Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Scholars have differed regarding “An-Nur”: whether it is one of Allah’s Beautiful Names or a description among His attributes that is mentioned in an annexed form. Based on this difference, they also differed concerning the ruling on naming someone “Abd an-Nur.” The safer view is not to give this name initially, because it is among the names concerning which there is scholarly uncertainty, while the view that it is a name of Allah remains a معتبر (recognized) position held by a number of scholars.
Those who regarded “An-Nur” as one of Allah’s Beautiful Names cited the saying of Allah تعالى:
﴿Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth﴾ [An-Nur: 35].
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Allah, Glorified and Exalted, named Himself Light, made His Book light, His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, light, and His religion light; He veiled Himself from His creation with light, and made the abode of His close allies a light that shines.”
He also mentioned in An-Nuniyyah that An-Nur is one of the Names of Allah تعالى and one of His attributes.
It was also transmitted from Ibn Khuzaymah, may Allah have mercy on him, that he counted “An-Nur” among Allah’s Beautiful Names.
According to this view, naming someone “Abd an-Nur” falls under giving a name that expresses servitude to Allah through one of His Names.
A group of scholars held that “An-Nur” is not established as an independent name of Allah تعالى, because Allah’s Names are based upon revelation, and they did not find an authentic, explicit evidence establishing “An-Nur” as an independent name of Allah.
The Permanent Committee for Fatwa was asked about naming someone “Abd an-Nur,” and it answered that Allah’s Names are established only through revelation, and that it had not been established to them that “An-Nur” is among His Names. Therefore, they did not consider it correct to express servitude to Allah through this name.
Shaykh Ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“An-Nur came in an annexed form, so one should not be called Abd an-Nur, and the Name of Allah ‘An-Nur’ has not been established.”
Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Barrak likewise stated that what is reported in the Qur’an and Sunnah is “the Light of the heavens and the earth,” whereas using “An-Nur” alone as a name of Allah has not, in his view, been established by authentic evidence.
Shaykh Abd al-Aziz al-Rajihi said that An-Nur is one of Allah’s attributes, but that it appears in an annexed form in the saying of Allah تعالى:
﴿Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth﴾
and that, according to him, it has not been transmitted independently. Therefore, he does not say without qualification that “An-Nur” is one of Allah’s Names.
Based on this difference of opinion, it is preferable not to use “Abd an-Nur” as a name in the first place, in order to avoid the scholarly disagreement and because the establishment of “An-Nur” as an independent name is disputed among scholars.
This falls under the meaning of the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him:
“Leave what causes you doubt for what does not cause you doubt.”
However, if someone is already named Abd an-Nur, there does not appear to be an obligation to change his name, because the view that “An-Nur” is one of Allah’s Names has a strong and معتبر basis, and has been held by a number of scholars. Moreover, the intention of the name is to express servitude to Allah تعالى.
The important point here is to distinguish between two matters:
An attribute or action may be established for Allah تعالى through authentic textual evidence, without this necessarily meaning that an independent Name of Allah is derived from it. This is because the category of Divine Names is narrower, and Allah’s Names are based upon revealed texts.
“An-Nur” is one of the expressions concerning which scholars have differed as to whether it is an independent name among Allah’s Beautiful Names. Some scholars affirmed it as a Name, while others affirmed it as an attribute but did not establish it as an independent Name.
Accordingly, the safer course is not to name someone “Abd an-Nur” in the first place, because there is scholarly disagreement concerning the status of the Name. As for someone who has already been given this name, there does not appear to be an obligation to change it, because the view that it is one of Allah’s Names is a recognized position held by a number of scholars.
And Allah تعالى knows best.