Frame of Name of Prophet Muhammad and That of Allah Should Not Be at Same Level
Fatwa No: 432517

Question

Is it permitted to hang Allahu, muhammad in 2 different frames to decoration purpose in masjid? And if 2 frames are placed nearer, will this be shirk or sin?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

We have already underlined in previous Fataawa that we do not know of any Sharee‘ah impediment to hanging up frames in which the Beautiful Names of Allah, Quranic verses, and the names of the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, are written as long as they are put in a respectable place and safe from falling and disrespect, such as mosques and the like.

Also, we do not know of any Sharee‘ah impediment to putting the name of our Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in a frame and the Name of Allah, The Exalted, in another frame to be hung up on walls. The ring of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had an inscription of his name, along with the Name of Allah, The Almighty, and the Arabic word Rasool (Messenger). It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: “The inscription engraved on the ring of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was: Muhammad on a line, Rasool on a line, and Allah on a line.” [Al-Bukhaari and At-Tirmithi; this is the wording of At-Tirmithi]

The two frames should not be placed at the same level. Instead, the one bearing the Name of Allah, The Exalted, should be higher than the one bearing the name of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, for two reasons:

First, because some scholars held that the inscription engraved on the ring was in that order. They mentioned that the Name of Allah was at the top, then the word “Rasool” in the following line, and the name of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in the third line.

Second, they took into account the view held by some scholars regarding the prohibition of having the names of Allah and His Messenger placed at the same level, contending that it suggests equality (between them) and Shirk (associating partners with Allah). The Fatwa of the Permanent Committee 2 (1169) reads: “It is not permissible to write the name of (Allah) and (Muhammad), the name of the Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, parallel to one another on a paper, a frame, or a wall, because this act implies exaggeration in the reverence shown to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and making him equal to Allah, The Exalted, and this is one of the means to Shirk. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: 'Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians exaggerated in praising ‘Eesa (Jesus), son of Mary. I am but a slave of Allah; therefore, say: the slave of Allah and His Messenger.' It is required to prevent hanging up such frames or papers (that have the names at the same level) and remove the inscriptions on the walls that are written in such manner in order to protect the Muslims’ creed and act upon the commandment of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in this regard. Allah Knows best.” [End of quote]

The Islamic Sharee‘ah indicated preventing any act that may suggest equality between Allah, The Almighty, and any of His creation. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, disliked whatever may allude to such equality and forbade the Companions from it. It was narrated on the authority of Tufayl ibn Sakhbarah, the half-brother of ‘Aa’ishah from her mother’s side, that he once saw in a dream that he was passing by a group of Jews and asked them, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are the Jews.” He said, “What a great people you are; if only you did not claim that ‘Uzayr (Ezra) was the son of Allah!” The Jews said, “And what a great people you are; if only you did not say, ‘If Allah wills and Muhammad wills!’” Then he passed by a group of Christians and asked, “Who are you?” They said, “We are the Christians.” He said, “What a great people you are; if only you did not claim that ‘Eesa (Jesus) was the son of Allah!” They said, “And what a great people you are; if only you did not say, ‘If Allah wills and Muhammad wills!’” When he woke up, he related it to some people and then went to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and related it to him. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked: “Have you related it to anyone?” ‘Affaan (a sub-narrator) said, “He said, ‘yes.’” When they finished the prayer, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, delivered a sermon in which he praised Allah, The Exalted, and exalted him and then said: “Tufayl had a dream and related it to some of you. You used to say a word, and I was too bashful to forbid you from saying it. Do not say: ‘What Allah wills and Muhammad wills.” [End of quote, Musnad Ahmad, (34296), Ed. Al-Risaalah]

Al-Munaawi said in Faydh Al-Qadeer (4/509) about this prohibition: “It is out of the enjoined reverence (towards Allah) and in order to avoid potential delusion (suggesting equality between the creation and the Creator). The use of the conjunction ‘then’ (i.e., saying ‘What Allah wills and then what so-and-so wills’) aims to indicate the complete farness between the Creator and the creation in terms of rank and time. Al-Khattaabi said: ‘He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, advised them to abide by the enjoined reverence (towards Allah) in arranging the parts of that statement and chose for them the use of the conjunction ‘then’ to indicate sequence in time and order and highlight the time interval between the two events to underline that the will of other than Allah comes after that of Allah by many ranks and intervals of time.’” [End of quote]

Allah Knows best.

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