All praise is due to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Yes, the act of building can be attributed to Allah, for He states in the Qur’an that He built the heaven. However, the names Al-Bānī or Al-Bannāʾ should not be derived from this act, because neither has been established as a name of His. The expression bi-aydin in the verse from Sūrat al-Dhāriyāt means “with strength”; the word here is not the plural of “hand.”
The act of building in the Qur’an
Allah speaks of His building the heaven in several verses, including:
“Have they not looked at the heaven above them—how We built it and adorned it, and how it has no gaps?” [Qāf 50:6]
And:
“We built the heaven with might, and indeed We are expanding it.” [Al-Dhāriyāt 51:47]
And:
“We built above you seven strong heavens.” [Al-Nabaʾ 78:12]
Allah also says:
“Are you more difficult to create, or the heaven? He built it.” [Al-Nāziʿāt 79:27]
And:
“By the heaven and the One who built it.” [Al-Shams 91:5]
These texts establish that the act of building is attributed to Allah, as He has stated about Himself.
Why is the name “the Builder” not derived from this act?
There is a distinction between affirming an act mentioned in a revealed text and deriving a name for Allah from that act. His statements “We built it” and “He built it” establish the act, but they are not sufficient on their own to establish Al-Bānī as one of Allah’s Most Beautiful Names.
The fatwa therefore affirms that building may be attributed to Allah, while He should not be named Al-Bānī, because this name has not been established in revelation. The same applies to the form Al-Bannāʾ mentioned in the question: it should not be adopted as a name of Allah merely because the act of building occurs in the texts.
The point is to remain within what the text establishes, while distinguishing between names and acts.
The meaning of “bi-aydin” in the verse from Sūrat al-Dhāriyāt
Allah’s statement, “We built the heaven bi-aydin,” means: “We built it with strength.” The Arabic word ayd means strength; it is not the plural of yad (“hand”) here.
Al-Amīn al-Shinqīṭī draws attention to this distinction, explaining that ayd, meaning strength, differs in its linguistic root and formation from aydī, the plural of yad.
One example he cites is Allah’s statement:
“We strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.” [Al-Baqarah 2:87]
The verb ayyadnāhu here means “We strengthened him”; taʾyīd denotes strengthening.
Accordingly, it is not correct to interpret bi-aydin in this verse as the plural of “hand,” because its linguistic meaning in this passage is strength. This clarifies the meaning of the word, while the attribution of the act of building to Allah remains established by the verse.
Building by Allah’s command and His word
The fatwa states that the heaven was built by Allah’s command and His word “Be.” It cites reports distinguishing certain things that Allah created with His Hand from the rest of creation.
Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, is reported to have said:
“Allah created four things with His Hand: the Throne, the Pen, Eden, and Adam. Then He said to the rest of creation, ‘Be,’ and it came into being.”
This was transmitted by Al-Dārimī, Al-Lālakāʾī, Al-Ājurrī, and others. The fatwa describes its chain of transmission as authentic. It is a report from Ibn ʿUmar; the quoted wording does not explicitly attribute it to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him.
The fatwa also cites a report from Maysarah Abū Ṣāliḥ, one of the Successors, mentioning that Allah created Adam with His Hand, wrote the Torah with His Hand, and planted the Garden of Eden with His Hand. It was transmitted by Al-Dārimī, and the fatwa grades its chain as sound (ḥasan). See Naqḍ al-Dārimī (p. 99).
Based on these reports, the fatwa concludes that the heaven and the earth belong to the rest of creation, which Allah brought into existence through His word “Be.”
Conclusion
The act of building is established for Allah by the Qur’an, but the names Al-Bānī or Al-Bannāʾ are not to be derived from it. The expression bi-aydin in “We built the heaven with might” means “with strength”; it is not the plural of “hand.” According to the fatwa, the heaven was built by Allah’s command and His word.
And Allah knows best.