Ruling on calling a child Rahmah, Aayah, Furqaan, Himmah, Bayaan, Taqiy or Mu’ayyad-Billaah
Question

What is the ruling on giving these names – on the basis of optimism because of their good meanings? –: Rahmah, Aayah, Furqaan, Himmah, Bayaan, Taqiy or Mu’ayyad-Billaah?
Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
With regard to the name Rahmah (meaning mercy), it is a good and blessed name, and we hope that the one who is given this name will be a mercy to his parents, family and ummah, and thus attaining the mercy of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. Hence some of the scholars are of the view that it is good to give a child this name, as it says in Tasmiyat al-Mawlood by al-‘Allaamah Bakr Abu Zayd (may Allah have mercy on), p. 31
Secondly:
With regard to the name Aayah (meaning a sign), there is also nothing wrong with it. Undoubtedly all creatures created by Allah are among His signs which point to His greatness and might, may He be glorified and exalted.
Thirdly:
With regard to the name Furqaan (meaning criterion), it is makrooh (disliked) because it is the name of one of the soorahs of the Quran, and the scholars regarded it as makrooh to name a child with one of the names of the Quran or its soorahs.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: One of the things that is not allowed is to name a child with one of the names of the Quran or its soorahs, such as Ta-Ha, Yaa-Seen, and Haa-Meem. End quote.
Tuhfat al-Mawdood, p. 127
Fourthly:
It is permissible to give a child the name Himmah (meaning aspiration), and there is nothing wrong with it; the meaning is acceptable and gives one strength and the desire to achieve sublime aims.
Fifthly:
With regard to the name Bayaan (meaning clarity), the fatwas of contemporary scholars differed concerning it, and there are two opinions:
1. That it is makrooh
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to Bayaan, I do not think that this should be given as a name. The same applies to the name Eemaan (meaning faith), because it has an element of self-praise. The same applies to the name Abraar (meaning righteous). End quote.
Liqaa’aat al-Baab al-Maftooh, no. 16/question no. 26
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
“Bayaan” – we say that this should not be used as a name, because Bayaan is one of the names of the Quran. End quote.
Liqaa’aat al-Baab al-Maftooh, no. 67, question no. 8
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked the following question:
One of our brothers was blessed with a baby girl whose name is Bayaan. What is the ruling on that? Please note that the baby is now one year old, and the name is recorded officially.
He replied:
I think that this name should be changed, because some of the shaykhs have said that it is not permissible, as it is a name or a description of the Quran. It is better to change it, even after the passage of one year or more. And Allah knows best.
End quote from the Shaykh’s webpage
2. The second view is that it is permissible.
Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There are many questions nowadays about the ruling on giving a baby the name Bayaan. Some of the scholars disallowed it, because it is one of the names of the Holy Qur’aan, and it is not allowed to give to humans the names of the Word of Allah that was revealed to His slave, Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
To those who have asked me, I have given a fatwa stating that it is permissible to give a baby the name Bayaan, which is one of the names that may be given to both males and females, like the names Asma’, Khaarijah and so on. That is because this word, bayaan, is not one of the names of the Holy Quran; rather it is one of its great descriptions, like the word Huda (meaning guidance).
It is worth noting here that Shaykh Saalih ibn Ibraaheem al-Bulayhi (d. 1410 AH – may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a book of two volumes which he called al-Huda wa’l-Bayaan fi Asma’ al-Quran (lit. Guidance and Clarity regarding the names of the Quran). If they were names of the Quran, he would not have used them in the title of his book; rather they are attributes, not names.
The ruling that it is permissible is not affected by the fact that the first one who spoke of the divine decree in Basra was called Bayaan ibn Sam‘aan. How many narrators had the name Bayaan, and we have not heard of any scholars avoiding their reports because of their name.
See also at-Taqreeb by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him), in which there is mention of someone called Bayaan. And Allah knows best. End quote.
Mu‘jam al-Manaahi al-Lafziyyah, p. 627
Perhaps the view that it is permissible is more likely to be correct, because that is the basic principle (i.e., that things are permissible), unless there is evidence to prove that they are not allowed. Among the names on which there is consensus that they are good and permissible there are sufficient names, so there is no need to get involved with a matter concerning which the scholars differed as to whether it is permissible or not, so long as there is no need for that.
Sixthly:
With regard to the names Taqiy (meaning pious) or al-Mu’ayyad Billah (meaning supported by Allah), it is makrooh to use these names, because they imply self-praise. We have previously discussed the fact that it is makrooh to use names that suggest exaggerated praise of their owners. See the answer to question no. 101401
See also the answer to questions no. 1692 and 7180
And Allah knows best.