Islamic Honorifics

Islam uses a number of conventionally complimentary phrases praising Allah (e.g., ), or wishing good things upon Muhammad or other prophets (e.g., ). These phrases are encompassed by a number of terms: Prayers upon Muhammad may be referred to simply as ar, صَلَوات, ṣalawāt, "prayers", fa, , dorud, "greetings", or ur, , durūd.

Applied to God

After mentioning one of the names of God, such as ''Allah'', an expression of worship is used as opposed to the phrases of supplication used for regular individuals. These include:

Applied to Muhammad and his family

In the above, ar, عليه, ʿalayhi "upon him" may be replaced by ar, عليه وعلى آله, ʿalayhi wa-ʿalā 'ālihi "upon him and upon his family."

Usually, or "blessings" is used exclusively for Muhammad to distinguish between him and other prophets (and Imams in Shia Islam), but theoretically, it is used for all prophets equally.

Scriptural and hadith basis for prayers upon Muhammad

Qur'ān

The honorifics for Muhammad are enjoined by Surat al-Ahzab:

Ahadith

Al-Tirmidhi recorded that Abu Hurairah said, "The Messenger of Allah said, 'May he be humiliated, the man in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send Salaam upon me; may he be humiliated, the man who sees the month of Ramadan come and go, and he is not forgiven; may he be humiliated, the man whose parents live to old age and they do not cause him to be granted admittance to Paradise.'" Al-Tirmidhi said that this hadith was , "good but only reported once".

In , , and , four of the six major hadith collections recorded that Abu Hurairah said, "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever sends one Salaam upon me, Allah will send ten upon him.'"

Ahmad ibn Hanbal reported in his that the Companion of Muhammad, Abu Talha ibn Thabit, said:

Al-Bayhaqi reports that Abu Hurairah said that Muhammad said, "Send the Salaam on Allah's messengers and prophets for Allah sent them as He sent me."

This point is further founded in the saying by Muhammad, "The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned, then he does not send the Salam upon me." This was recorded in .

Salafi ruling on abbreviating prayers upon Muhammad

Scholars of the Salafi branch of Islam practised in Saudi Arabia have instructed their followers not to abbreviate the upon Muhammad. For example, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, said:

Applied to angels and prophets

Some honorifics apply to the archangels (Jibril, Mikhail, etc.) as well as any other Islamic prophets preceding Muhammad ( Isa as, Musa as, Ibrahim as etc.). Group of modern scholars from Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Yemen, and Mauritania has issued fatwa that the angels should be invoked with blessing of , which also applied to human prophets and messengers. This fatwa was based on the ruling from Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya.

* ( ar, عليه السلام)
** Translation: "Peace be upon him"
** Abbreviation: "AS"
*
** Translation: "On him are the blessings and the peace of Allah"
** Abbreviation: "ASW"

Applied to companions of Muhammad

Some honorifics are used after companions () of Muḥammad:

* ( ar, رضي الله عنه)
**Translation: "May Allāh be pleased with him"
**Abbreviation: "RA"
**Example:
* ( ar, رضي الله عنها)
**Translation: "May Allāh be pleased with her"
**Example:
* ( ar, رضي الله عنهم)
**Translation: "May Allāh be pleased with them"
**Example:

Applied to enemies of Muhammad

Some honorifics are not used in the sense of "honoring" a person, and are instead used after the mention of the enemies ( ar, العَدُوّ, al-'aduww) of Muḥammad:

* ( ar, لعنة الله عليه)
**Translation: "May Allāh curse him"
**Example:

Applied to scholars and saints

Some honorifics apply to highly revered scholars and people thought to be of high spiritual rank who have died:

* ( ar, رَحْمَةُ الله عليه)/ ( ar, رَحِمَهُ الله)
**Translation: "May Allah's mercy/ blessing be upon him"
**Example:
* ( ar, رَحْمَةُ الله عليها)/ ( ar, رَحِمَها الله)
**Translation: "May Allah's mercy/ blessing be upon her"
**Example:
* ( ar, رَحْمَةُ الله عليهم)
**Translation: "May Allah's mercy/ blessing be upon them"

If a revered scholar is still alive, the following is custom:
* ( ar, حفظه الله)
**Translation: "May Allah preserve him"
* ( ar, فرج الله عنه)
**Translation: "May Allah grant him relief"

Unicode

See also

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References

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Arabic words and phrases