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Fatwa CenterOrdering 'x' trainers
Question
Is there anything wrong with ordering shoes that are named 'x' trainers? Also, if a Muslim prays towards an idol, is that an act of disbelief? What about if he is praying in congregation and the person in front of him is wearing the brand Nike, or there are words of disbelief on that person's clothing, or photos, should he avoid praying behind that person? Other examples would be a Christian cross or the name of someone of another religion who is respected.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
There is nothing wrong with that (ordering trainers named 'x') because the plus sign or multiplication sign in mathematics is not identical to the Christian cross. The Christians perceive the cross as a representation of a crucified person. It is composed of two intersecting lines, one vertical and the other horizontal, and the upper segment of the vertical line is shorter than the lower segment.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen 
said:
"It should be noted that the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was to break the cross and remove it. So if the cross is three-dimensional, it is obligatory to break it. If it is drawn on objects such as the case with some watches and clocks, it should be obliterated by applying a color to it to remove its image until nothing of it is left. A Muslim should not carry anything that bears the Christian cross, as this implies apparent reverence for them and involves prohibited imitation of the Christians ... As for the symbols that are apparently not crosses, such as some mathematical signs or what seems to be a plus sign in some digital clocks, there is no harm in that, and such shapes are not considered crosses at all." [Fataawa Noor ‘ala Ad-Darb]
We apologize for not answering the second question; we have underlined in the question entry field that only one question may be posted in that space and that if more than one question is posted, only the first question will be answered.
Allah knows best.
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