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Fatwa CenterHandling papers with the names John or Mary written on them
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. The Christians use the name John the Baptist to refer to Yahya (peace be upon him) so if we have any books or papers in English with the name John, should we treat them with the same respect as the name of any other prophet? Also what about something containing the name of Maryam the mother of Isa (Jesus, peace be upon him) whether in Arabic or an English version like Mary or Maria? May Allaah 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.
Books, papers, or any other document bearing any of the divine Names of Allaah, names of His Prophets, or anything held sacred by the sharee'ah, including the name of Maryam (Mary), may Allaah exalt her mention, must be duly respected and preserved regardless of whether they are written in Arabic or any other language. Ibn Hajar 
wrote:
"The Quran and each sacred name such as the Names of Allaah or the names of the Prophets should be respected as due. The names of the Prophets referred to in this regard are those names followed by clear indications that they serve as reference to the Prophets such as Muhammad ' 'Eesa (Jesus), 
or 'Moosa (Moses) Kaleemullaah (i.e. the one who conversed with Allaah) and the like. However, the ruling does not apply to the mere names like 'Muhammad, Moosa, or ʻEesa,' used in general contexts as reference to other people..." [Al-Fataawa]
Haashiyat Ad-Dusooqi ʻala Ash-Sharh Al-Kabeer (a Maaliki book) reads:
"Apostasy in actions, such as throwing the Quran away (into a filthy place), because doing that shows disrespect towards the Name and Speech of Allaah ... The same applies to the names of the Prophets of Allaah if the action is done with the intention of disrespect and indifference, as is the case when throwing a sheet bearing the name of a Prophet in case it is used as reference to that Prophet and not in a general sense (referring to other people)."
Hence, when the names John or ʻEesa are used to refer to other than Prophets Yahya and ʻEesa (Jesus), may Allaah exalt their mention, respectively, then the due honoring and respect for the names of the Prophets do not apply to them.
Al-Qaadhi ʻIyaadh cited the opinion of the majority of the Muslim jurists that Maryam (Mary) was not a prophetess. An-Nawawi cited in his book Al-Athkaar on the authority of Imaam Al-Haramayn Al-Juwayni that he cited the scholarly consensus that she was not a prophetess. He attributed the opinion to a group of scholars in his book Sharh Al-Muhaththab.
Allaah, The Exalted, described Maryam (Mary), may Allaah exalt her mention, as a siddeeqah (a truthful one and supporter of Truth). Indeed, it is meant to be a praise and indication of her refined status. He says (what means): {The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; (other) messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth...} [Quran 5:75]
If there had been any higher status for her, Allaah, The Exalted, would have used it to describe her. There is no authentic religious text in the Quran or Sunnah stating that there was a female prophet. For further information on this topic, please refer to Dr. ʻUmar Sulaymaan AL-Ashqar’s book Ar-Rusul war-Risaalaat (The Messengers and the Messages).
Allaah knows best.
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