Islamic honorifics

Islam uses a number of conventionally complimentary phrases wishing-well or praising religiously-esteemed figures including God (Allah), Muhammad (Messenger of God), Muhammad's companions (sahaba), family (Ahl al-Bayt), other Islamic prophets and messengers, angels, and revered persons. In Twelver Shi'ism, honorifics are used with the Twelve Imams.

Islamic honorifics are referred to as ṣalawāt (صَلَوات) in Arabic, and durūd in both Persian (درود) and Urdu.

Formatting
Islamic honorifics are not abbreviated in Arabic-script languages (e.g. Arabic, Persian, Urdu) given the rarity of acronyms and abbreviations in those languages, however, these honorifics are often abbreviated in other languages such as English, Spanish, and French. Common examples of these abbreviations include PBUH ('Peace be Upon Him') and SWT (subhanahu wa-ta'ala, 'Glorified and Exalted'). Though these honorifics may be abbreviated in writing, they are never abbreviated in speech. Abbreviations often vary in letter case and use of periods.

Honorifics, in Arabic or non-Arabic languages, can be written in multiple formats:


 * 1) Arabic text with Islamic honorifics
 * 2) * Example: "لقد شارك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كلام الله سبحانه وتعالى كما أنزله عليه الملك جبريل عليه السلام مع صاحبه الوفي أبو بكر الصديق رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ"
 * 3) English text with Islamic honorifics in romanized Arabic
 * 4) * Example: "The Messenger of God shared the word of Allah  as revealed to him by the angel Jibril  with his loyal companion, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq ."
 * 5) English text with unabbreviated Islamic honorifics
 * 6) * Example: "The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) shared the word of Allah (glorified and exalted) as revealed to him by the angel Jibril (peace be upon him) with his loyal companion, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (Allah be pleased with him)."
 * 7) English text with abbreviated Islamic honorifics
 * 8) * Example: "The Messenger of God (PBUH) shared the word of Allah (SWT) as revealed to him by the angel Jibril (AS) with his loyal companion, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (RA)."

God (Allah)
Following the mention of God (Allah), including by pronoun (e.g. 'Him' or 'His'), or by one of the names bestowed upon him, one of the below honorifics are said or written.

Muhammad (Sallā -llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam)
Muhammad's name, reference to him through a pronoun (e.g. 'his' or 'him'), or the use of one of his titles (e.g. 'the messenger of Allah') is followed by one of the below honorifics. The honorific "Blessings of Allah be upon him as well as peace" is the most widely used. The use of the word "blessings" (ṣallā, صَلَّى) can be used for all Islamic prophets (and Shia Imams) equally, however it is almost exclusively used with Muhammad.

Muhammad's companions
Honorifics used for Muhammad's companions ask for Allah's pleasure with them. Muhammad's companions include men (Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, etc.) and women (e.g. Fatima bint Muhammad, Aisha bint Abu Bakr, Asma bint Abu Bakr, etc.), and are accorded the properly gendered honorifics.

Prophets and messengers
In Shia islam honorifics used for Muhammad's progeny,  (أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت) are addressed with the same honorifics as messengers.

Angels and prophets


Some honorifics apply to the archangels (Jibril, Mikhail, etc.) as well as any other Islamic prophets preceding Muhammad (e.g. Isa, Musa, Ibrahim etc.). A group of modern scholars from Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Yemen, and Mauritania has issued fatwa that the angels should be invoked with blessing of, which also applied to human prophets and messengers. This fatwa was based on the ruling from Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya.

Revered men and women


Some honorifics apply to highly-revered Islamic scholars and people thought to be of high spiritual rank. When that person has died, honorifics ask for Allah's mercy upon or pleasure with him or her. When that person is still living, honorifics customarily ask for Allah's preservation or relief.

Enemies
Although disparaging and non-honorific, the following phrase may follow the name of a significant enemy of Muhammad, namely Abu Lahab, a Qurayshi leader in Mecca who opposed Islam's rise and was condemned by name by God in the Quran.

Qur'ān
The honorifics for Muhammad are enjoined by Surat al-Ahzab: "'Surely Allah (God) and His angels bless the Prophet; O you who believe! Send blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation.'"

Hadiths from Sunni Islam
Al-Tirmidhi recorded that Abu Hurairah said, "The Messenger of Allah said, 'May he be humiliated, the man in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send Salaam upon me; may he be humiliated, the man who sees the month of Ramadan come and go, and he is not forgiven; may he be humiliated, the man whose parents live to old age and they do not cause him to be granted admittance to Paradise. Al-Tirmidhi said that this hadith was, "good but only reported once".

In, , and , four of the six major hadith collections recorded that Abu Hurairah said, "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever sends one Salaam upon me, Allah will send ten upon him.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal reported in his that the Companion of Muhammad, Abu Talha ibn Thabit, said:

"One morning the Messenger of Allah was in a cheerful mood and looked happy. They said, 'O Messenger of Allah, this morning you are in a cheerful mood and look happy.' He said, 'Of course, just now someone [an angel] came to me from my Lord [Allah] and said, 'Whoever among your Ummah sends Salaam upon you, Allah will record for him ten good deeds and will erase for him ten evil deeds, and will raise his status by ten degrees, and will return his greeting with something similar to it."

Al-Bayhaqi reports that Abu Hurairah said that Muhammad said, "Send the Salaam on Allah's messengers and prophets for Allah sent them as He sent me."

This point is further founded in the saying by Muhammad, "The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned, then he does not send the Salam upon me." This was recorded in.

"Anas bin Malik said, 'The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'Whoever sends salah upon me once, Allah (SWT) will send salah upon him tenfold, and will erase ten sins from him, and will raise him ten degrees in status."

Salafi rejection of abbreviations
Scholars of the Salafi branch of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia have instructed their followers not to abbreviate the upon Muhammad. For example, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, said:

"As it is prescribed to send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and prayers of Allah be upon him) in prayer when saying the, and it is prescribed when giving, saying and praying for forgiveness, and after the , and when entering and exiting the mosque, and when mentioning him in other circumstances, so it is more important to do so when writing his name in a book, letter, article and so on. So it is prescribed to write the prayers in full so as to fulfil the command that Allah has given to Muslims, and so that the reader will remember to say the prayers when he reads it. So one should not write the prayers on the Prophet (peace and prayers of Allah be upon him) in short form such as writing (S) or (SAWS) etc, or other forms that some writers use, because that is going against the command of Allah in His Book, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):

Send blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation.'

And that (writing it in abbreviated form) does not serve that purpose and is devoid of the virtue of writing ' (May Allah send prayers and peace upon him)' in full. Moreover the reader may not take notice of it and may not understand what is meant by it. It should also be noted that the symbol used for it is regarded as disapproved by the scholars, who warned against it."