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Is naming a mosque "O Muhammad, Messenger of Allah" permissible?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A mosque should not be named "Mosque of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him," because this has not been the practice of Muslims, and no mosque has been attributed to him except the Prophet's Mosque (Al-Masjid an-Nabawi).

Furthermore, there are concerns with this naming: 1. Disrespecting the honorable name by writing it on papers or signs. 2. Not invoking blessings upon him when his name is mentioned, and shortening the name to "Mosque of the Messenger" or "The Prophet's Mosque," which might give the impression that he built it. 3. Exceeding common naming conventions like "Al-Masjid Al-Haram" (The Sacred Mosque) or "Masjid Al-Kaaba" (Mosque of the Kaaba).

Sheikh Abdur-Rahman Al-Barrak stated that naming any mosque "Mosque of the Messenger, peace be upon him," is impermissible, as the Prophet's Mosque is the only mosque designated for him, and it is not permissible to liken others to it.

As for naming it "Ya Muhammad, Messenger of Allah," peace be upon him, this is forbidden because the common people use this call for seeking aid and making requests, and seeking aid from the Prophet, peace be upon him, after his death is shirk (polytheism). If the call is not for seeking aid, then it is futile and meaningless.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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