Arabic Names/Names Compendium

This compilation of Great Women of Islam is ultimately a compendium of Arabic names.Generally, Arabic names consist of five components:

(1) ism derived from Islamic or pre-Islamic tradition (e.g., Ibrahim, Dawud, 'Abd Allah  ["servant of God"], Asad ["lion"]);

(2) kunya, a surname, denoting the father of the oldest son (e.g., Abu Ja'far ["father of Ja'far"]; or an attribute (e.g., Abu al-Atahiya ["father of folly"]);

(3) nasab,the father's/mother's name (e.g., Ibn Rushd ["son of Rushd"]);

(4) nisba, the place of origin, or residence (e.g., al-Qurashi ["from the tribe of Quraysh"]); and

(5) laqab, one or more surnames (e.g., al-Atrash ["the deaf one"], al-Jahiz ["the goggle-eyed"]).

A typical Arab name would follow the formula: laqab - kunya - ism - nasab - nisba - laqab. For example, the name 'Izz al-Din Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Sayf al-Din Abi al-Mansur Muhammad ibn 'Izz al-Din Abi al-Qasim Thabit ibn Muhammad ibn Husayn ibn Hasan ibn Rizq Allah al-Qurashi al-Tahhan consists of the following components:

'Izz al-Din {laqab}

Abu Ja'far {kunya}

Muhammad {ism}

ibn Sayf al-Din {father's laqab}

Abi al-Mansur {father's kunya}

Muhammad {father's ism}

ibn 'Izz al-Din {father's laqab}

Abi al-Qasim {grandfather's kunya}

Thabit {grandfather's ism}

ibn Muhammad {great-grandfather}

ibn Husayn {great-great-grandfather}

ibn Hasan {great-great-great-grandfather}

ibn Rizq Allah {great-great-great-great-grandfather}

al-Qurashi {nisba}

al-Tahhan {laqab ["the miller"]}

Names Compendium

A compendium of the names of the individuals whose profiles may be found in this work along with the alternative names by which those individuals may be known can be found in the Names Compendium for Muslim Works.