In the name of the faith

I assessed the scope of this work by trying to locate the names of ordinary Muslims such as my friends and relatives, male and female. Virtually all are here, including both my names. Shabbir is thought to be the name of one of Aaron's sons. The names of virtually all famous Muslim men and women are also included in this entertaining and informative collection. Muhammad means "praised one"; Ruhollah Khomeini means "the spirit of God" with the second name referring to his birthplace; and Salman Rushdie means "one who is safe", "rightly guided". Saddam (meaning firm-footed) is not listed.

The dictionary has entries for both genders, covering first names and titles. Many Muslim names, like Hebrew, are theophoric: they refer to divine attributes. The entries are predominantly Arabian, derived from the Koran and the prophetic traditions; a substantial number of Persian names are also listed, though many have secular meanings. All are written out in unvocalised Arabic and Persian script along with the English translation and transliteration. Names of Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali and Malay origin are excluded since these and other languages spoken by Muslims in the Indian subcontinent and Far East derive their naming systems from Arabic and Persian.

A good few of the female names are esoteric, often based on compliments that are unintelligible outside Semitic culture. For example, it would require a poet's imagination to persuade a non-Arab Muslim woman to feel flattered when described as, say, "desert sand" (Ramia), an "ear of corn" (Sunbala), a "pleasure trip" (Nuzhat), or a "small rain cloud" (Muzaina).

Shabbir Akhtar is writing a biography of St Paul.