Abdel Badana - Teatrul Naţional din Iaşi, inaugurat la 1 Decembrie 1896.jpg

Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the").

It is the initial component of many compound names, names made of two words. For example, , ', usually spelled ''Abdel Hamid'', ''Abdelhamid'', ''Abd El Hamid'' or ''Abdul Hamid'', which means "servant of The Praised" (God).

The most common use for ''Abdul'' by far, is as part of a male given name, written in English. When written in English, ''Abdul'' is subject to variable spacing, spelling, and hyphenation.

The meaning of ''Abdul'' literally and normally means "Slave of the", but English translations also often translate it to "Servant of the".

Spelling variations

Variations in spelling are primarily because of the variation in pronunciation. Arabic speakers normally pronounce and transcribe their names of Arabic origin according to their spoken Arabic dialects. Therefore, it is pronounced and written ''Abdel...'' or ''Abd El...''. However, non-Arabic speakers or Arabic speakers may choose to transcribe the name according to the Literary Arabic pronunciation, which is the language of Quran, pronounced as and written ''Abdul...''. For other variations in spelling, see the Arabic grammar section.

Etymology

In Arabic language, the word ' means "slave" or "servant", from the triliteral root ', which is also related to the word ', "worshiping". Therefore, the word has the positive connotation, in an Islamic sense, of worshiping and praising God, i.e. being a servant to God rather than idols.

Theophoric naming

Essentially there is no ''Abdul'', without the second part when written in Arabic, thus it appears as a component of many Arabic and specifically Muslim names, where it is the opening of a religiously based name, meaning: "Servant of..." with the last component of the name being one of the names of God in Islam, which would form a Muslim Arabic theophoric name. Such as Abdullah simply meaning "Servant of God" while "Abdul Aziz" means "Servant of the Almighty" and so on.
The name ''Abdul Masih'', ("Servant of the Messiah") is an Arabic Christian equivalent.

In addition, ''Abdul'' is occasionally, though much more rarely, used in reference to a figure other than God. For example, the Indian name ''Abdul Mughal'', ("Servant of the Mughal Empire").

Derived theophoric names

;The most common names are listed below
* Abdullah, Servant of Allah
* Abdulaziz, Servant of ''the Almighty''
* Abdulkarim, Servant of ''the most Generous''
* Abdurrahim, Servant of ''the Merciful''
* Abdurrahman, Servant of ''the Benevolent''
* Abdussalam, Servant of ''the Peaceful''
* Abdulqadir, Servant of ''the Powerful''
* Abdul Latif, Servant of ''the Gentle''

Arabic grammar

When followed by a sun letter, the ''l'' in '' al'' (normally pronounced colloquially ''el'') assimilates to the initial consonant of the following noun, resulting in a doubled consonant. For example, "Abdul Rahman", would be pronounced in Literary Arabic: Abdur-Rahman . When the definite article is followed by a moon letter, no assimilation takes place.

Therefore, ''Abdul'' is not always used as the opening part of the name; if the second part starts with a sun letter, it may become forms including Abdun, Abdur, Abdus, or Abdush, the vowel in each name, similarly with ''Abdul'', is also open to differing transliterations.

Independent naming

''Abdul'' does not appear on its own as a male given name when written in Arabic. In some cultures, the theophoric part may appear to be a stand-alone middle name, or surname, thus confusing people as to whether ''Abdul'' is an accepted given name. Often if someone shortens his/her name, he may equally choose the theophoric part or ''Abdul''. However, ''Abdul'' by itself is sometimes used as an independent full given first name outside of Arabic-speaking societies. Sometimes ''Abdul'' is followed by a word describing Muhammad the Prophet, for example "Abd un Nabi", which means "slave/servant of the prophet".

Given name

* DJ Abdel, French DJ and producer of Moroccan descent playing hip hop, funk and contemporary R&B
* Abdul Diallo (born 1985), Burkina Faso footballer
* Abdul "Duke" Fakir (born 1935), American singer, best known as a member of the Four Tops
* Abdul Gaddy (born 1992), American basketball player
* Abdul Hodge (born 1983), American football linebacker
* Abdul Salis (born 1979), British actor
* Abdul Thompson Conteh (born 1970), Sierra Leonean footballer
* Abdul Vas (born 1981), Venezuelan artist
* A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931 – 2015), 11th President of India

Surname

* David Abdul (born 1989), Aruban footballer
*Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born 1947), American basketball player
* Lida Abdul (born 1973), Persian artist
* Paula Abdul (born 1962), American singer and television personality

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Fictional characters

* Abdul Alhazred, character created by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft
* Abdul ibn Shareef, fictional politician on ''The West Wing''
* Mohammed Avdol (also spelled Abdul), fictional character in the manga and anime ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' created by Hirohiko Araki

See also

* Abdu, a nickname for the compound name or a given name. In this case it's not necessarily a name given to a Muslim
* Abdi, similar to Abdu
* Abdiel, Biblical name meaning "Servant of God"
* Abdullah (disambiguation), often confused with having the same meaning as ''Abdul''
* Arabic name
* Composites like Abdel-Halim
* Turkish name

References

Arabic-language surnames
Arabic masculine given names
Pakistani masculine given names