Can I Name My Son Malik?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

I want to give my son the name Malik. This is a name of the 99 names of Allah. 

So I need to know if I am allowed to call my son Malik or is this name only allowed with an addition like Abdul-Malik? 

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah.

This is a permissible name, as it can be used in a relative sense for human beings.

It was used during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), and great scholars of Islam–such as Imam Malik Ibn Anas (Allah have mercy upon him), founder of the Maliki school of Islamic Law–had this name.

Naming Children

May Allah bless you and your family.

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation. 

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani 

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus and Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), and his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.