Can We Abbreviate the Name of Prophet Muhammad (Allah Bless Him and Give Him Peace)?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

Is it permissible for me to shorten Prophet Muhammad’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) name to “PM” because I study Islam in school and have to write the Prophet’s name a lot in essays? It takes longer to write it completely.

I don’t mean to offend anyone by doing this, but I’ve seen on another page that it’s considered disrespectful and kufr.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate.

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah.

In personal notes and the like, it is not impermissible to shorten the name of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It is superior to write out his name in full and to write out the blessings upon him.

Shortening His Noble Name (Peace Be upon Him)–and Sound Shortcuts

One shortcut is to refer to him with “He” and “Him” in repeated mentions. “He (peace be upon him) said…” etc.

Another way is to use keyboard shortcuts (available on all computers and smartphones). Through text replacement, you can type a shortcut: I use “zpb” for Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “zmoa” for Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him), and “zbmoa” to trigger Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him & his folk)…

Don’t Shorten The Sending of Blessings (Salawat)

You shouldn’t miss out on the blessing and reward of writing out the sending of blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when you write his noble name.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah blessed them tenfold.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

This applies to sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when one,

• mentions his name;
• hears his name;
• writes his name; or reads his name (peace be upon him). [Sakhawi, al-Qawl al-Badi‘]

The Counsel of Great Scholars on Writing Out Blessings

Imam Sakhawi writes in his majestic, detailed commentary on Imam Iraqi’s Alfiyyat al-Hadith (a thousand-line poem on the sciences of hadith):

“Avoid, O writer, using glyphs or shortcuts(rumuz) instead of writing out the blessings on the Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him)–such as just using a letter (f: such as ص in Arabic, or S or SAWS in English)… as done by many common students… This entails the loss of reward and is improper (khilaf al-awla).” [Sakhawi/Iraqi, Fath al-Mughith Sharh Alfiyyat al-Hadith]

Imam Suyuti (Allah have mercy upon him) says the same in his great, expansive commentary on Imam Nawawi’s summary text in the sciences of hadith, saying:

“It is disliked to use abbreviations with letters… Rather, one should write out the blessings (salawat) in full.” [Suyuti/Nawawi, Tadrib al-Rawi Sharh Taqrib al-Nawawi]

This is the way of adab, benefit, and presence with Allah and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).

Be grateful for the gift of connecting daily to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by sending blessings upon him, and strive to do what’s best.

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani