Phrase of respect for the Prophet Muhammad*. Abbreviated to PBUH, or to a star, as above, it expresses the devout Muslim's prayer for the serenity of the soul of the Prophet. PBOH, for 'Peace Be On Him' is also common.

I've also seen it used for other religious figures in Muslim settings. Oddly, pretty much the exact same phrase is used (in Hebrew) among Jews after the name of a deceased person. Not just prophets, but even things like "...I got this from my grandmother ('aleha ha-shalom)." For some reason, I've never seen it used in English in these cases. It's either said or written as a Hebrew abbreviation (or even occasionally abbreviating the Hebrew words with English letters, as {A"H} (the " is commonly used for abbreviations in Hebrew)). I wonder why Jews don't use the phrase in English? It's not like it's particularly sacred or anything.

Other phrases used in such settings among Jews include "may his memory be for a blessing," or "may the memory of the righteous one be for a blessing" (if you really want to compliment the decedent). These are used rather more for men than women. There are also some stock phrases (and associated abbreviations) for following the names of living people.

This is the commonly used English phrase (even among Muslims), but the Arabic phrase is actually (salla-Allahu alaihi wa sallam), which is more correctly translated as "May the praises of Allah and peace be upon him".

However, since Muslims believe in other prophets such as Moses and Jesus (only they believe that they were human and had the same basic message as Islam -- the unity of God), they also bestow the honorific "peace be upon him" (in Arabic: alayhi-al-salaam) upon other prophets.

Also, for the followers and companions of Prophet Muhammad, Muslims frequently use the phrase "radi-Allahu-anh" which means: "May God be pleased with him/her".

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