Beginner's Guide to Arabic Proper Names (Part 1)

Since many of my posts would contain names of people who have Arabic names or Arabic structure, I think it is best to mention few basic things about Arabic proper names in general to avoid confusion. For instance, if I mention Abuz Zubair Shadeed Muhammad, a person might think I am talking about three different people here: 1. Abuz Zubair 2. Shadeed 3. Muhammad. In reality, it is one person and each of the elements in the name is from the full structure of Arabic names. So let's get started ...

Arabic and Islaamic proper names are ordinarily composed of five parts. A person may be mentioned by one or more of them, or by all of them. Sometimes, a person will be mentioned by one component in one place and by others in another place; this is especially common in historical works.

The parts are:

1. The ism (الاسم) or 'aalam (العالم): Ism (Plural: Asmaa أسْمَاء) means noun and اسم العالم (ism al-'aalam) is the definite proper noun in the grammatical sense. The personal name of a specific person is referred as ism al-'aalam in the strictest sense, or just ism or 'aalam in the short, informal sense. This is the first name or forename given to the person by his parents after birth. (Ism can also refer to names of things and be used in the general sense.) It can be –

(a) an Arabic name (occasionally even a pre-Islaamic one), including adjectives and nouns with specific meanings, such as Muhammad (praised), Ahmad (more praiseworthy), 'Alee (exalted), etc. Sometimes, the name is formed with the definite article (al-), as in al-Hasan (the good, the beautiful), al-Husayn (the diminutive form of al-Hasan), az-Zubayr (the noble Companion), ash-Shifaa (the curing, the healing), etc although most of these names can occur both with and without the article. When isms are preceded by the definite article, they are normally considered as laqabs (descriptive titles or nicknames);

(b) a biblical name in its Quraanic form, such as Haaroon (Aaron), Ibraaheem (Abraham), Sulaymaan (Solomon), Yoosuf (Joseph), Moosaa (Moses), Ayyoob (Job), etc;

(c) a compound name, usually a combination of 'Abd (slave) with one of the ninety-nine names of God, as in 'Abd al-'Azeez (slave of the Mighty), 'Abd al-Kareem (slave of the Generous), 'Abd ar-Rahmaan (slave of the Compassionate), or simply 'Abd Allaah (slave of God). The feminine equivalent would be a combination of Amat (أمة) with one of the names of God, e.g. Amatullaah (female slave of God), Amat al-'Aleem (female slave of the All Knowing), etc. Christian Arab names may also take this form, e.g. 'Abd al-Maseeh (slave of the Messiah) but it is not appropriate for a Muslim to call anyone by such names. All compound isms can be considered as laqabs and there is a benefit to it, as will be explained later;

(d) a Persian (e.g. Jamsheed, Rustam) or Turkish (e.g. Teemoor) name.

In some Muslim cultures or traditions, a person is given double (or even triple) forenames, usually the first being Muhammad, as in Muhammad Hasan, Muhammad Dhafar, etc. Such a person is usually called by the second of his given names, for example Muhammad Hasan is called Hasan by the people. This phenomenon of having or giving double (or multiple) forenames is not common in Arab cultures.

2. The kunyah (الكنية): a name or a title, composed of Aboo (father of) or Umm (mother of) plus a proper or a common noun, such as Aboo Bakr (the first Caliph). The kunyah always precedes the ism, as in Aboo Moosaa 'Alee ('Alee, father of Moosaa) or Abul Qaasim Muhammad (the kunyah and ism of the Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). In principle, Aboo or Umm is followed by the eldest son's forename (e.g. Umm Ahmad, "Mother of Ahmad"), although this is not always observed.

If the ism is preceded by the definite article (al-) such as al-Hasan, the parent's kunyah becomes Aboo al-Hasan, which is shortened as Abul Hasan. As will be discussed below, some consider isms preceded by the definite article or isms that are compound in nature (such as 'Abd al-'Azeez) to be laqabs (descriptive titles or nicknames), hence it follows that the kunyah may be attributed to the ism or the laqab.

Kunyahs do not always represent actual parental relationships. Several kunyahs became associated with certain personal names (isms), either by custom or out of respect for the precedent. For example, a man named Ibraaheem is often called Aboo Ishaaq (Father of Isaac) or Aboo Ya'qoob (Father of Jacob) because of the biblical/Quraanic precedent, regardless of whether or not the man actually had a son named Isaac or Jacob. The kunyah may express the hope for a son or an offspring with the intention of giving him a certain name.

It was traditional to avoid using certain kunyahs, also out of respect. During the Prophet's lifetime, people were prohibited from taking his kunyah (but not his ism); after his death, it was permissible to take either his kunyah or his ism, but not to couple them as Abul Qaasim Muhammad.

A person may have more than one kunyah. 'Uthmaan ibn 'Affaan (the third Caliph) had three kunyahs: Aboo 'Amr, Aboo 'Abd Allaah and Aboo Laylah. Sometimes, warriors would use one kunyah in peacetime and another during war. In written or spoken form, only one kunyah can be used at a time, even though the person may have multiple kunyahs. For example, a person with two kunyahs: Aboo 'Abdillaah and Abul Hasan can be called either Aboo 'Abdillaah or Abul Hasan, but not "Aboo 'Abdillaah Abul Hasan" together.

Kunyahs are commonly metaphorical, alluding to a desired quality or some characteristic (either positive or negative) or distinguishing mark that the person possesses, as in Abul Fadl (Father of Merit), Abul Khayr (Father of Goodness), Abul Dawaniq (Father of Pennies, the kunyah of the 'Abbaasid Caliph 'Abd Allaah al-Mansoor, alluding to his stinginess), Abul Dhubaab (Father of Flies, referring to a man's bad breath), Aboo Shaamah (Father of Birthmark, referring to his birthmark), etc.

If a person's son or daughter is given double forenames as done in some Muslim families and tribes, the person is usually given the kunyah using the name that the son or daughter is known by amongst the people. For example, the father of Muhammad Hasan, where Muhammad and Hasan are both isms, is given the kunyah Abul Hasan. Sometimes the father himself may have double forenames such as Muhammad Kareem; hence his kunyah becomes Abul Hasan in this case to avoid successive usage of the name Muhammad. This problem is not encountered by Arabs who do not normally give or have double isms.

In some non-Arab cultures, males are given just kunyahs such as Abul Qaasim, without any isms. This prompts many people calling the person by his (future) son's name, for example Abul Qaasim is called Qaasim by the local people out of ignorance of the Arabic structure and meaning of names.

3. The nasab (النسب): the lineage, a list of ancestors beginning with the father, each introduced with the particles ibn (son of) or bint (daughter of). This is, properly speaking, a patronymic. It can be loosely referred to as the surname or family name. Often, two generations are given with or without the common family name, but in biographical dictionaries, for persons of great importance, the lineage is traced back as far as possible. The lineage comes right after kunyah and ism in usage, such as Aboo 'Abdillaah Muhammad ibn Yoosuf, Abul Hasan ibn Rabee', 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab, Maryam bint Ahmad, etc.

The lineage do not normally contain metronymics, meaning the name of one's mother or maternal ancestors. The chief exception to that is 'Eesaa ibn Maryam (Jesus, son of Maryam) due to the miraculous nature of 'Eesaa's birth. Nasabs (Plural: Ansaab أنساب) do not necessarily have to contain the ism al-'aalam of one's ancestor; it can be traced to the kunyah of the ancestor such as Ibn Abee Taalib (note that 'Aboo' changes to 'Abee' when placed in nasab), or traced to the laqab such as Ibn al-Qayyim, meaning son of the attendant, as the father of the person was given the laqab "al-Qayyim" since he was an attendant at a local school.

The nasab can also include the common family name or ancestry of the person, meaning the paternal family one belongs to. This is the name that is common to predecessors and/or will be common to successors of a family, not just the father or first-born child. It is common to replace ibn (ابن) or bint (بنت) with Aal (آل) to denote family names, such as Aal Sa'ood (the family of Sa'ood), Aal Salmaan (the family of Salmaan), Aal 'Imraan (the family of 'Imraan), etc.

In spoken form, both ibn (or bint for females) and Aal can be used to refer to a person, such as Aal Sa'ood can be called Ibn Sa'ood for the male or Bint Sa'ood for the female, especially when the nasab is used in isolation without the other parts of the full name. The person who initiated the family name must not have the particle 'Ibn' before the family name (which is to be carried forward to the future generations), since Ibn can only be used as a prefix before the nasab for the successors of the original initiator. The initiator is to be called by the family name itself with or without 'Aal'.

In Persian, ibn is expressed by –i (e.g. Hasan-i Sabbah) or by zade (son), as in Qadizade/ Kadızade (Son of a Judge).

In Turkish, ibn is expressed by oğlu (son), as in Mihaloğlu (Son of Michael).

In modern times, especially in the West, ibn or bint before ancestor's name is ommitted intentionally for convenience, such as Faisal ibn Yoosuf is known as Faisal Yoosuf. This results in people calling the person by what is perceived to be his/her surname, where in reality it is the name of his or her father (or even grandfather). Hence particles (ibn or bint) before patronymics should not be dropped.

4. The laqab (اللقب): an honorific or descriptive epithet, originally a nickname. In later times, these were adopted as titles and conferred with great ceremony. A laqab normally comes immediately after the ism and before the nasab, though it may precede the ism at times, and occasionally the laqab comes to replace the ism.

Many people are known principally by their laqabs such as Salaahuddeen. It is detested in Islaam to give an insulting or aggressive laqab to a person, based on the person's race, culture, appearance, etc. A number of Quraanic Verses and Prophetic Ahaadeeth highlight this issue, such as the hadeeth in the Saheehayn, where the Messenger of Allaah said to his companions during his last Hajj, "Verily your blood and your wealth and your honour is sacred (to one another) as the sacredness of this day, as the sacredness of this month, as the sacredness of this land".

The laqab (Plural: Alqaab ألقاب) can be –

(a) a physical quality, such as at-Taweel (the tall one), al-A'war (the one-eyed), al-Jameel (the beautiful), etc. The isms that are preceded by the definite article (al-) are generally considered to be laqabs, especially if the meanings imply a certain quality or characteristic of the person that the person possesses or would like to possess, such as al-Hasan (the handsome), etc;

(b) a person's profession, such as al-Khayyaat (the taylor), al-Haddaad (the blacksmith), al-Jarraah (the surgeon), etc. It should not be understood that they all indicate an individual's present profession; the professional laqab of an ancestor is often used for generations and simply becomes a family name (nasab);

(c) a person's characteristic (positive or negative) or special quality or merit that the person is known by (or would like to have), such as al-'Abbaad (the worshipper), Roohullaah (spirit of Allaah), ar-Rasheed (the rightly guided), etc. They can be turned into a family name (nasab) or an ascription (nisbah) for generations;

(d) of a theocratic nature, expressing dependence or reliance on God, e.g. al-Mansoor Billaah (the one made victorious by God), al-Mahdee Billaah (the divinely guided one), etc;

(e) a compound with the word deen (religion) or dawlah (state), such as Jalaal ad-Deen (majesty of the religion), Sayf ad-Deen (sword of the religion), Ghiyaath ad-Deen (helper of the religion), Ameen ad-Deen (trustworthy in religion), Aftaab ad-Deen (sun of the religion), Taaj ad-Deen (crown of the religion), 'Ameed ad-Dawlah (support of the state), 'Imaad ad-Dawlah (pillar of the state), Rukn ad-Dawlah (cornerstone of the state), etc.
Sometimes deen (دين) and dawlah (دولة) are coupled in titles such as Ghiyaath ad-Deen wad-Dawlah (helper of the religion and the state);

(f) a compound with a word such as Islaam or Mulk (kingdom), such as Nidhaam al-Mulk (administrator of the kingdom), Sayf al-Islaam (sword of Islaam), etc.

All compound isms (such as 'Abd al-'Azeez) and isms preceded by the definite article (such as al-Hasan) are normally considered to be laqabs. Using this reasoning, a person such as Muhammad al-Hasan is not considered to have double forenames (isms); Muhammad is his ism and al-Hasan is his laqab. Similarly, one with the name Muhammad 'Abd al-'Azeez is considered having Muhammad as the ism and 'Abd al-'Azeez as the laqab. This reasoning is valid and very useful when a person has a forename (primary ism) followed by another given name which is compound in nature or is preceded by the definite article (laqab or secondary ism). In such cases, the person is known primarily by either the laqab or the ism, depending on the culture and tradition.

When a person is given just one forename which is compound in nature (e.g. Amat Allaah) or starts with the definite article (e.g. az-Zubayr), it can be regarded as either ism or laqab or both ism and laqab. There are no strict rules defining such situations, but as a general rule of thumb:
if the person has just one forename, it is considered as ism;
if the person has double forenames, the forename that is compound in nature or starts with the definite article is considered as laqab and the other forename is considered as ism;
if the person has double forenames, none of which is compound in nature or starts with the definite article, then both forenames are regarded as isms, with one set as primary and the other as secondary.

5. The nisbah (النسبة): an adjective derived from the place of birth, ethnic origin, childhood or usual residence, or sometimes from a sect, tribe or family. It is an ascription that flows through generation after generation to uniquely identify the clan or identity of the person and his family. The nisbah comes at the end of all the other components of a name, such as Aboo Moosaa Muhammad ibn 'Abdillaah al-Jaabiree.

A person may have several nisbahs. The primary nisbah always refers to the land or tribe of the ancestors, whereas any other subsequent nisbah refers to the land of the ancestors or the normal geographical location of the person himself. The person's father or grandfather (or great-grandfathers) may have migrated to a new land or the person may have been born or raised (or the person normally lives) in the new location, but none of these facts change the primary nisbah of the person. If the person is commonly known by just one nisbah, it may be attributed to the land or tribe of the ancestors, or it may be attributed to the usual residence of the person. The relation that one ascribes to depends largely on time, place and people.

Each nisbah is preceded by the definite article (al-), as in Ahmad al-Madanee (Ahmad from Madeenah), Maryam al-Amreekiyyah (Maryam from America), etc. The masculine nisbah ends with 'ee' and the feminine nisbah ends with 'iyyah' after the name of the place or tribe or sect. Sometimes the name of the place or tribe is slightly modified when used in nisbah, such as al-Madeenah becomes Madan(-ee or -iyyah) to accommodate the nisbah.

Unlike multiple kunyahs, multiple nisbahs can be used together in both written and spoken form, although it is normal to use just one nisbah in spoken form for convenience. For example, a person having two nisbahs: al-Jaabiree and al-Amreekee can be called "al-Jaabiree al-Amreekee" in both written and spoken form, but the person is likely to be called just "al-Jaabiree" or "al-Amreekee" in spoken form for convenience.

If there are many different tribes or places in one geographical location, a person may have an appropriate nisbah in addition to the usual nisbah, to correctly identify the person's particular location or tribe. For example, an Arab Muslim belonging to al-Jaabir tribe within the Arab lands, may have two nisbahs: al-Jaabiree and al-'Arabee. The nisbah "al-Jaabiree" is the only nisbah likely to be used as long as the person is in the land of the Arabs, whereas "al-'Arabee" or "al-Jaabiree al-'Arabee" combined may be used when the person is in foreign lands such as Amreekiyyah (America).