هَٰرُونَ أَخِى ٣٠
Aaron, my brother.
هَارُون
Harun: meaning of the name
Boy Hebrew origin Hārūn
ProphetIn the QuranName of the prophet Harun (Aaron), brother of Musa; a Hebrew name of uncertain meaning
The word as it is recited in the Quran: Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary, Taha 20:30.
Harun in Islam
The brother and helper of Musa, Harun is a prophet named twenty times in the Quran; Musa asked for him as his assistant, for “he is more eloquent than I” (28:34). The Prophet ﷺ said to ʿAli: “Are you not pleased to be to me what Harun was to Musa?” (al-Bukhari 3706). Asked why Maryam is called “sister of Harun” (19:28), he explained that people then took the names of the prophets and righteous people before them (Muslim 2135).
Meaning of the name Harun
Harun is the Arabic form of the Hebrew Aharon (Aaron). Its original meaning is unknown: the meanings “mountaineer” or “exalted” often given to it are folk etymologies, and some scholars see an Egyptian origin. Arab lexicographers describe it as an arabised name with no Arabic derivation (Lisan al-ʿArab). The name was made famous by the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid and is common in the Arab world and Turkey.
- In Arabic
- هَارُون هارون
- Transliteration
- Hārūn
- Gender
- Boy
- Origin
- Hebrew
Is Harun in the Quran?
Yes: Harun is named in the Quran 20 times, in 13 surahs.
وَأَخِى هَٰرُونُ هُوَ أَفْصَحُ مِنِّى لِسَانًا فَأَرْسِلْهُ مَعِىَ رِدْءًا يُصَدِّقُنِىٓ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ أَن يُكَذِّبُونِ ٣٤
And my brother Aaron is more fluent than me in tongue, so send him with me as support, verifying me. Indeed, I fear that they will deny me."
وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُۥ مِن رَّحْمَتِنَآ أَخَاهُ هَٰرُونَ نَبِيًّا ٥٣
And We gave him out of Our mercy his brother Aaron as a prophet.
وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلْنَا مَعَهُۥٓ أَخَاهُ هَٰرُونَ وَزِيرًا ٣٥
And We had certainly given Moses the Scripture and appointed with him his brother Aaron as an assistant.
16 other verses
In the hadiths
Authentic
Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih al-Bukhari 3706
And narrated Sad that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to 'Ali, "Will you not be pleased from this that you are to me like Aaron was to Moses?"
" أَمَا تَرْضَى أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَارُونَ مِنْ مُوسَى "
Authentic
Sahih Muslim 2135
When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read" O sister of Harun" (i. e. Hadrat Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I asked him about that, whereupon he said: The (people of the old age) used to give…
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَمُّونَ بِأَنْبِيَائِهِمْ وَالصَّالِحِينَ قَبْلَهُمْ "
Is this name permissible?
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Harun in particular: the general rules of Islam apply.
Read the rules for choosing a name
This page is an aid to reflection, not a fatwa. For a personal case, ask a person of knowledge.
Writing Harun in each language
- French
- Haroun, Haroune, Harun
- English
- Harun, Haroon, Haroun
- Spanish
- Harún, Harun
- Turkish
- Harun
- Arabic
- هَارُون
Similar names
See also
- Musaمُوسَى Name of the prophet Musa (Moses); “drawn out of the water” according to the Bible
- Imranعِمْرَان Name of the father of Maryam; Surah 3 is called “The Family of ʿImran”
- Maryamمَرْيَم Name of the mother of ʿĪsā (Jesus); “the woman devoted to worship” according to the commentators
- Aliعَلِيّ “High, sublime, noble”