Name Malik commonly used for boys not girls

Question

Assalaamualaikum. Is Malik a boys' and girls' name?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The name Malik is linguistically masculine; it is exclusively used for boys and not for girls. The feminine version of the name is Malikah. This is the common usage of the name since ancient times; it is a male name given exclusively to boys.

Shaykh Ibn &699;Uthaymeen  was asked, "Some names are common to both males and females; is it permissible to give our children such common names like Walaa’ and Razaan?"

He replied, "What is this name 'Razaan'? It is known that it is used for women. Walaa’ also is used for women, and we have not heard that it is used for men. Accordingly, it is impermissible for a man to bear the name Walaa’. As for the names common to both men and women, there is no harm in bearing them because their gender is identified by the words bin (son of) or binti or bte (daughter of) after them."

The Shaykh  explained that the rationale for the impermissibility of naming males with these two names (Razaan and Walaa’) is that they are commonly used for females. The same goes for the name Malik, which is commonly used for males, so it it should not be used for females.

Allah knows best. -islamweb.net