Chapter 50:
The saying of Allah (the Most High):
فَلَمَّآ ءَاتَىٰهُمَا صَـٰلِحًۭا جَعَلَا لَهُۥ شُرَكَآءَ فِيمَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمَا ۚ فَتَعَـٰلَى ٱللَّهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ١٩٠
“But when He gives them a good child, they ascribe partners to Him concerning that which He has given them. Exalted is Allāh above what they associate with Him.” (Al-A’rāf: 190)
The Text of the Chapter
Shaikhul-Islam Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhāb said:
Ibn Hazm (rahimahullah) said: The scholars are agreed upon the forbiddance of every name that insinuates being a slave of other than Allah, such as ‘Abdu ‘Amr (the slave of ‘Amr) or ‘Abdul Ka’bah (the slave of the Ka’bah) and whatever resembles that, except for the name ‘Abdul Muttalib (who was the grandfather of the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam)). (Ibn Hazm from his Marātib al-Ijmā’ p154).
Ibn ‘Abbās (radiyallahu ‘anhumā) said regarding this ayah: “When Adam (ʿalaihis-salām) had relations with his wife Hawa, she became pregnant. Iblees came to them and said, ‘I am the one who caused you to be expelled from Jannah, so obey me, or else I will cause your child to grow two horns, like the horns of a deer, then he will come out of your belly and tear it apart. I will do it, for sure I will do it.’ So, he frightened them, and then he said, ‘Name the child ʿAbdul Hārith (the slave of al-Hārith).’ However, they refused to obey him, and the baby was stillborn. Then Hawa became pregnant again, and he came to them and spoke to them, and they were overcome with love for the baby, so they named him ʿAbdul Hārith. For this reason, Allah the Most High, said:
جَعَلَا لَهُ شُرَكَاءَ فِيمَا آتَاهُمَا
“They ascribed partners to Him in that which He had given them.” (Surah al-‘Arāf 7:190 — The narration was reported by Sa’eed ibn Mansoor, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Hātim from Ibn ʿAbbās; see Ibn Jarir in his Tafseer 13/310, and Durr al-Manthoor 3/624.
There also occurs from Ibn Abi Hātim with an authentic chain of narration from Qatādah, who said: “The parents made partners in His obedience and not in His worship.” (Reported by Ibn Jarir at-Tabari in his Tafseer 13/312).
From him also, with an authentic chain of narration from Mujāhid regarding the saying of Allah:
لَئِنْ آتَيْتَنَا صَالِحًا
“If you give us a righteous child…” Mujāhid said: “The parents feared that the child may not be human.”
A similar meaning was also reported from al-Hasan, Sa’eed and others.
Explanation
Ibn Hazm (rahimahullah) stated that the scholars agree on the prohibition of every name that insinuates being a slave to anyone other than Allah, such as ʿAbdu ʿAmr and ʿAbdul Kaʿbah. Ibn Hazm was a great scholar of his era in Spain. He was Abu Muhammad ʿAli bin Ahmad bin Sa’eed Ibn Hazm al-Qurtubi adh-Dhāhiri — d. 456H at the age of 72.
His title adh-Dhāhiri refers to Dawūd bin ʿAli adh-Dhāhirī, who came two centuries earlier, in the time of Imām Ahmad bin Hanbal. This laqab (title) refers to those who take the texts of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah upon their literal meaning. It is said regarding them that they do not accept al-qiyās, so they are Dhāhirī with regard to their Fiqh.
This should not be confused with the Madhab of the Salaf regarding Allah’s Names and Attributes, because these are taken upon their apparent meanings. However, the scholars have reported that Ibn Hazm erred regarding the Names and Attributes of Allah.
So, Ibn Hazm cited the agreement of the scholars in forbidding the ascription ʿabd (slave) to other than Allah, because that is shirk in Ruboobiyyah (Allah’s Lordship) and Uloohiyyah (Allah’s worship), because all the creation belongs to Allah, and they are His slaves and He created them for His worship and commanded them to single Him out with Tawheed. Therefore, it is not permitted for any of the creation to name his child as ‘the slave’ of anyone other than the Creator. Whoever does this has committed shirk with Allah.
There are many cases of people naming their children Ghulām Rasool or ʿAbdur Rasool (slave of the Messenger). It is also known that the Rāfidhah Shiʿah name their children as slaves of other than Allah, such as ʿAbduz-Zahrah, ʿAbdul-Kādhim, ʿAbdul Hussein and ʿAbdu ʿAlī, and all of this is shirk. As for the exception made for the name ʿAbdul-Muttalib, then worship is not intended by this name, and this is agreed upon, which is why this name is the exception; there is Ijmāʿ of the Muslims regarding this.
There is no doubt that using the title ‘slave’ is only as a slave of Allah, the Lord of all creation. At the Battle of Hunayn, the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, ‘I am the Prophet, and that is no lie; I am the son of ‘Abdul Muttalib.’ (Al-Bukhāri 2764, and Muslim 1776, from Barā ibn ʿAzib, Allah be pleased with him).
Likewise, it is narrated from Anas bin Mālik (Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
“We were sitting with the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) in the masjid when a man rode in on a camel into the Masjid. He made the camel kneel and tied its foreleg and said, ‘Which one of you is Muhammad?’ At that time, the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) was sitting with us, leaning back and reclining on his arm, and we replied, ‘It is that white-complexioned man reclining on his arm.’ The man addressed him, saying, ‘O son of ‘Abdul Muttalib.’ So the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied: ‘I am here to answer your questions.’ So, the man said, ‘I will ask you something, and I will be hard in questioning you, so do not become angry.’ The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, ‘Ask whatever you want.’ The man said, ‘I ask you by your Lord and the Lord of those who came before you, has Allah really sent you as a prophet to all of mankind?’ The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: ‘Yes,’ The man continued asking more questions until he said, ‘I have believed in all of that, and I am so and so, from the tribe of so and so.’” (Bukhārī, no. 63)
The proof in this Hadeeth is the affirmation from the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) himself that he was the son of ʿAbdul Muttalib. Therefore, the scholars say that the name ʿAbdul Muttalib is an exception, as the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) acknowledged it and said it himself at the Battle of Hunayn. Regarding the narration of ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbās (Allah be pleased with him) mentioned above, it is doubtful whether this narration can be authentically attributed to that which occurred with Adam and his wife (‘alaihimas-salām). However, ascribing it to his children is not a far-off possibility (i.e., it is more likely that it occurred with their children).
As for shirk emanating from Adam and his wife (may the peace of Allah be upon them), whilst they knew the plots of their enemy, the Shaytān, then it is doubtful that this should be ascribed to them. As for Shaytān saying, ‘Either you obey me, or else I will surely give him the horns of a deer, and he will tear your womb apart,’ — to believe that would entail believing that Shaytān was able to change what was in her womb from a human to an animal, and whoever believes that has committed major shirk. However, obeying him in renaming the child is not major shirk, it is a type of minor shirk. Due to this, Qatādah said, ‘They made partners with Allah in obedience (of Shaytān) but not by worshipping him.’
This may have occurred through a dream they considered true, but it was false. O Allah! We free ourselves from accusing Adam (‘alaihis-salām) with this, but as for his offspring, then that would not be too far-fetched.
Abu Wahb al-Jushami (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Name yourselves with the names of the Prophets. The names most beloved to Allah are ‘Abdullah and ‘Abdur-Rahman. The most truthful names are Hārith and Hammām. The ugliest names are Harb and Murrah.” (Sunan Abi Dawud 4950; Al-Adab al-Mufrad 814)
Harith (حارث) means “one who works, earns, or cultivates.”
Hammam (همام) means “one who has determination and intention.”
Shaikh Ibn Bāz said about the Dhāhiriyyah:
“The Dhāhirī methodology is well known. It is the path followed by Dāwūd ibn ʿAlī adh-Dhāhirī, Abū Muḥammad Ibn Ḥazm, and those who hold to their view. Its meaning is to adhere to the apparent wording of the texts without considering the underlying reasons (taʿlīl) or analogy (qiyās). Thus, they do not accept qiyās nor the underlying reason behind the Revealed Texts. Rather, they act upon the apparent meanings of the commands and prohibitions, without looking to the underlying causes and meanings. For this reason, they were called Dhāhiriyyah—because they adhered to the outward wording and did not consider the underlying causes, wisdoms, and legal analogies indicated by the Book and the Sunnah.
Nevertheless, their position, in general, is better than that of the People of Opinion (Ahlur-Ra’ī), who give precedence to personal reasoning and analogical deductions while neglecting the due concern for the legislative proofs from the Book and the Sunnah.
However, the Dhāhiriyyah are not without shortcomings and criticisms due to their rigid adherence to the apparent wording and their failure to give due consideration to the underlying causes, wisdoms, and subtle objectives to which the Lawgiver directed attention and what He intended. Because of this, they erred in many issues concerning which the Book and the Sunnah have provided clear guidance.” (See Majmūʿ Fatāwā wa Maqālāt Mutanawwiʿah of Shaykh Ibn Bāz, vol. 6, p. 277)
From Al-ʿAllāmah Shaikh Ahmad Ibn Yahyā An-Najmi’s (rahimahullāh) explanation with added notes by Abu Khadeejah.
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
الحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم
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