Assigning any title other than Allah to Himself is impermissible, for Allah is the Sovereign of sovereignties, and there is no sovereignty greater or more exalted than His—Glory be to Him. Hence the disapproval reported concerning anyone who adopts such a name. It was recorded by al-Bukhari in his Sahih (vol. 7, pp. 119–120), in the Book of Manners, chapter “The Names Most Hated by Allah,” on the authority of Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The most humiliated name on the Day of Resurrection before Allah is a man who calls himself malik al-amālik (king of the kings).” In another narration: “the name most humiliated before Allah.” Sufyan ibn ‘Uyayna (may Allah have mercy on him) said this is akin to shāhanshāh. He explained that akhnā (the most humiliated) means the most obscene, and akhnaghā means the most degraded and lowest. See: Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar (22:402–405); Kitāb al-Tawḥīd by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb (p. 64); Fath al-Majīd by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Āl al-Shaykh (pp. 286–287). (1) It is not permissible to ascribe to anyone the title khalīfat Allāh (successor of Allah), because this term implies ambiguity and suggests attributes of deficiency and incapacity unbecoming to Allah. The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—states in his al-Fatāwā (35:45): “Allah cannot have a khalīfa. When people said to Abū Bakr, ‘O khalīfat Allah,’ he replied, ‘I am not the successor of Allah; rather I am the successor of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and that suffices me.’ Rather, Allah—Glory be to Him—will be the successor for others. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘O Allah, You are the Companion in travel and the Guardian over the family. O Allah, accompany us on our journey and oversee our families in our absence.’” Allah is ever-Living, Ever-Witnessing, Dominant, Sustainer, Watchful, Preserver; He is independent of the worlds, has no partner or ally, and no one intercedes with Him except by His permission. A khalīfa is appointed only when the original is absent—by death or disappearance—and is needed to succeed him; the term literally denotes one who follows in battle, standing behind his predecessor. All these meanings are inapplicable to Allah, from whom He is wholly exalted above such notions. He further affirms: “It is not permissible for anyone to be His successor or to stand in His stead, for there is no appropriate title for it nor any equal. Whoever ascribes such a successor to Him has committed shirk (associating partners with Allah).” See: Zad al-Ma‘ād by Ibn al-Qayyim (2:474–475); Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Da‘īfa by Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (1:120–121).