Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them and leave those who deviate concerning His Names. They will be recompensed for what they used to do.﴾ [Al-A‘raf: 180]
Shaykh al-Sa‘di رحمه الله explained that all of Allah’s Names are beautiful because they indicate great attributes of perfection, and that deviation concerning them means turning them away from the purpose for which they were established.
One form of such deviation is to give these Names to someone who does not deserve them in the unique sense in which Allah تعالى possesses them, or to deny their meanings, distort them, or make the attributes of Allah resemble those of His creation.
Therefore, a Muslim must treat the Names of Allah in a manner befitting His Majesty and avoid using them in a way that involves disrespect or transgression against the rights of Allah سبحانه وتعالى.
Although the Names and Attributes of Allah belong to Him سبحانه وتعالى in terms of their true reality and the meanings befitting His Majesty, Islamic revelation has also used some of these names or expressions for created beings.
This does not mean in any way that the attribute of the Creator is like the attribute of the creature, or that the reality of what is attributed to Allah is identical to the reality of what is attributed to a servant.
A name may be the same in wording, while the one described and the reality of the name differ according to whom it is attributed to.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله explained this principle and mentioned that Allah تعالى called Himself “Al-Hayy” (the Ever-Living), while He also described some of His creation as living. Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:
﴿Allah—there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 255].
And He says concerning a created being:
﴿He brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living﴾ [Al-An‘am: 95].
The fact that both are described by the word “living” does not mean that Allah’s life is like the life of a created being. Each has what is appropriate to it.
Likewise, Allah تعالى called Himself “Al-Mu’min” and “Al-Muhaymin”, while He also described some of His servants as believers. Allah تعالى says:
﴿Is one who was a believer like one who was defiantly disobedient? They are not equal.﴾ [As-Sajdah: 18].
Thus, the sharing of a name between the Creator and the creation does not mean that they share the same reality or perfection.
Based on this, there is no inherent problem with using the name “Al-Mu’min” for a created being, because it is not one of the names that Allah has made exclusively His in such a way that it can never be used for anyone else.
Allah تعالى called Himself Al-Mu’min, and He also described some of His servants as believers.
However, the difference between the two is immense. The belief of a created being is an attribute appropriate to the servant and subject to his limitations, whereas the Names and Attributes affirmed for Allah تعالى are in the manner befitting His perfection and Majesty and do not resemble the attributes of His creation.
Therefore, simply choosing “Al-Mu’min” as the name of an email account does not constitute shirk, nor does it necessarily involve disrespect toward the Name of Allah, so long as what is intended is the meaning by which the term is used for a human being, and not a claim to possess an attribute exclusive to Allah تعالى.
Using the name in this manner also does not mean that the owner of the email account has named himself with one of Allah’s Names in a manner implying that he shares in Allah’s exclusive attributes.
There is no inherent problem with continuing to use an email account bearing the name “Al-Mu’min”, because the term Al-Mu’min is used in Islamic texts for Allah تعالى and is also used for some of His servants.
Sharing a word does not mean sharing the same reality. Whatever is attributed to Allah تعالى is understood in a manner befitting His Majesty and perfection, while whatever is attributed to a created being is understood according to that creature’s nature and limitations.
Therefore, there is no obligation to change the email account merely because it bears the name “Al-Mu’min.”
And Allah knows best.