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How accurate is it that some Companions and Successors, such as Abdullah ibn Omar and Al-Hajjaj Al-Thaqafi, refrained from naming certain Surahs like Al-Baqarah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Some of the Salaf disliked calling a Surah by its direct name and preferred to say: "The Surah in which the cow is mentioned." However, Imam Bukhari dedicated a chapter in his Sahih titled: "Chapter: Whoever saw no harm in saying: Surat Al-Baqarah, and Surah so and so," and he included hadiths therein that name the Surahs by their direct names. Imam An-Nawawi clarified that this is the correct view and the saying of the majority of Muslim scholars. Ibn Hajar also indicated that Bukhari, through this chapter, was refuting those who disliked it. As for the Marfu' hadith that prohibits naming Surahs by their direct names, its chain of narration is weak, and its elevation (to the Prophet) is not sound; in fact, Ibn Al-Jawzi claimed it to be fabricated. The correct view is the permissibility of naming Surahs by their names, such as "Surat Al-Baqarah" and "Surat Aal Imran," without any dislike.

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

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