A man writing to another man and beginning with him

Al-Awza'i reported from a certain shaykh that Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter to Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and began with the name of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah.

Al-Awza'i said that when letters were written to Umar bin Abd al-Aziz, they would begin with his name, and he saw no harm in it.

Ibn Sirin said that Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) had some need of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), so he intended to write to him. The people said: "It would be good if you began the letter with his name," and they kept on saying this until he wrote: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. To Mu'awiyah."

Yunus said that a man wrote a letter from al-Hasan to Salih bin Abd al-Rahman, and he wrote thus: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From al-Hasan to Salih." Then the man said: "O Abu Sa'id, it would be good if you began with his name," so he began with that person's name.

Isma'il al-Makki said that al-Hasan al-Basri and al-Nakha'i both saw no harm in a man writing to another man and beginning the letter with that person's name.

Abu Fazarah said that al-Hakam said: "There is no harm in beginning the letter with the name of the person to whom you are writing."