Bearing the name 'Allah Bakhsh'

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Fatwa no. 18886 All praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon the Last of the Prophets. To proceed:The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has reviewed the letter submitted to His Eminence, Grand Mufty, from the Director General of the Branch of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah and Guidance in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah no. (1/300) and dated 30/3/1417 A.H., and its attached request submitted by the heirs of the deceased Illa Bakhsh Muhammad Muhammad Wiryam. They are asking for correcting the first name (Part No. 10; Page No. 491) of their deceased kin to be (Allah Bakhsh) instead of (Ila Bakhsh). The request has been referred to the Committee from Secretariat General of the Council of Senior Scholars no. (1875) dated 6/4/1417 A.H. The person who submitted the request seeks an answer to the question raised by the body concerned with administrating the civil affairs in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah about the permissibility of changing the name in this manner.

After reviewing the question, the Committee issued the following Fatwa:There is a large number of Shar`y (Islamic legal) texts that pay great attention to the importance of selecting good names and the prohibition of choosing bad ones including these imply invalid meanings, and the necessity of changing them to better ones. Accordingly, it is impermissible to bear the name (Allah Bakhsh) for when adding the son's name, it shall read: (Muhammad Ibn [son of] Allah Bakhsh), which apparently contains an offensive suggestion and invalid meaning, and Allah (Exalted be He) says: No son (or offspring or children) did Allah beget, Allah (Glorified be He) further says: "He begets not, nor was He begotten. Therefore, we view that the name should remain as is; namely (Ila Bakhsh).May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.