ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2483 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2483 ************************************ 31 Mar 2002 From: Ursula Whitcher Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether the name or would be appropriate for a nomadic Arab woman who lived during the period of Mongol and Mamluk power in the Middle East, roughly the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries AD. Here is what we have found. The Arabic name or is identical to an Arabic word that means "righteous" or "pious". As a general rule, the meaning of a name does not tell us anything about why it was used, or whether it was used at all; to pick a modern example, comes from an Aramaic word that means "twin", but most men named are not twins. However, is something of an exception to this rule. Hadith, ninth century accounts of the life of Muhammad which are treated as primary interpretations of Islamic law, include discussion of appropriate names for Muslims. Several hadith specifically label as an inappropriate name for an Islamic woman. [1] Here is a typical report: Muhammad b. 'Amr b. 'Ata' reported: I had given the name Barra to my daughter. Zainab, daughter of Abu Salama, told me that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had forbidden me to give this name. (She said): I was also called Barra, but Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Don't hold yourself to be pious. It is God alone who knows the people of piety among you. They (the Companions) said: Then, what name should we give to her? He said: Name her as Zainab. [2] If hadith were used for choosing names in your period, may not be the best choice for the name of a Muslim woman. However, we did find this name used by Arabic-speaking Jewish women living in Cairo. Since these women used many of the same names as their Muslim neighbors, it is possible that an Arabic-speaking Muslim woman could also have been named . We believe this name would have been pronounced \BAR-rah\, with the 'r' trilled as in Spanish or Italian. [10] If you're interested in a different name, you might consider or , which replaces in several reports; we've found women named in later documents as well, and we believe it is an appropriate name for your period. We believe this name was pronounced \ZIE-nahb\, where \ZIE\ rhymes with the word "die". [3, 4] You might also be interested in the name ; we found this name in several hadith. This name was pronounced \bah-RIH-rah\, where /IH/ represents a sound similar to the 'i' in "bit" but held for a longer period of time. [8, 9] was a popular Arabic name throughout your period; it is a fine choice for your father's name. We believe this name was pronounced \ZIDE\, to rhyme with the word "died." [3, 4, 5] The Nejd or Najd is a region in what is now central Saudi Arabia. [7, 11] The Arabic term for a woman from the Najd is . However, we believe that a woman probably would not have been identified as during your period: the Najd is quite a large region, and people were ordinarily identified as coming from a smaller area, often a specific city or town. If this description was used, it would have been pronounced \ahl-nahdj-DIH-yah\. If you'd like to identify yourself as being from a place in the Najd, we may be able to make some suggestions; please write to us again if you're interested in this possibility. To sum up, we believe that is a possible name for an Arabic-speaking Muslim woman during your period, though or might be better choices. A woman named whose father was called would have been known as , "Zaynab daughter of Zayd". I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Arval Benicoeur, Sion Andreas, Talan Gwynek, Juliana de Luna, Da'ud ibn Auda, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Ursula Georges 31 March 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] Abul Husain Muslim bin al-Hajjaj al-Nisapuri, "Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 25: The Book on General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)", trans. Abdul Hamid Siddiqui (WWW: Muslim Students Association at USC, visited 2002) http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/025.smt.html, Book 25 no. 5334-5337. [2] Muslim, Book 25 no. 5337. [3] Juliana de Luna, "Andalusian Names: Arabs in Spain" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 2001) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/andalusia/ [4] Baynard Dodge, _The Fihrist of al-Nadim_ (New York: Columbia University Press, 1970). [5] Mustapha al-Muhaddith ibn al-Saqaat, "Arabic Personal Names from the Futuwwah", ed. Arval Benicoeur and Avelina of the Bridge (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mustapha/futuwwah.html [6] Da'ud ibn Auda, "Arabic Naming Practices and Names List," _Compleat Anachronist_ #51, "The Islamic World" (Milpitas: SCA, Inc, Autumn 1990; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/daud/arabic-naming/ [7] "Nejd", _The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition_ (WWW: Columbia University Press, 2001) http://www.bartleby.com/65/ne/Nejd.html [8] Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin al-Mughira al-Ja'fai, "Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 63: Divorce", trans. M. Muhsin Khan (WWW: Muslim Students Association at USC, visited 2002) http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/063.sbt.html, Vol. 7 Book 3 Number 202-209. [9] Muslim, "Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 5: The Book of Zakat (Kitab Al-Zakat)", trans. Abdul Hamid Siddiqui (WWW: Muslim Students Association at USC, visited 2002) http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/005.smt.html, Book 5 No. 2351-2353 [10] Juliana de Luna, "Jewish Women's Names in an Arab Context: Names from the Geniza of Cairo", Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, 2001. [11] We use rather than because medieval phonological texts only admit to three vowels in classical Arabic: A, I and U. From private communication with Sion Andreas. [12] The final 'h' is a more accurate transliteration which represents the Arabic taa' marbutah, the feminine marker. From private communication with Sion Andreas.