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)?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
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.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/149664
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 149664
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy