هِشَام
Boy Arabic origin Hishām
Companion“Generosity”, from a root that evokes bread crumbled and served to guests
The Companion Hisham ibn Hakim ibn Hizam is known for a famous episode: ʿUmar heard him recite Surat al-Furqan differently from the way he had learnt it and brought him to the Prophet ﷺ, who approved both readings and said: “This Quran has been revealed in seven aḥruf, so recite of it whatever is easy for you” (al-Bukhari 2419).
Hisham comes from the root h-sh-m, “to break something dry”, hence hashama al-tharid, “to crumble bread to make tharid”, the dish served to guests. This is the origin of the epithet of Hashim, the Prophet’s great-grandfather ﷺ, said to have been the first to prepare tharid in this way. The Taj al-ʿarus gives the word hisham the sense of “generosity” (jud). The name was borne by Umayyad caliphs of Damascus and Cordoba.
The name Hisham does not appear as such in the Quran, but its root (ه ش م) occurs 2 times. Examples:
وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا كَمَآءٍ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَٱخْتَلَطَ بِهِۦ نَبَاتُ ٱلْأَرْضِ فَأَصْبَحَ هَشِيمًا تَذْرُوهُ ٱلرِّيَٰحُ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ مُّقْتَدِرًا ٤٥
And present to them the example of the life of this world, [its being] like rain which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it and [then] it becomes dry remnants, scattered by the winds. And Allāh is ever, over all things, Perfect in Ability.
إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ صَيْحَةً وَٰحِدَةً فَكَانُوا۟ كَهَشِيمِ ٱلْمُحْتَظِرِ ٣١
Indeed, We sent upon them one shriek [i.e., blast from the sky], and they became like the dry twig fragments of an [animal] pen.
All the words of the root ه ش م in the Quran (2 occurrences)
هَكَذَا أُنْزِلَتْ. إِنَّ الْقُرْآنَ أُنْزِلَ عَلَى سَبْعَةِ أَحْرُفٍ فَاقْرَءُوا مِنْهُ مَا تَيَسَّرَ "
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Hisham 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.
