I was sitting with my brother Omer and he suddenly asked me that when I read
Islamic historymost of the names are like Abu xyz and why is that so, I started
researching over that when I came across the great historian kennedy's work on it
and for that I would like to share some important points.
Names and titles
There was an elaborate system of nomenclature among the Arabic speaking
peoples in the early Islamic period. In full each individual’s
name could consist of four elements:
1. The personal name (Arabic, ism). This was most commonly Arabic,
e.g. Aqmad, Fasima, or Qur’anic, e.g. Ibrahcm, Mesa. With the arrival
of Turks in the service of the caliphate, Turkish names became
common among the military, e.g. Utamish, Alptakcn; the correct
form of these names is often difficult to determine and variant
spellings may be encountered. The Buyid family often used Persian
names, e.g. Bakhtiyar, and a particular problem attaches to the
transliteration of Persian names ending in -eya; this can also be
transliterated -wayh, so Beya becomes Buwayh, gasaneya becomes
gasanwayh, etc. In general the -eya usage is becoming more common
but readers should be aware of both forms.
2. The kunya, sometimes inaccurately called the patronymic, which
takes the form Abe —— and Umm ——, i.e. “Father of ——”,
“Mother of ——”. In early Islamic times this usually denoted
actual parentage, e.g. the Prophet’s kunya was Abe’l-Qasim from
the name of his son al-Qasim who died in infancy. This was a
more intimate way of addressing a ruler than a formal title and
some ‘Abbasid caliphs with very common isms were generally known
by their kunyas, e.g. al-Manrer, whose ism was ‘Abd Allah, was
generally known as Abe Ja‘far after his eldest son. Likewise al-
Mu‘tarim, whose ism was Muqammad, was known as Abe Isqaq.
3. The patronymic (nasab) indicating the individual’s father or
extended pedigree. This takes the form ibn —— or bint ——, i.e.
“son of ——”, “daughter of ——”, abbreviated to b. The plural
form banE, literally “sons of ”, indicates a tribe or clan.
4. The generic epithet (nisba) indicating a tribe or area to which an
individual belonged, e.g. al-Sulamc meaning “from the tribe of
Sulaym”, al-Khurasanc, meaning “from the province of Khurasan”.
The nisba was an adjective ending in -c (masc.) or iyya (fem.) and
several might be appended to a name.
A ruler, a member of a ruling group or a dignitary might have a title
or honorific (laqab) prefixed to his name. The Rashiden and Umayyad
caliphs were simply known by their isms but both ‘Abbasids and Fatimids
adopted regnal titles indicating the fact that they were supported by
Allah or that they were upholders of the Faith (dCn) and it is by these
titles, or shortened versions of them that caliphs are generally known,
e.g. al-Manrer, al-Mu‘izz. From the fourth/tenth century onwards members
of successor dynasties used titles of the form ‘Imad al-Dawla, Rukn
al-Dawla meaning “Support or Pillar of the (‘Abbasid or Fatimid) State”
and this nomenclature became widespread. For a full discussion of titles
and their development see the article LaZab by C. E. Bosworth in the
Encyclopaedia of Islam (new edition).
The part of the name which is conventionally used by modern writers,
including this one, is quite arbitrary and is more dependent on convention
than logic.
Dates
The Muslim era opens with the Hijra (often spelt Hegira), i.e. the
emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in AD 622. Muslim
years are therefore indicated by the abbreviation AH (Anno Hegirae).
The Muslim year consists of twelve lunar months and is therefore approximately
eleven days shorter than the solar year of the Western calendar.
This also means that the months do not always occur in the same
seasons of the year. There is no Muslim equivalent of BC dating. To find
the AD equivalent to Muslim AH dates and vice versa, conversion tables
are necessary. A useful compendium is G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville, The
Muslim and Christian calendars, London 1963. It should be noted that
the Muslim day begins at sunset and thus straddles part of two Western
days.
By: Ramsha Amir.
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