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14 Proper nouns

14.1 Introduction

Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names:

Men’s	names	Women’s	names
مُحَمَّد	Muḥammad	²عَائِشَة	Ɛāʾis͡hah
سَعِيد	Saɛīd	²فَاطِمَة	Faṭimah
ٱَلْحَسَن	al-Ḥasan	²حَفْصَة	Ḥafṣah
ٱَلنُّعْمَان	al-Nuɛmān	²سُمَيَّة	Sumayyah
²طَلْحَة	Ṭalḥah	²جَمِيلَة	Jamīlah
²أُسَامَة	Usāmah	²زَيْنَب	Zaynab
²عُثْمَان	Ɛut͡hmān	²مَرْيَم	Maryam
²عُمَر	Ɛumar	²سُعَاد	Suɛād
²إِبْرَاهِيم	Ibrāhīm	²أَسْمَاء	Asmāʾ
عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه	Ɛabd Allāh	²لَيْلَىٰ	Laylā
أَبُو بَکْر	Abū Bakr	²أُمّ حَبِيبَة	Umm Ḥabībah

Place	names	Misc.	names
²مَکَّة	Makkah	²رَمَضَان	Ramadān (a month)
²دِمَشْق	Damascus	أُحُد	Uḥud (a mountain)
²مِصْر	Egypt	ٱَلنِّيل	the Nile (a river)
ٱَلْقَاهِرَة	Cairo	ٱَلْفَاتِحَة	the Fātiḥah (a sūrah)
ٱَلْهِنْد	India	ٱَلْجُمُعَة	Friday

Note the following points from the list abobe:

Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t.
Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by ²◌).
Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh

We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter.

14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns

Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways:

All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite.
A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite.

The above points are exemplified in the following sentence:

ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ.
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah.
“I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.”

Note the above from the above example:

مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state.
زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state.
The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases.
Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees.

14.3 Meanings of names

Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples:

مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised one_m”
سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) one_m”
ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good one_m”
طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)”
جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful one_f”

It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example,

جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ.
jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd
“al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.”
or
“The good one_m sat with a happy (fortunate) one_m.”

Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended.

Note however the following sentence:

ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ.
d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt.

This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning:

“Jamīlah went to the house.”

This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be:

ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ.
d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt.
“A beautiful one_f went to the house.”

We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below.

14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns

In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types:

Fully-flexible proper nouns.
Semi-flexible proper nouns.

We will treat each of them below.

14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns

For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon).

Examples of fully-flexible names are:

مُحَمَّد	Muḥammad	مُعَاذ	Muɛād͡h
نُوح	Nūh	سَعْد	Saɛd
شُعَيْب	S͡huɛayb	عَمَّار	Ɛammār
عَلِيّ	Ɛalī	حَسَّان	Ḥassān
زَيْد	Zayd	سَعِيد	Saɛīd
أَنَس	Anas	أُحُد	Uḥud (a mountain)

These are all masculine names.

Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns:

زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ.
zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib
“Zayd is a good boy.”

شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا.
s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā.
“Anas thanked Ɛalī.”

لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ.
labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar.
“Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.”

14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns

The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category.

14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة

All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible.

Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples:

²خَدِيجَة	K͡hadījah	²مَيْمُونَة	Maymūnah
²فَاطِمَة	Faṭimah	²صَفِيَّة	Ṣafiyyah
²عَائِشَة	Ɛāʾis͡hah	²خَوْلَة	K͡hawlah
²سُمَيَّة	Sumayyah	²جَمِيلَة	Jamīlah
²حَفْصَة	Ḥafṣah	²آسِيَة	Āsiyah

However, some masculine names may end with ة too:

²حَمْزَة	Ḥamzah	²مُعَاوِيَة	Muɛāwiyah
²أُسَامَة	Usāmah	²عِکْرِمَة	Ɛikrimah
²طَلْحَة	Ṭalḥah	²عُبَادَة	Ɛubādah

Example:

طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ.
“The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.”

14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ

Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples:

²أَسْمَاء	Asmāʾ	²لَيْلَىٰ	Laylā
²دَرْدَاء	Dardāʾ	²سَلْمَىٰ	Salmā

Examples in sentences:

ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ.
“Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.”

Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example,

سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ.
“Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ”

But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence:

سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ.
would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.”

14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان

All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible.

This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns.

Examples:

²عُثْمَان	Ɛut͡hmān	²رَمَضَان	Ramaḍān
²سُفْيَان	Sufyān	²شَعْبَان	S͡haɛbān

Example:

جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ.
“Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.”

14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل

All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples:

²أَحْمَد

Aḥmad

²أَسْعَد

Asɛad

14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل

Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples:

²عُمَر

Ɛumar

²مُضَر

Muḍar

Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر.

Name	u-state	a-state	i-state
Ɛamr	عَمْرٌو ɛamrun	عَمْرًا ɛamran	عَمْرٍو ɛamrin
Ɛumar	عُمَرُ ɛumaru	عُمَرَ ɛumara	عُمَرَ ɛumara

14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs

Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples:

²يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases”
²يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives”

Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs.

14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin

Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples:

²جِبْرِيل	Jibrīl	²زَکَرِيَّا	Zakariyyā
²إِبْرَاهِيم	Ibrāhīm	²يَحْيَىٰ	Yaḥyā
²إِسْمَاعِيل	Ismāɛīl	²هَاجَر	Hājar
²إِسْحَاق	Is·ḥāq	²مَرْيَم	Maryam
²يَعْقُوب	Yaɛqūb	²يَأْجُوج	Yaʾjūj
²يُوسُف	Yūsuf	²مَأْجُوج	Maʾjūj
²يُونُس	Yūnus	²إِبْلِيس	Iblīs
²إِدْرِيس	Idrīs	²فِرْعَون	Pharoah
²أَيُّوب	Ayyūb	²هِرْقَل	Heraclius
²مُوسَىٰ	Mūsā	²کِسْرَىٰ	Chosroes
²عِيسَىٰ	Ɛīsā	²قَيْصَر	Caesar

Note that ²فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as ²قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names.

The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example:

نُوح Nūḥ

14.4.2.8 Feminine names

All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here:

²زَيْنَب	Zaynab	²مَرْيَم	Maryam
²سُعَاد	Suɛād	²هَاجَر	Hājar

The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples:

هِنْد Hind
دَعْد Daɛd

Example of usage:

ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ.
or
ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ.
“Hind went to Daɛd’s house.

14.5 The name فُلَان

The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example,

ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.”

For females, the name ²فُلَانَة is used.

صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ.
“So-and-so_f told the truth.”

14.6 The Replacement

Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??.

A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee:

In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state.

The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example,

ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ.
“The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.”

In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them.

Here is another example:

سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا.
“The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.”

14.7 Annexed names

So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories:

14.7.1 “Slave of” names

Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are:

عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh”
عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful”

As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example:

عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.”

14.7.2 “Parent of” names

It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence:

ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ.
“I went to Abū Zayd’s house.”
(Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.)

While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example,

سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا.
“I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.”
(Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.)

Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ²أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named ²حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage.

By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames.

For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called ²أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence.

أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ.
“Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.”
(Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.)

Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر.

It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and ²أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah.

14.7.3 “Son of” names

In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion ²عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as ²ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”.

Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible.

Examples:

the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called ²ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām.
the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr.
a human being is called ²ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam.

14.7.3.1 Full names

The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name:

زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ
Zayd the son of Ɛalī

Note some peculiarities of the full name:

The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation.
The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ.

These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence:

زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ.
“Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.”

In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence.

For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن.

Example:

قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ.
“The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.”

The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example:

ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ.
“Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.”
(Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.)

We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below.

14.7.4 Other annexed names

Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples:

ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns”
مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”.

Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”.
ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet.

14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ

Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples:

ٱَلْحَسَن	al-Ḥasan	ٱَلزُّبَيْر	al-Zubayr
ٱَلْحُسَيْن	al-Ḥusayn	ٱَلنُّعْمَان	al-Nuɛmān
ٱَلْعَبَّاس	al-Ɛabbās	ٱَلْحَارِث	al-Ḥārit͡h

If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples:

ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم.
“al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).”
(u-state displayed with ◌ُ.)

سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
“The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.”
(a-state displayed with ◌َ.)

ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ.
“I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.”
(i-state displayed with ◌ِ.)

Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why.

Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it.

Examples:

The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually ²دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء.
The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس.

However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ.

14.9 Place names

Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above.

Examples of place names are:

²مَکَّة	Makkah	ٱَلْمَدِينَة	al-Madīnah
²دِمَشْق	Damascus	ٱَلْقَاهِرَة	Cairo
²بَغْدَاد	Bag͡hdād	ٱَلْهِنْد	India
²مِصْر	Egypt	ٱَلصِّين	China
²فَارِس	Persia	ٱَلرُّوم	Rome
²تَبُوک	Tabūk	ٱَلْبَصْرَة	Baṣrah

Example of use:

ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ.
“The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.”

While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are:

ٱَلْيَمَن	Yemen	ٱَلشَّام	the Levant
ٱَلْعِرَاق	Iraq

14.10 Names of tribes

Here are examples of names of tribes:

قُرَيش	Qurays͡h	ٱَلْأَوْس	al-Aws
بَنُو تَمِيم	Banū Tamīm	ٱَلْخَزْرَج	al-K͡hazraj
²هَوَازِن	Hawāzin	²بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل	Banū Isrāʾīl

Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, ²إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet ²يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name ²إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe ²بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes ²بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl.

Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples:

قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it.
بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm.

14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names

The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples:

²إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example:

بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ.
“Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.”
قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example:

قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ.
“Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes₂.”
²هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern ²فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible.

14.10.2 Gender of tribe names

Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it.

Example:

سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ.
“Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.”

14.11 Titles

Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example:

King David
Mr. Smith
Dr. Adams

Here are some examples of titles in Arabic:

ٱَلنَّبِيّ	Prophet	ٱَلْإِمَام	Imām
ٱَلْمَلِک	King	ٱَلشَّيْخ	S͡hayk͡h
ٱَلْأَمِير	Commander	ٱَلْحَافِظ	Ḥāfiḍ͡h
ٱَلْقَاضِي	Judge	ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ	Professor

Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like

ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader)
ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man)
ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts)

14.11.1 Titles as replacees

Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example,

سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
“A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.”

In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement.

Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples:

خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ	the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh	سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ	the Sword of Allāh
أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ	the Commander of the Believers	عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ	the Pillar of the Faith
أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ	the Mother of the Believers	صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ	the Righteousness of the Faith

Example:

أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ.
“The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.”

14.11.2 Titles in annexations

Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example:

Mount Everest
the river Nile
the city of Damascus

In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples:

جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ	Mount Uḥud	مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ	the city of Damascus
نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ	the river Nile	شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ	the month of Ramaḍān
يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ	the day of Friday	سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ	the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah

Example:

قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ.
“The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.”

14.12 Nicknames

Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”.

Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement.

أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
“Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.”

قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ.
“Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.”

14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun

The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation.

Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns:

عِرَاقِيّ	an Iraqi	قُرَشِيّ	a Qurays͡hite
مَکِّي	a Makkan	تَمِيمِيّ	a Tamīmian
دِمَشْقِيّ	a Damascan	إِسْرَائِيلِيّ	an Isrāʾīlite
شَافِعِيّ	a S͡hāfiɛite	حَنَفِيّ	a Ḥanafī
مَالِکِيّ	a Mālikī	حَنْبَلِيّ	a Ḥanbalī

Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns:

Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun.
The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix.
Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example,
- قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ
The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example:
- A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”.
- A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”.

We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??.

Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples:

ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ.
“Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.”

14.14 Complete full names

We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic.

The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is:

Titles
“Father of” name
Given name
“Son of” names
Affiliate names

The nickname’s position is variable.

Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness:

عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ.
“Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.”

قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ.
“Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.”

ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ
“The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite”
(Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.)