Ever hear names in the news such as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, al-Badri, Ansar al-Sunna, or al-Zarqawi? Surely, we are all familiar with al-Qaeda; literally translated, al-Qaeda means “the base” or “the foundation”. But what does "al" mean? The prefix “-al” is the equivalent of the English word “the”.
According to a recent article, "surnames that begin with "al" often refer to the place where someone's ancestors were born. Saddam Hussein, for example, used to be called by his family name, "al-Tikriti." Since "al-" serves as the definite article, the name "Saddam al-Tikriti" means "Saddam, the guy from Tikrit."
In these cases, the last name generally ends with the letter "i," which turns the name of a place into a description of a person. Arabic surnames can also combine the definite article with the name of a profession. Ali Hassan al-Majid, for example, was given the nickname "Chemical Ali," or "Ali al-Kimyai"—which can be translated as "Ali the Chemist." (Indeed, the English word "alchemy" comes from the Arabic term for chemistry combined with the "al-" prefix.)"
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Bonnie Bruneau |
