The Ruling on Naming Someone 'Abd al-Rahman

Question:
It has been observed that some names, such as 'Abd al-Latif, 'Abd al-Karim, 'Abd al-Rahman, and others, do not they use the definite article "al" with "abd" (servant), making Allah's names al-Latif (the Subtle), al-Karim (the Generous), and al-Rahman (the Most Merciful) attributes of the servant? And Allah is exalted above being attributed with the characteristics of His servants, or being shared with in His names by a servant? This is a type of shirk (associating partners with Allah). We ask that you point this out?

Answer:
Naming should be done without the "al," as in 'Abd al-Rahman, 'Abd al-Latif, 'Abd al-Majid, 'Abd al-Qadir, 'Abd al-Sami'. This is the naming. As for "al-'Abd al-Latif," this may have been intended to mean his subtlety, that he is subtle, or that he is generous, or that he is bountiful. There is no harm in this, such as "al-'Abd al-Jawad" (the bountiful servant) or "al-'Abd al-Karim" (the generous servant) if that is what is intended.
However, this may occur in the speech of non-Arabs. In some non-Arab languages, they may speak this way without considering the meaning, just as some of them say "al-Makkah" or similar due to their non-Arabic speech, while their intention is 'Abd al-Rahman, 'Abd al-Latif, or 'Abd al-Qadir. Their intention is not that al-Rahman is an attribute of him.
So if the intention is as expressed by the "lam" (definite article), there is no harm. The "al" here occurred due to non-Arabic speech, due to a lack of Arabic, a lack of insight and consideration of the meaning. Their intended meaning is that he is 'Abd al-Rahman, that he is a servant of Allah, and that he is 'Abd al-Latif. If the intention is description, one says: "This so-and-so is subtle," meaning in his morals and words. This is something else; describing him as subtle, or as generous, or as merciful, or as compassionate, there is no harm in this. This is not blameworthy.