I read in some books that naming someone 'Abd al-Harith is a form of shirk (associating partners with Allah). What is your opinion on this, O honorable Shaykh, and how is it considered shirk?

The questioner : I read in some books that naming someone 'Abd al-Harith is a form of shirk (associating partners with Allah). What is your opinion on this, O honorable Shaykh, and how is it considered shirk?

The Shaykh : Naming someone 'Abd al-Harith falls under the category of attributing servitude to a created being, because al-Harith is one of the attributes of created beings. Allah the Exalted said: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
And making someone a slave to other than Allah the Exalted is shirk (associating partners with Allah), because servitude belongs to Allah alone. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to name his child a slave to other than Allah. Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "They agreed on the prohibition of every name that makes one a slave to other than Allah, except 'Abd al-Muttalib", meaning that they differed on this. The correct view is that it is not permissible to make anyone a slave, not even 'Abd al-Muttalib. As for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , this is a matter of reporting information, not of establishing a name. Therefore, if it were the case that someone had a father who was named a slave to other than Allah, and it was not possible to change this father's name, it would be correct to say: He is so-and-so, the son of 'Abd so-and-so, or the son of 'Abd such-and-such a thing, because this is a matter of reporting information, not of establishing a name. It is well known among scholars that the category of reporting information is broader than the category of establishing names.