Topic summary

Islamic honorifics

Islamic honorifics

Laudatory religious phrases in Islam A calligraphic composition by Hâfiz Osman which used the honorific Islamic suffix phrase صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّم, meaning 'May God send His mercy and blessings upon him', after referring to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Islamic honorifics are Arabic phrases, abbreviations, and titles that mostly appear as prefixes before or suffixes after the names of people who have had a special mission from Allah in the Islamic world or have done important work towards these missions. In Islamic writings, these honorific prefixes and suffixes come before and after the names of all the prophets and messengers (the last of whom is Muhammad), the Imams (the Twelve Imams in Shia Islam), the infallibles in Shia Islam, and the prominent individuals (tabi'un) who followed them. In the Islamic world, giving these respectful prefixes and suffixes is a tradition. Among the most important honorific prefixes used are Hadhrat (حَضرَت, lit. 'a special person in the sight of God, a person who has a special mission from God, holiness, sainthood, excellency, majesty'). and Imam (اِمام, lit. 'a person who has a special posit