and the scholars have discussions on this: A- One of them is that the intended meaning of counting them is: knowing them, understanding their meanings, believing in them, acting according to their implications, and submitting to what they indicate, and the intended meaning is not merely memorizing their words and listing them by count. B- One of them is that what is relied upon by the scholars is that the specification of the ninety-nine names is included in the hadith, extracted by some scholars from the Qur’an only, or from the Qur’an and authentic hadiths, and they placed it after the hadith; as an explanation of it, and a detailing of the summarized number in it, and acting on the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) encouragement to count them; hoping to gain entry to Paradise. C- One of them is that the intended meaning of the hadith is not to limit Allah’s names
to ninety-nine names; because its formulation is not one of the formulations of restriction, but the intended meaning is to inform about a special subset of the ninety-nine names among His names, and to explain the greatness of the reward for counting them, and this is supported by what Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said: . Thus, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that Allah, Exalted and Glorified is He, reserved the knowledge of some of His names, so He did not reveal them to anyone among His creation, so they became among the unseen matters in which it is not permissible for anyone to engage in guesswork and estimation; because His names are based on revelation, as will come if Allah wills. D- One of them is that Allah’s names are based on revelation, so He is not to be named except with what He named Himself, or what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named Him with, and it is not permissible to name Him with a name
through the method of analogy or derivation from a verb or the like, contrary to the Mu'tazilah and the Karramiyyah, so it is not permissible to name Him the Builder, the Deceiver, or the Mocking One, taking this from His saying, the Exalted:[Adh-Dhariyat 51:47], and His saying: [Ali 'Imran 3:54], and His saying: [Al-Baqarah 2:15], and it is not permissible to name Him the Planter, the Leveler, the Cleaver, the Creator, the Receiver, the Severe, or the like, taking this from His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Waqi'ah 56:64], and His saying: , and His saying: [Al-Waqi'ah 56:72], and His saying, the Exalted: [Al-An'am 6:95], and His saying: [Ghafir 40:3]; because these were not used in these texts except as attached, and in reports not in the manner of naming, not in an absolute sense, so it is not permissible to use them except in the attribute in which they came in the sacred texts. It is obligatory that one not attribute to Him in naming except a name from the names by which He named Himself explicitly in the Qur'an, or by which His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named Him in what is established from him of hadiths, such as His names in the end of Surat al-Hashr, and those mentioned at the beginning of Surat al-Hadid, and those mentioned in other surahs of the Qur'an. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
He named Himself with it explicitly in the Qur'an, or His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named Him with it in the authentic hadiths, such as His names in the end of Surat al-Hashr, those mentioned at the beginning of Surat al-Hadid, and those mentioned in other surahs of the Qur'an. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon His Messenger, his family, and his Companions. After that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
the question submitted by His Excellency the Saudi Minister of Education to His Eminence the Grand President, and referred to the Committee under number 818 on 3/5/1401 AH. The text of the question is: “We are forwarding to Your Eminence the inquiry from the Ministry’s Examination Department, number 2121, dated 7/4/1401 AH, along with a table of Allah’s beautiful names, regarding the inquiry about the name (al-Fadil): is it one of Allah’s beautiful names? And what should be done with those named ‘Abd al-Fadil; should the name be changed or left as it is? Since the inquiry has begun to repeat from many departments regarding the beautiful names, due to the presence of a number of contract employees who bear names that the Shari’ah does not approve, such as ‘Abd al-Nabi, ‘Abd al-Imam, ‘Abd al-Zahra, and other such names. We hope you will provide us with a statement specifying the names to which the prefix (‘Abd) is permissible to add, and by which one may be named, especially since many books indicate that Allah’s names are not limited to the ninety-nine names, and that the narrations differ even in counting these ninety-nine names, and some scholars lean toward the view that Allah’s names are beyond counting, citing the hadith:
I ask Thee by every name Thou hast by which Thou hast called Thyself
اللهم إني أسألك بكل اسم هو لك سميت به نفسكand responded as follows: First: Allah the Exalted said:
And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing.
وَلِلَّهِ الأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا وَذَرُوا الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي أَسْمَائِهِ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَThus, He informed about Himself that He is distinguished by the beautiful names that encompass the perfection of His attributes, and His greatness and majesty, and He commanded His servants to call upon Him by them, naming Him by what He named Himself, and to call upon Him by them with humility and secrecy in times of ease and hardship, and He forbade them from deviating in them; by denying them, or denying their meanings, or by naming Him with what He did not name Himself, or by naming another with them, and He threatened those who contradict this with evil punishment. Allah named Himself with names in the clear text of His Book, and in what He revealed to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) of the established Sunnah, and among them is not the name al-Fadil, and no one has the right to name Him with it; because His names are based on revelation, for He, Exalted is He, is most knowledgeable of what befits His majesty, and others are deficient in that. So whoever names Him with other than what He named Himself, or what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named Him with, has deviated in His names and strayed from the straight path. And no one among His creation has the right to make a servant of another among His servants, so it is not permissible to name someone ‘Abd al-Fadil, or ‘Abd al-Nabi, or ‘Abd al-Rasul, or ‘Abd ‘Ali, or ‘Abd al-Husayn, or ‘Abd al-Zahra, or Ghulam Ahmad, or Ghulam Mustafa, or similar names that involve making a created being a servant to a created being; because of the excess in the righteous and the prominent, and the encroachment on the right of Allah, and because it is
a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah) and tyranny. Ibn Hazm reported the consensus of the scholars on the prohibition of making a servant of other than Allah, and on this basis, it is obligatory to change the names mentioned in the question and those similar to them. Second: It is established from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said:
Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred less one. Whoever counts them will enter Paradise.
إن لله تسعة وتسعين اسمًا، مائة إلا واحدًا، من أحصاها دخل الجنةto ninety-nine names; because its formulation is not one of the formulations of restriction, but the intended meaning is to inform about a special subset of the ninety-nine names among His names, and to explain the greatness of the reward for counting them, and this is supported by what Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said:
No one has ever been afflicted with worry or sadness and then said: “O Allah, I am Your servant, the son of Your servant, the son of Your maidservant, my forelock is in Your hand, Your decree over me is executed, Your judgment over me is just. I ask You by every name that is Yours, by which You named Yourself, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to one of Your creation, or reserved in Your knowledge of the unseen: that You make the great Qur’an the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the dispeller of my sadness, and the remover of my worry.” But Allah will remove his sadness and worry and replace it with joy. It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, should we not learn it?” He said: “Yes, it is recommended for everyone who hears it to learn it.”
ما أصاب أحدًا قط هَمّ ولا حَزَن فقال: اللهم إني عبدك ابن عبدك ابن أمتك ناصيتي بيدك، ماضٍ فيّ حكمك، عدل فيّ قضاؤك، أسألك بكل اسم هو لك، سميت به نفسك، أو أنزلته في كتابك، أو علمته أحدًا من خلقك، أو استأثرت به في علم الغيب عندك: أن تجعل القرآن العظيم ربيع قلبي، ونور صدري، وجلاء حزني، وذهاب همي. إلا أذهب الله حزنه وهمه وأبدله مكانه فرحًا، فقيل: يا رسول الله أفلا نتعلمها؟ فقال: بلى، ينبغي لكل من سمعها أن يتعلمهاthrough the method of analogy or derivation from a verb or the like, contrary to the Mu'tazilah and the Karramiyyah, so it is not permissible to name Him the Builder, the Deceiver, or the Mocking One, taking this from His saying, the Exalted:
And the heaven We constructed with strength
وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍAnd the disbelievers planned, but Allah planned
وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ[But] Allah mocks them
اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْIs it you who makes it grow, or are We the grower?
أَأَنْتُمْ تَزْرَعُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الزَّارِعُونَSo excellent are We as spreaders.
فَنِعْمَ الْمَاهِدُونَIs it you who produced its tree, or are We the producer?
أَأَنْتُمْ أَنْشَأْتُمْ شَجَرَتَهَا أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنْشِئُونَthe cleaver of grain and date seeds
فَالِقُ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَىacceptor of repentance, severe in punishment
وَقَابِلِ التَّوْبِ شَدِيدِ الْعِقَابِHe named Himself with it explicitly in the Qur'an, or His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named Him with it in the authentic hadiths, such as His names in the end of Surat al-Hashr, those mentioned at the beginning of Surat al-Hadid, and those mentioned in other surahs of the Qur'an. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.