Fatwaa ID: 408

Question:
Assalamualikum is it wrong to use the word prophet when addressing Nabi sallahu alayhi wasalam. I heard that it is wrong to use Prophet Muhammad as according to the English dictionary, the word prophet means fortune teller.

Answer:
In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salaamu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullaahi wa-barakaatuh.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word prophet means “a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “one who utters divinely inspired revelations”. The Cambridge Dictionary states “a person who is believed to have a special power that allows them to say what a god wishes to tell people, especially about things that will happen in the future”. The above are the primary meanings of the word prophet. Accordingly, it is permissible to use the word “prophet”, which is often seen as a translation of the Arabic word “nabi”, to refer to Sayyiduna Muhammad (S).

And Allaah Ta’aala knows best.
Mufti Muajul I. Chowdhury
Darul Iftaa New York
https://askthemufti.us/

06/24/1444 AH – 01/17/2023 CE | AML1-6890

وصل اللهم وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى ءاله وصحبه أجمعين

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