Muslim names

Khaled or Khalid, meaning immortal or eternal, is one of the names of God. So there is a name 'Abd ul Khaled, meaning servant or worshipper of the Eternal.

But apparently Khalid was used as a personal name before Islam. Khalid ibn al-Walid was the companion of the Prophet who conquered Palestine and Syria. (The prominent Jerusalem family Khalidi claims descent from him.) So it exists as a personal name on its own as well -- it may have become popular because people named their sons after Khalid ibn al-Walid, but that's just speculation on my part. It is pretty unusual for a name of God to be used as a personal name as well, as your book suggests. I can't think of another example.

I just looked at a list of the 99 names and there are several of them that can be personal names. Karim (generous), Adl (just), Latif (generous again if I recall correctly), Muqtadir (decider), Rashid, Wali, and . . . Razzaq. And I imagine others.

i posted this question on unilang where reply after reply piled up only muddling and confusing it all more so finally i resigned and dragged it back here.
i knew you'd just amble in and clear it up for me. thanks.

latifa in persian means joke, anything to do with the one mentionned in no. 2?

Edited by: mathilda

#4 -- Yes, latifa = joke, subtlety, witticism is a borrowing from Arabic. Latif isn't generous (now that I look it up) so much as kind. The verb can mean (with a little change in vowel) either to be kind or to be thin, fine, graceful, elegant, and latif can mean intellectually refined, full of esprit, brilliant, witty.

thanks again, that makes more sense.

Edited by: queen latifah

Karim (generous), Adl (just), Latif (generous again if I recall correctly), Muqtadir (decider), Rashid, Wali, and . . . >Razzaq. And I imagine others.

well actually my book notes abdul-ahed ("the only abdul the christians had"), abdul-karim, abdul-samad, abdul-basset, abdul-rahman, abdul-rahim, abdul-kader (full stop:).

pray tell, what does razzaq mean?

abdul-ahed ("the only abdul the christians had")

What do they mean by that? Arab and Arabic-speaking Christians do use other "Abdul-" names.

well the book is an autobiography of a syrian kurd from a village near qamishlo so i take it to mean that at the time that he lived where he lived that was the only abdul the christians in the area used.
interesting to hear that it's not the same all over.