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What is the origin and meaning of the name "Rudaynah," and is it a favored name for girls, especially given that it has two meanings: one being "the fragrant good tree" and the other "the dust of Paradise"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Linguists have differed on the origin of the name "Rudayni." Al-Fayruzabadi mentioned it as a proper noun, while Al-Zabidi corrected its vocalization and indicated that it is a name resembling a nisbah (relational adjective), such as "Al-Rudayni ibn Abi Mujalaz." Al-Zabidi also stated that "Rudaynah" was a pre-Islamic woman who straightened spears, and the Rudayniyah spears were attributed to her. Ibn Faris pointed out the difficulty in finding a comprehensive meaning for the root (R-D-N), and mentioned various separate meanings such as the cuff of a sleeve (al-rudun), silk (al-radan), the Rudayniyah spears attributed to a woman named Rudaynah, a reddish-yellow camel (a camel with redness mixed with yellowness), a spindle (al-mirdan), and saffron (al-radin). The interpretation of the name as a sweet-smelling tree goes back to the meaning of "al-rand," but its interpretation as earth from Paradise is incorrect and might have been confused with "al-darmak," which is the earth of Paradise as mentioned in the hadith. There is no harm in naming someone Rudaynah or Rudayni, but it is not among the names favored by Islamic law.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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