The Most Common Name in the World

His name is the most common name in the world. How many people in the world are named Muhammad? No other person who ever lived in history has had so many people name themselves after him, like Muhammad (peace be upon him). There is the account of an imam who was from Nigeria — a ḥāfiẓ, leading a small college-town congregation in the US — whose name was Muhammad al-ʿĀshir. The word ʿāshir means the tenth. For a long time it might have been assumed that al-ʿĀshir was simply his last name, Muhammad al-ʿĀshir. Asked one day, "What is al-ʿĀshir — is that the name of the tribe or the clan?", he said: "No. My father would name every male child he has Muhammad; all of his children he would name Muhammad. So to distinguish between us, he had to number us: there was Muhammad the first, Muhammad the second, Muhammad the third, and Muhammad the tenth. My father doesn't want to deal with any other name — all of his children are going to be Muhammad." And in Pakistan and India there is Muhammad Hārūn, Muhammad Sulaymān, Muhammad Ādam — everybody's Muhammad.

There is no one in history who had an ummah love him like the ummah loves Muhammad (peace be upon him). He is the most beloved figure in history. What, then, would be the effect of studying his life? How much love would there be then for Muhammad (peace be upon him)?

His name is also the most frequently mentioned name. Around the clock there is a muʾadhdhin calling to prayer and mentioning the name of Muhammad (peace be upon him), because Muslims now are worldwide, so in every time zone there are Muslims. So in every minute of the day there is a muʾadhdhin saying, ashhadu an lā ilāha illa Allāh, ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu Allāh: his name is mentioned around the clock. The name Muhammad means the Praised One, and there is no one who was praised like Muhammad (peace be upon him) — his name really fulfilled its meaning. He is the Praised One; he is always praised. Whenever his name is heard, what is said? Ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam. Developing love of Muhammad (peace be upon him) comes by studying his life. He is loved more, the more his life is studied.