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Is it permissible to utter the names of cities attributed to saints, such as Sidi Qasim, Sidi Bennour, and Sidi Slimane?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the righteousness of the city's inhabitants is established, there is no objection to naming it "Madinat Sayyidi [name]" (City of Master [name]), due to its fame by this name. However, if their wickedness or hypocrisy is established, then it is not permissible, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Do not call a hypocrite 'Sayyid' (master); for if he is your master, you have displeased your Lord." The use of "Sayyid" for other than Allah is permissible if it is not for self-aggrandizement.

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

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