Islamic Ruling on Naming Mosques After People and Tribes

The Ruling on Naming Mosques​

This excerpt is taken from Shaykh Muhammad Munir Qamar’s book Ahkām al-Masājid.

Naming of Mosques​

In the section on the rulings and etiquettes of mosques, one noteworthy point is that some of the pious predecessors disliked attributing mosques to anyone other than Allah. For example, calling a mosque Jamia Masjid Ghausiyah, Jamia Masjid Qadriya, Jamia Masjid Chishtiyeh, Jamia Masjid Suhrawardiyah, Jamia Masjid Hanafiya, or similarly attributing mosques to various names such as Jamia Masjid so-and-so. According to a narration recorded by the compiler Ibn Abī Shaybah, this practice is reported from the school of Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) and some other scholars.

(References: Fath al-Bari 515/1 — Alam al-Sajid p. 384)

They considered attributing a mosque to someone other than Allah to be disliked and undesirable. Their argument is based on the divine instruction in the Qur’an, Sūrah al-Jinn, verse 18:

﴿وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا﴾

“(O Prophet, say The mosques are for Allah: therefore, invoke not anyone along with Allah.”

In this verse the relationship of the mosques is attributed to Allah ﷻ. Similarly, the word “Allah” occurs in relation to mosques in Sūrah al-Baqarah verse 114, and Sūrah al-Tawbah verses 17–18. In all three places the mosques are attributed to Allah ﷻ.

Therefore, in their view attributing any mosque to someone other than Allah is disliked and prohibited. Mosques are the houses of Allah ﷻ and should not be attributed to different schools, sects, personalities, or tribes. This is the position of Imam al-Nakha‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) and some of his adherents.

The Well-Known Opinion​

However, the well-known position among the majority of the scholars (jumhūr) is that attribution to a person or group is permissible. The reply to the above Qur’anic argument is that such attribution is not an attribution of ownership; rather it serves as a distinction, differentiation, or identification so that when mentioning or referring to the mosque, it is easy to recognize the intended mosque by that additional name. Such an attribution which is not for ownership but merely for distinction and identification is not prohibited. This is because the attribution (in the verse) denotes ownership, as noted by Allāmah Zarkashī (may Allah have mercy on him) in Alam al-Sājid pp. 384–385 and by Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) in Fath al-Bari 515/1. Evidence for this position is also found in the books of ḥadīth.

Thus, in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim, an-Nasā’ī, Dārī, and Muwatta’ Imām Mālik, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) relates:

نَبَیَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَابِقَ بَیْنَ الْخَیْلِ الَّتِی اَضْمَرَتْ مِنَ الْحِیفَاءِ وَامَدَهَا نَبِیَّةَ الْوِدَاعِ وَسَابِقَ بَیْنَ الْخَیْلِ الَّتِی لَمْ تُضْمِرْ مِنَ النَّبِیَّةِ اِلَى مَسْجِدِ بَنِی زُرَیقٍ

The Prophet ﷺ held a race for trained and “conditioned” horses covering the distance from Ḥayfah to Thanīyah al-Widā‘, and held a race for unconditioned horses covering the distance from Thanīyah al-Widā‘ to Masjid Banī Zurayq.

(References: Bukhari with al-Fath 515/1 — Mukhtaṣar Muslim al-Mundhirī 1108 — Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 2245 — Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhī H. 1389 — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Nasā’ī 335/1 — Ibn Mājah 2877 — Muwatta’ Imām Mālik 468/2, chapter on horses and racing between them)

This mention of horse racing was for testing horses trained for pure Islamic Jihād, to determine their endurance and suitability and to further train them. By “tasmīr” (conditioning) is meant making the horse accustomed to hunger and thirst and giving it less fodder so that it becomes light-bodied and able to run faster. This method of training is permissible. However, if an animal is kept hungry and thirsty without valid cause and then expected to perform equally, that is prohibited.

It should also be borne in mind that when reading this ḥadīth, one must not imagine a modern racetrack image; these races of that era were entirely connected with the sacred objectives of Jihād and were free from the vices of gambling and wagering, maladies whose details are beyond the scope of this discussion.

In this ḥadīth the only place-name mentioned is the phrase “Masjid Banī Zurayq.” Thus, it appears that even in the Prophetic era some mosques were referred to by attribution to certain tribes, etc. Imam al-Bukhārī (may Allah have mercy on him) titled the chapter on this ḥadīth:

باب هل يقال مسجد بنی فلان؟

(“Chapter: Is it said ‘the mosque of the tribe so-and-so’?”)

He stated it in the interrogative or questioning form, not as a ruling. The reason for this is that the words of the ḥadīth leave open the possibility that the name “Masjid Banī Zurayq” was already established during the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime and was known to him, or that it was named after his time and the narrator mentioned its then-current name. Due to this possibility Imam al-Bukhārī used an interrogative heading. He thereby showed his preference while leaving the matter open. The author of Fath al-Bārī writes that of the two possibilities the more apparent is the first: that the mosque’s name existed during the blessed era of the Prophet ﷺ. The majority of the scholars of the Ummah permit such attribution.

(References: Fath al-Bari 515/1, 516 — Alam al-Sājid pp. 384–385 — Fatawa Thanā’iyah 266/1 — Fatawa Ulama Ahl al-Ḥadith 69/2)

Precaution and Preferable Practice​

However, it is preferable that if a mosque is to be attributed to someone, that attribution be merely for identification and not a cause for partisanship, discord, or division; nor should it be used as a means of boasting, pride, or ostentation for oneself or one’s forebears. Rather, when a mosque is built or commissioned purely for the pleasure of Allah, one should exercise caution even in its attribution and attach it to a person whose association contains nothing blameworthy.

For example, one may attribute it to the Companions such as Masjid Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Masjid ʿUmar al-Fārūq, Masjid ʿUthmān Ghanī, Masjid ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, Masjid Salman al-Fārsi, Masjid Ṣuhayb al-Rūmī (may Allah be pleased with them), or to any other Companion who attained that rank. Or one may attribute it to the trained Tābiʿīn, the trustworthy transmitters of ḥadīth, or the imams of ijtihād whose lights were beacons of knowledge and guidance. In this way their religious services are acknowledged and their eminence honored, while the mosque is given a name.

At the same time, attributing it to a family, tribe, or an ordinary person is also permissible, though the former (the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and leading scholars) is preferable.