Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literatures Vol.14, No. 1, 2022, pp 129-143 129 JJMLL * Prophet Muhammad's Linguistic Etiquette * Wafa Abu Hatab * Department of English, Zarqa University, Jordan Received on: 24-8-2020 Accepted on: 31-12-2020 Abstract The present study tackles the concept of linguistic etiquette in Prophet Muhammad's Hadith adopting a sociolinguistic perspective that examines the relationship between linguistic etiquette and politeness. The study adopts Leech’s (1983) model of politeness to investigate maxims of politeness and politeness scales in Prophet Muhammad's spoken discourse. Data consisted of Hadith on morals and linguistic etiquette reported in reliable Hadith books such as Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawood. Analyzed Hadith displayed a clear observation of maxims of tact, generosity, approbation, modesty and sympathy. Further examples from Hadith manifested observance of cost–benefit, optionality, indirectness, authority and social distance scales. Keywords: Hadith, Linguistic Etiquette, Politeness, Politeness Maxims, Politeness Scales, Prophet Mohammad. 1-Introduction Michael M. Hart (1978) placed Prophet Muhammad first in his book, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. According to Hart, Prophet Muhammad “was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels… It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.” 33 Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 in Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia that was considered the religious capital for Arabs at that time. Prior to his prophethood, Prophet Muhammad was referred to in Mecca as ‘AlSadeq’, ‘Alameen’, that is the truthful and the trustworthy. At the age of forty, the revelation was sent to him by Angel Gabriel thus marking a new era in the history of Arabia as well as human history. Prophet Mohammad’s inaugural call for Islam was directed to people in Mecca who were asked to quit the worship of idols and worship God to affirm His Oneness and perform good deeds. The Qur'an, the book revealed to Prophet Muhammad, states that he is sent as a mercy for all creation: “And we have not sent you (O Muhammad) but as mercy for all creations.”(21:107). “We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but a universal messenger to all people’’ (34:28).  2022 JJMLL Publishers/Yarmouk University. All Rights Reserved, * Doi: https://doi.org/ 10.47012/jjmll.14.1.7 *This research is funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Zarqa University, Jordan. * Corresponding Author: whatab@zu.edu.jo