Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The scholars have differed regarding whether “Al-Muʿizz” is one of the Beautiful Names of Allah. Their views can be summarized into two positions:
A number of scholars considered “Al-Muʿizz” one of the Beautiful Names of Allah and included it in their lists of His Names. Among them were al-Khattabi, al-Halimi, al-Bayhaqi, Ibn al-ʿArabi, al-Qurtubi, Ibn al-Qayyim, and others.
They based this on the saying of Allah تعالى:
“Say: O Allah, Owner of sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will, and You take sovereignty away from whom You will; You honor whom You will and You humiliate whom You will. In Your hand is all good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.” [Āl ʿImrān 3:26]
They said that the name “Al-Muʿizz” is derived from Allah’s action mentioned in the verse: “You honor whom You will.”
The name “Al-Muʿizz” also appears in some narrations that list the Beautiful Names of Allah in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him: “Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred minus one; whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise.” The basic hadith is authentic and was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
However, the narrations that list the ninety-nine names individually—including the narration containing “Al-Muʿizz, Al-Mudhill”—have been discussed by hadith scholars regarding their chains of transmission. Some considered them weak. Therefore, they cannot be relied upon alone to establish the Name.
Another group of scholars held that “Al-Muʿizz” is not an established Name of Allah. Rather, what is established is that Allah سبحانه وتعالى honors whom He wills and humiliates whom He wills.
According to this view, the occurrence of an action in the Qur’an does not necessarily mean that a Name should be derived from it and affirmed for Allah. The Names of Allah are established by revelation, so only those supported by evidence should be affirmed.
For this reason, some scholars did not include “Al-Muʿizz” among the Beautiful Names of Allah in their lists, including Ibn Mandah, Ibn Hazm, Qawam as-Sunnah al-Asfahani, Ibn Hajar, al-Saʿdi, Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymin, and others.
Based on the above, there does not appear to be a problem with naming someone “ʿAbd al-Muʿizz”, especially since this name has been known throughout Muslim history and was used by a number of hadith narrators, scholars, and others.
The name “ʿAbd al-Muʿizz” has also been used historically and appears among the names of several scholars and narrators, which indicates that scholars did not see an obvious prohibition in using it.
Nevertheless, whoever wishes to avoid the scholarly disagreement may choose a name connected to one of Allah’s Names whose establishment as one of His Beautiful Names is clearly established, such as ʿAbdullah, ʿAbd al-Rahman, ʿAbd al-ʿAziz, and ʿAbd al-Karim.
The scholars differed regarding whether “Al-Muʿizz” is established as one of Allah’s Beautiful Names. Some affirmed it, while others regarded it as one of Allah’s actions and attributes without considering it an independent Name.
As for naming someone “ʿAbd al-Muʿizz,” there appears to be no objection to it, especially given the historical prevalence of this name and its use among scholars. The intended meaning is servitude to Allah.
Nevertheless, the safer and preferable choice is to select names connected to Allah’s Names whose establishment is undisputed.
And Allah knows best.