Over the years, many have asked me about the meaning of my name, and I have always enjoyed telling a mini-story to accompany my response to that question. It was only a couple of years ago that I had found out my first name <Siti> meant <my lady> in Arabic, or a title for a noble woman; I had always taken for granted that it was a common first name for girls in Singapore and never bothered to check what it meant. Imagine how pleased I was to find out that people have been calling me their "Lady" all this while, masha-Allah!
My middle name <Syuhada>, however, gets reactions that lie on a continuum of "amazement" to "awkwardness". In Arabic, <Syuhada> is the plural of <Syahid>, a noun which has two meanings: 1) a witness (to the truth of Islam) 2) a martyr who has sacrificed his life in jihad fi sabilillah, or in striving in the way of Allah. With suicide bombers being the most popular stereotype of Muslim martyrs in the media, it can get rather awkward when I tell people what my middle name means. A stereotype is, as always, a misconstrued concept as the syuhada in Islam comprise many kinds and not just those who die at war, e.g., even mothers who die at childbirth; giving birth is said to be a jihad for the risks a mother takes to bring a child into the world require so much courage that should she die, she deserves a place in heaven just like the warriors who had fought and died for Allah SWT or the early Muslims who refused to renounce their religion and had to die for that, may Allah SWT be pleased with all of them. Many would be surprised to know that seeking knowledge is a form of jihad, or struggle, too. Even then, one can hardly be surprised at the reactions to me being called <my lady of the martyrs>. Once, a Palestinian read my name card and immediately chuckled, asking me if I knew what my name meant; I could only give a wry smile in response and nod knowingly.
I was to have been named <Siti NurJannah>, which would have meant <my lady of the light of heaven>, but my cousin had suggested to my parents to name me after her friend who shares the same birthday as me, hence the current name. While I am grateful for that, alhamdulillah, I do wonder how I would turn out if I had been named something else. Other girls get named after flowers, adjectives of beauty and gentleness etc., and I get such a strong name that would be extremely hard to live up to, for one can only imagine the prestige of being the lady of the martyrs, all of whom have been promised a place in heaven for sacrificing their lives in the way of Allah SWT. Indeed, Allah SWT knows best and may He guide me to live up to my name, ameen.
'Choose good names for your children'-
ReplyDeleteRasulullah.
I believe, that like everything else HE gives to us, so do the names we choose for our children. And, good things come to those who wait. My daughter is Syuhada.
This is how I found her name.
This happened around the time Syuhada was to be born. I work as a driving instructor, and sometimes our students don't turn up on time. And when they do arrive, we can spot them 'a mile away', literally speaking.
From the spot, where we would wait for these latecomers. We can usually see if they've arrived because, the crossing that they would need to use is quite visible. The student I was waiting for is named Shuhadah Bin ............
I recognized the typo immediately. Presuming at once, that the student would be a lady. A man appears at the crossing. Walks straight to my car. Smiles. Says 'hello'. And takes a seat on the passenger side. I got in and told him that he was probably in the wrong car. I said that my students name was Shuhadah. He replied,' I am Shuhadah'.
I was pleasantly surprised. Not many men carry this name. Not surprisingly, we hit it off. He was a little older than I. But, very forthcoming. He was into the same shit I was when he was younger and we had alot to share. He left a very big impression, and so did his name.
That's a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it with me. :)
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