Arabic Names

This compilation of The 100 Greatest Muslims  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"])