What is the best way to name mosques?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
If one wants the mosque to be distinguished by a benefactor, naming it is certainly good, but what do you advise people to choose as a name other than the name of the benefactor?
The Shaykh:
It is named after the neighborhood, or the mosque of such-and-such neighborhood. Yes.
The questioner:
If there is more than one mosque in the neighborhood.
The Shaykh:
Naming it "Mosque of So-and-So" is permissible; what is prohibited is writing it, or rather, what is not recommended is writing it, without writing it.
The questioner:
Without writing.
The Shaykh:
You may follow up on this mosque, but is it permissible to name it "Mosque of So-and-So" for the sake of attracting people?
The questioner:
May Allah bless you. If it is named after one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) or one of the Tabi'un?
The Shaykh:
What is the way? What is the way of equalization?
The questioner:
Good, good.
The Shaykh:
The dislike lies in writing it on the mosque; one should not write "Mosque of So-and-So" or "Benefactor So-and-So" or the like on it, because this may indicate some showing off (riya'),
The questioner:
Yes, may Allah bless you. Does Shaykh Salih advise the one who did this to change this situation?
The Shaykh:
We advise that one not write on mosques and charitable works "This is the work of So-and-So" or "The charity of So-and-So"; because this contains some showing off (riya') and displaying the deed to people. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you.
If one wants the mosque to be distinguished by a benefactor, naming it is certainly good, but what do you advise people to choose as a name other than the name of the benefactor?
The Shaykh:
It is named after the neighborhood, or the mosque of such-and-such neighborhood. Yes.
The questioner:
If there is more than one mosque in the neighborhood.
The Shaykh:
Naming it "Mosque of So-and-So" is permissible; what is prohibited is writing it, or rather, what is not recommended is writing it, without writing it.
The questioner:
Without writing.
The Shaykh:
You may follow up on this mosque, but is it permissible to name it "Mosque of So-and-So" for the sake of attracting people?
The questioner:
May Allah bless you. If it is named after one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) or one of the Tabi'un?
The Shaykh:
What is the way? What is the way of equalization?
The questioner:
Good, good.
The Shaykh:
The dislike lies in writing it on the mosque; one should not write "Mosque of So-and-So" or "Benefactor So-and-So" or the like on it, because this may indicate some showing off (riya'),
The questioner:
Yes, may Allah bless you. Does Shaykh Salih advise the one who did this to change this situation?
The Shaykh:
We advise that one not write on mosques and charitable works "This is the work of So-and-So" or "The charity of So-and-So"; because this contains some showing off (riya') and displaying the deed to people. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما الأفضل في تسمية المساجد؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.