Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 634

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 634

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/634

Some of the Academy's early reports contain errors that we haven't yet corrected. Please use it with caution.

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You asked about the suitability of <Shabazz al-Jubar> or <Shabazz abdul-Jabar> as a period Arabic name.

<Shabazz> appears to have been made up by Malcolm X or his family; we can find no evidence that it exists in Arabic even as a word, let alone as a name. It appears to be used only by members of the modern Nation of Islam.

We did find the given names <Shabbah> and <Shababah>, both from the 8th century. [1]

<'Abd al-Jabbaar> is another given name found by the 8th century. [1] It is formed from <al-Jabbaar>, one of the traditional Islamic Names of God. (<Abdul-Jabar> is the same name in a less accurate transliteration.) We found no evidence that the epithet <al-Jabbaar> by itself was applied to anyone but Allah.

Both <Shabbah> and <'Abd al-Jabbaar> would be fine as given names. Please note, however, that the Arabs do not seem to have used more than one given name. Although they are common today, we have found no evidence that names like <Shabbah 'Abd al-Jabbaar> were used in our period.

There are two ways to use both in a single name. First, <'Abd al-Jabbaar> could be used as a patronymic: <Shabbah ibn 'Abd al-Jabbaar> 'Shabbah son of Abdul Jabar'. Secondly, it could be used as a 'reverse patronymic': <Abuu 'Abd al-Jabbaar Shabbah> 'Shabbah the father of Abdul Jabar'.

Most of the research for this letter was provided by Sion Andreas o Wynedd and Da'ud ibn Auda. We hope that it has been of use and that you will write us if you have any other questions.

For the Academy,

Talan Gwynek


[1] Dodge, Bayard, _The Fihrist of al-Nadim_, Vol. II (New York: Columbia University Press, 1970).