Does calling out to an unknown person as "Muhammad" in order to get their attention and speak with them constitute an insult to the name of the Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
Avoid calling an unknown person "Muhammad" out of reverence for this name. Ibn Uthaymeen was asked about this and indicated that calling out "O Abdullah" (O Servant of Allah) is better, as everyone is a servant of Allah. Furthermore, there is a research that concluded it is forbidden to call an unknown servant "Muhammad" because it is considered an insult to the name.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/149664