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Why do the ISIS guys have names like "Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi" or "Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi"? I don't know Arabic, but I think these mean something like "father of Bakr, from Baghdad" or "Father of Ibrahim, from Hashem (surname), from Quraish (clan)", right? In other words, their own first name is nowhere. Is this a way to remain anonymous? Or is there some religious prohibition on putting your first name in your alias if it is Muhammad or a holy name like that (Isa, Musa)?
Why do the ISIS guys have names like "Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi" or "Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi"? I don't know Arabic, but I think these mean something like "father of Bakr, from Baghdad" or "Father of Ibrahim, from Hashem (surname), from Quraish (clan)", right? In other words, their own first name is nowhere. Is this a way to remain anonymous? Or is there some religious prohibition on putting your first name in your alias if it is Muhammad or a holy name like that (Isa, Musa)?
These are nicknames. Nobody is born a father (Abu). Normally, a boy is named with "ibn" in his name and his father's name.
For example, prophet's name was Muhammad but he was known as Muhammad ibn Abdullah by those around him before the prophethood. But his wife used to call him Abu Qasim (Qasim was their son's name).
Abu Bakr's name was Abdullah ibn Uthman but he was called Abu Bakr later on and is often known as Abu Bakr.
Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi's name was Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri
So if "Abu" ("Father") is at the beginning, it is almost certain that it is only a nickname.
These are nicknames. Nobody is born a father (Abu). Normally, a boy is named with "ibn" in his name and his father's name.
For example, prophet's name was Muhammad but he was known as Muhammad ibn Abdullah by those around him before the prophethood. But his wife used to call him Abu Qasim (Qasim was their son's name).
Abu Bakr's name was Abdullah ibn Uthman but he was called Abu Bakr later on and is often known as Abu Bakr.
Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi's name was Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri
So if "Abu" ("Father") is at the beginning, it is almost certain that it is only a nickname.
Hello Khalif
(something I have been meaning to ask since the 1990s :>))
Almost 30 years ago I was teaching in London and had one student, I think from Saudi Arabia, who told me that his he had 3 brothers who all had the same first name(as him).
Now, his English was not that good (& my Arabic virtually non-existant), so it is possible that I misunderstood him and me him(although his maths was good & he made a good software engineer).
So, do some families have siblings of the same name?
Hello Khalif
(something I have been meaning to ask since the 1990s :>))
Almost 30 years ago I was teaching in London and had one student, I think from Saudi Arabia, who told me that his he had 3 brothers who all had the same first name(as him).
Now, his English was not that good (& my Arabic virtually non-existant), so it is possible that I misunderstood him and me him(although his maths was good & he made a good software engineer).
So, do some families have siblings of the same name?
Hello JaiSea
I have never come across brothers having the same first name. It could well be that he either meant the same family or father's name (that comes after "ibn" or "bin") or they had another name after their same first name before father's name.
These are nicknames. Nobody is born a father (Abu). Normally, a boy is named with "ibn" in his name and his father's name.
For example, prophet's name was Muhammad but he was known as Muhammad ibn Abdullah by those around him before the prophethood. But his wife used to call him Abu Qasim (Qasim was their son's name).
Abu Bakr's name was Abdullah ibn Uthman but he was called Abu Bakr later on and is often known as Abu Bakr.
Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi's name was Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri
So if "Abu" ("Father") is at the beginning, it is almost certain that it is only a nickname.
I know these are nicknames.
Why do these guys use nicknames?
(a) Remain anonymous - harder for world governments to trace you if your passport says "Ahmed Rashad" but everyone calls you "Abu Jamal" or something. OR
(b) Bad form. If you plan to kill innocent people, don't use your first name if it is Muhammad or some other holy name. OR
(c) It's just cool to have a nickname. Lets people know you're a bada$$ Warrior of Allah. OR
(d) Some other reason?
Notably, Osama bin Laden did not. And this doesn't seem to be prevalent in other Islamic countries, only Arabs.
Why do the ISIS guys have names like "Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi" or "Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi"? I don't know Arabic, but I think these mean something like "father of Bakr, from Baghdad" or "Father of Ibrahim, from Hashem (surname), from Quraish (clan)", right? In other words, their own first name is nowhere. Is this a way to remain anonymous? Or is there some religious prohibition on putting your first name in your alias if it is Muhammad or a holy name like that (Isa, Musa)?
Yes, that's right and it's a long-standing tradition in many, many cultures.
For the Western non-Arabic world it was the Normans who introduced surnames. Prior to that it was "son of" or a place-name like Berossus of Chaldea.
The Latin genitive case for "son of" is filius, so filius Simmons. Abbreviations in Latin were made by placing a horizontal line over the letter following the truncation, so filius became fils Simmons which was corrupted into fits Simmons then corrupted into FitzSimmons.
When adopting surnames, the "Adams" --meaning the first men to use a surname -- used place-names, like Barrow, or professions like Cartwright, Miller, Smith, or used the "son of" as expressed in their language.
One reason surnames were not necessary in Muslim cultures is because there is no such thing as "inheritance" in Islam.
That's not to say you couldn't have an inheritance, it's just that you had to do it a certain way.
You created a waqf.
A waqf is comparable to a non-profit organization. You might create a hostel or inn for travelers making pilgrimages to Mecca or holy sites, or a school or provide for widows, orphans and the ill or something like that.
That creates jobs and a place to live for your wife and children, while providing something of value to the local community or community at-large.
Hello JaiSea
I have never come across brothers having the same first name. It could well be that he either meant the same family or father's name (that comes after "ibn" or "bin") or they had another name after their same first name before father's name.
I know these are nicknames.
Why do these guys use nicknames?
These names are often given to them for one reason or the other.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cfa-ish
(a) Remain anonymous - harder for world governments to trace you if your passport says "Ahmed Rashad" but everyone calls you "Abu Jamal" or something. OR
Actually, none of them remain anonymous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cfa-ish
(b) Bad form. If you plan to kill innocent people, don't use your first name if it is Muhammad or some other holy name. OR
Using a different name won't let you get away with murder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cfa-ish
(c) It's just cool to have a nickname. Lets people know you're a bada$$ Warrior of Allah. OR
(d) Some other reason?
Wife of Muhammad used to call her husband "Abu Qasim" well before he was a prophet. Even today, wives call their husbands using their son or daughter's name such as Abu Hamza or husband might call his wife Umm Salma (mother of Salma). Most of them are never murderers or terrorists.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cfa-ish
Notably, Osama bin Laden did not. And this doesn't seem to be prevalent in other Islamic countries, only Arabs.
His full name was Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden al-Hadhrami al-Kindi.
In Islamic culture, father's name is often used (as in name of Osama bin Laden's full name) so that even if siblings separate for years even from birth, there is no likelihood of them getting married to each other by mistake.
In some Islamic cultures, wive prefers not to call her husband by his real first name particularly after there is a child of that marriage. Not sure if it is due to love or respect but that's how it goes. It's cultural.
I know these are nicknames.
Why do these guys use nicknames?
(a) Remain anonymous - harder for world governments to trace you if your passport says "Ahmed Rashad" but everyone calls you "Abu Jamal" or something. OR
(b) Bad form. If you plan to kill innocent people, don't use your first name if it is Muhammad or some other holy name. OR
(c) It's just cool to have a nickname. Lets people know you're a bada$$ Warrior of Allah. OR
(d) Some other reason?
Notably, Osama bin Laden did not. And this doesn't seem to be prevalent in other Islamic countries, only Arabs.
Actually, the use of nicknames has been historically prevalent among the Jewish people, as well. As regards your question for why Muslims use nicknames, I would choose (d) from your list above, and no other nefarious reason.
In Judaism, the nickname is called a kinnui, and is often a secular translation of the person's religious name. For example, a Jew whose religious name is Tzvi might have the kinnui of "Hersh," "Hershel," or "Hershy."
@Khalif: I really enjoy reading your enlightening posts about Islam. Can you please tell me whether Muslims have a special word to describe their nicknames, that might be the equivalent of the Hebrew word kinnui?
@Khalif: I really enjoy reading your enlightening posts about Islam. Can you please tell me whether Muslims have a special word to describe their nicknames, that might be the equivalent of the Hebrew word kinnui?
I am not fluent in Arabic as it isn't my first language. But I have studied the Qur'an and there is only one verse in it that comes close to describing an additional name like nickname, "laqab" or "al-alqab" (the laqab). But this word in Arabic can have more than one meaning. It can mean "nickname", "title", or used as "pet name". The pet name is different. It could have been given with love or for some other similar reason. "Title" is used for a different reason.
In the Qur'an we are to be known only by our original name and not nicknames. Giving someone nickname is forbidden as it could be used wrongly (derogatory) in some cases:
[49.11] O you who believe! Let not (one) people laugh at (another) people perchance they may be better than they, nor let women (laugh) at (other) women, perchance they may be better than they; and do not find fault with your own people nor call one another by nicknames; evil is a bad name after faith, and whoever does not turn, these it is that are the unjust.
Last edited by Khalif; 11-07-2019 at 12:34 PM..
Reason: additional explanation
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