Q 3: Are the following cases considered evidence for the prohibition of
naming people after Allah's Names
a. Since it is prohibited to name any being after Allah's Proper Name, i.e. "Allah", it is also prohibited to name any being after any other Names of Allah; because we regard all the Names of Allah (Exalted be He) as equal.B. It is known in the Arabic language that if a definite noun comes after "jar wa-majrur" i.e. a preposition and prepositional phrase, (Part No. 2; Page No. 368) it indicates confining an adjective to the noun, and we notice this in the Statement of Allah (Exalted be He):
And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allâh
This Ayah (Qur'anic Verse) indicates that the prepositional phrase"the Most Beautiful Names" are exclusive to Allah and it is impermissible to name other beings after these Names. Can this be considered a valid evidence?
A:
It is prohibited to name other than Allah after Allah's Proper Names; because Allah's Proper Names cannot be shared with other beings. Similarly it is prohibited to name any being after any of Allah's Names whose meaning implies a quality that cannot be shared with other beings such as Al-Khaliq (i.e. the Creator) and Al-Bari' (i.e. The Originator). Allah's Name, Al-Kaliq means One Who creates things without having a model, and Al-Bari' means One Who originates things free from defects. These qualities are confined to Allah Alone and hence, none but He (Glorified be He) deserves these Names.As for the Names and Attributes of Allah whose meaning is shared by other than Him with variation, it is permissible to use them to refer to other than Allah such as Al-Malik (The King), Al-`Aziz (The Almighty), Al-Jabbar (The Powerful), Al-Mutakbbir (The Majestic); because Allah referred to Himself with these Names and referred to some of His Slaves with some of them such as:
The wife of Al-‘Azîz said
And:
Thus does Allâh seal up the heart of every arrogant, tyrant. (So they cannot guide themselves to the Right Path).
(in this verse "arrogant tyrant" is a translation of "Mutakbbir Jabbar") and the likes of these Ayahs (Qur'anic Verses). However, this does not imply (Part No. 2; Page No. 369) any similarity because every created being has qualities that make it distinct from other beings, and in this way we know the difference between Allah's Proper Name, i.e. "Allah", and other Names whose meanings can be shared with beings and cannot be treated like Allah's Proper Names.As for the Ayah:
And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allâh, so call on Him by them
it means:confining perfect beauty to the Names of Allah (Exalted be He), because the "Most Beautiful" is a superlative adjective. It modifies Allah's Names yet does not mean Allah Alone has these names as Allah states:
But Allâh is Rich (Free of all needs), Worthy of all praise.
This Ayah means the absolute qualities of praiseworthiness and freedom of need are exclusive to Allah Alone and does not mean that these Names are restricted to Allah, because others beside Allah can be praiseworthy and free of need.
Impermissible names...
