Calling a person ‘Mawlaana’
28-1-2009 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalmu Alaikum is it permissible to call person Maulana? i read your fatwa in which you said Yes. but threr is hadith in sahih muslim, in the forbidden words section (may be kitabul alfaj) (also mishkat-kitabul adab) which prohibits calling any person maula. but there is also hadith which permits. so shouldn't we refrain from calling Maulana to be on the safe-side? what is your opinion? and what about calling Rasulullah (peace be upon him) -maulana? may Allah reward you.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The matter is as you have read in Fatwa 88538 that it is permissible to call a particular person with the term Mawlaana with its proper meaning which applies to him, and it is permissible to call the Prophet with it as it is confirmed that he said: ‘‘Whoever considers me as his Mawla (master), then Ali is his Mawla.’’ [Ahmad, At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah]
This term is among the common terms and it differs in its real meaning from when it is added to the Creator, and when it is added to a creature, like all other terms such as Samee’ (All-Hearer), Baseer (All-Seer) and so forth. Allaah Says [about Himself] (what means): {Indeed, Allaah is ever Hearing and Seeing.}[Quran 4:58] Allaah Says about man (what means): {Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.} [Quran 76:2]
Indeed, there is evidence that saying this term is permissible, and there is no need to say that it is better to be on the safe side and not attribute this to a creature. In fact the Salaf (the scholars among the righteous predecessors) used this term and no one objected to them from doing so.
We have not come in the books that we have across something that suggests that it is prohibited to say this term, rather the Prophetic narration which is reported by Muslim 
says the contrary as it reads: “Let him say “Sayyidi” (my Master) and “Mawlaaya” (my Mawla)”. Therefore, please send us the wording of the narration so that we may look for it.
Allaah Knows best.