Is it permissible to be named Abd al-Qadim?
"Al-Qadim" (The Ancient/Pre-existent) is not among the Beautiful Names of Allah because it has not been mentioned in the Qur'an or Sunnah. The Names of Allah are tawqifi (revealed and not subject to human reasoning), and Allah is only named by what He has named Himself or what His Messenger has named Him. Nevertheless, this term can be applied to Allah as a description (ikhbar), but not as a Name (tasmiyah), because the scope of description is wider than that of Names and Attributes. As for naming a servant 'Abd al-(non-established name)', it is more appropriate to restrict it to established Names. And "Al-Qadim" does not conclusively refer to Allah, so its permissibility for such naming is not apparent.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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