'Rahman' as a family name

Question

I have recently come across an article which mentions that it is not permissible to have ‘Rahman’ as a family name. This seems like an interesting topic which I do not have much knowledge about, my query regarding ‘Rahman’ as a surname (which seems very common) are as follows:

Sample child’s name: Mohd Mushfiqur Rahman

Sample father’s name: Mohd Mahbubur Rahman

1) In this example, what does the Arabic word ‘Mushfiq’ mean in context of ‘Mushfiqur Rahman’? Would it be a disliked name that praises oneself?

2) Is it must/preferred that all or part of such child’s name is changed?

Reason against keeping the name:

• Mushfiq is a derived a word from SFQ and Rahman is one of Allah's name, as both are attributes of Allah and we can't have attributes of Allah as our name (only unless we add Abd to it).
• ‘Mushfiq’, if it means kind/compassionate, may fall under disliked names: "Do not claim piety for yourselves for He knows best who is God-fearing." (An-Najm 53:32)

Reason for keeping the name:

• Alif-Laam which makes it a unique attribute of Allah (e.g. ar-Rahman) is missing from the surname (it’s in Mushfiqur instead) thus it would be permissible to have Rahman as a person’s surname.
• Since the child has his father’s first and last name they should be kept. Allah's Messenger (SAW) never changed the names of people's fathers, no matter how un-Islamic they may have been (Ref: http://www.zawaj.com/articles/naming.html).

3) Which format is grammatically correct: Mushfiqur Rahman and/or Mushfiq ar-Rahman, Abdur Rahman and/or Abd ar-Rahman?

I have seen so many variations this kind of name (e.g. Bilalur, Ataur, Mahfuzur etc.) with Rahman as a surname so it would be great to hear opinions on whether such names should be kept (except Abdur-Rahman).

Jazakallahu Khairan.

Answer 1

Rahman is special name of Allah which can not be given to people.

هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا

Do you know any other of the same name as His?

~ Surah Maryam

Mushfiqur Rahman and Mahbubur Rahman are allowed names because they are like Abdur Rahman, For example Abdur Rahman means slave of Rahman, Mahbubur Rahman means beloved by Rahman, I think Mushfiqur Rahman means shown kindness by Rahman - none of these names say the person own name is Rahman.

Answer 2

A very common misunderstanding people make, especially where you come from, is that Rahman and AL-Rahman are different things. Rahman means "merciful", Al-Rahman means "The Merciful". Anybody can be merciful, but "The Merciful" is only attributed to Allah.

Take the name Malik for instance. Imam Malik ibn Anas would have been ashamed if what you were saying is true.

The problem is if we name ourselves something that can ONLY be used for Allah, such as Malik Al-Amlak (the King of Kings), as you can see, there is only one King of Kings. i.e. Allah Ta'ala. Similary if we add Al- before the name, such as Al-Malik, this too is dangerous as this means THE King, which again, clashes with Allah's Noble attributes.

And Allah knows best.

Answer 3

Salaam, check out the link below:

https://islamqa.com/en/answers/7180/etiquette-of-naming-children