Abdullah (name)

Abdullah (name)

Abdullah or Abdallah is the primary transliteration of the Arabic given name, Arabic: عبد الله‎, built from the Arabic words Abd and Allah (Allah itself composed of al- and Ilah). The first letter a in al-Ilah in its native pronunciation is often unstressed and commonly transliterated by u, a stressed a is often used as well, although any vowel can also be used. It is one of many Arabic theophoric names, meaning Servant of Allah. The feminine counterpart of this name is Amatullah.

Humility before Allah is an essential value of Islam, hence Abdullah is a common name among Muslims. The father of the prophet Muhammad was named Abdullah.

It is also common among Arabic-speaking Jews, especially Iraqi Jews. The name is cognate to and has the same meaning as the Hebrew Abdiel and, more commonly, Obadiah. There were two Jewish Rabbis in Medina before Islam came; they were Abdullah ibn Salam and Abdullah ibn Shuria. Abdullah ibn Saba was a Yemenite Jew during the spread of Islam. The word Allah exists in the Arabic Talmud and other Jewish scriptures.

The Christian Arabic Bible uses the word Allah for God. Presently in the Middle East, the name is sometimes used by Christians, as a given or family name. The continued use of this name is perhaps attributed to the passage in Matthew 25:14-30 which refers to the parable of talents and the three servants. The parable praises the good servants.