---
layout: post
publisher: alsalafiyyah@icloud.com
date: 2026-04-20
hijri: "Dhu al-Qidah 3, 1447 AH"
title: "The Naming of the People of the Book: Nasara (Nazarenes) vs. Christians (Masihiyyun)"
source: "Liqa' al-Bab al-Maftuh tape 30"
category: [fatwas,terminology,sects,audios]
url: "https://binothaimeen.net/s/RhTs9Io3"
mp3: "https://sounds.binothaimeen.net/storage/uploads/ftawamp3/mm_030_09.mp3"
active: audios
summary: "This is a term commonly used today. However, Allah named them in His Book as the Nasara."
muftis:
  shaykh: 
    - name: Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen 
      url: /biography/uthaymeen/
---

### Question: 

Is it permissible to refer to the Nasara (Nazarenes) as 'Christians' (Masihiyyun)?

### Answer: 

This is a term that commonly used and recognized today. However, Allah, the Exalted, named them in His Book as 'the Nasara', the Prophet (Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) named them 'the Nasara', and the Muslim scholars named them 'the Nasara' until very recently.​ 

This changed when the Nasara colonized some Islamic lands and said: **'You are Muhammadans and we are Christians,'** in an attempt to create a sense of commonality and rapprochement between Muslims and the Nasara.