In the Name of Allaah, the Most Merciful, the Ever Merciful…

I was asked about the following hadeeth:

Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullaah reported that the Prophet (S) decided to forbid names like Ya’laa (elevated), Barakah (blessing), Aflah (successful), Yasaar (wealth) and Naafi’ (beneficial) (Reported by Muslim)

[1] Firstly, as an obligation, we say ( صلى الله عليه وسلم ) “sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam” when mentioning our beloved Prophet, which may be expressed in English with the phrase: May Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace.  It is not permissible to change legislated phrases of thikr into abbreviations, like (S), (SAW), (PBUH), or the likes. Review the detailed verdicts of the scholars and further explanations here.

[2] Secondly, this prohibition has been collected by Imaam Muslim and others from two of the Companions, Samurah ibn Jundub and Jaabir ibn ‘Abdillaah, may Allaah be pleased with both of them. There are some slight differences in the wordings of their reports, and the wording mentioned in the question above seems to mix some of them together.

[A] Samurah’s wording is explicit, that he forbade four names: Aflah, Rabaah, Yasaar, and Continue reading →