Can Muslims Respectfully Refer to Other Religions and Their Deities?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

Can one respectfully use the religious titles or names of deities and figures from other faiths when speaking with followers of those faiths?

Can one quote non-Abrahamic scriptures in a multifaith, non-religious setting to highlight a moral principle, or praise an aspect of another religion in general?

Most importantly, can any of these actions constitute kufr and take a person out of Islam?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all beings, and may peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace).

No, it’s not permissible to refer to the deities of other religions as Lord and Mother and other terms you have referred to. This isn’t difficult, as Christians themselves refer to Mary as Mary and to Jesus as Jesus.

If the figure is someone Islam recognizes as special, refer to them with the Islamic honorific fiqh and make a prayer for them, such as “peace and blessings be upon them.”

If one did refer to these figures with the honorifics other religions gave, as long as it wasn’t done with the belief that these honorifics, such as the Son of God in reference to Jesus, are true, it’s not disbelief.

This is something no believer does because no believer considers Mary to be the mother of God and Jesus to be God or the son of God. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

The appropriate inward etiquette would be to hate the deification of any besides Allah in one’s heart.

It is also important not to insult any of their religious figures, especially if they are revered in our religion, because Allah has forbidden it:

˹O believers!˺ Do not insult what they invoke besides Allah, or they will insult Allah spitefully out of ignorance. [Quran 6:108]

One may note that other religions promote what are considered universal moral and ethical principles and good actions.

Such as kindness to one’s neighbor and parents, speaking the truth, avoiding lying, and other such matters. I would say, if you do quote their scriptures, also quote the Quran.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to quote their scriptures on a matter that Islam considers to be sinful or inappropriate, unless it’s to mention a comparison in which the teachings of the Quran are shown in a positive light.

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.