Manama: Saudi Arabia’s senior religious scholars have reiterated their opposition to including the name of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), in any online voting to choose the most influential men throughout the world.
The Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Fatwa, which issues rulings in Islamic jurisprudence and prepares research papers for the Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia, said that Allah had honoured the Prophet with an outstanding religious status and could not be compared with other people.
The committee received a question seven years ago whether it was religiously permissible to take part in online voting for the most influential men in the world.
The list of the 10 most influential people selected by the organisers featured Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and nine other figures, including singers, the scholars said.
The committee said that it was not permissible, on religious grounds related to the status of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), to participate in the voting.
The fatwa was this month posted again on the committee’s Twitter account, Saudi news site Sabq reported on Sunday.
There was no reference to the reason that prompted the committee to re-post a decision it announced seven years ago.
Social media users said they endorsed the decision fully, arguing that the status of the Prophet could not be compared with those of other people, no matter how famous they are.
In his book “The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History” issued in 1978, Michael Hart, a Jewish American astrophysicist, placed Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) at the top of the list.
