حُمَيْرَاء
Girl Arabic origin Ḥumayrāʾ
Mother of the Believers“The little one with a fair, rosy complexion”; nickname of ʿAʾisha
The nickname al-Humayraʾ is attributed to ʿAʾisha, wife of the Prophet ﷺ and Mother of the believers, in several reports. Hadith specialists judged most of the hadiths using it weak, only a few being considered authentic by some of them; it is above all a nickname of the tradition.
Humayraʾ is the diminutive of hamraʾ, “red”, which Arabs used for a fair complexion with a light rosy tint: “the little fair-skinned one”. Tradition makes it an affectionate nickname the Prophet ﷺ gave ʿAʾisha. The name is very popular in Turkey (Hümeyra), Pakistan (Humaira) and France.
The name Humaira does not appear as such in the Quran, but its root (ح م ر) occurs 6 times. Examples:
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِۦ ثَمَرَٰتٍ مُّخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَٰنُهَا وَمِنَ ٱلْجِبَالِ جُدَدٌۢ بِيضٌ وَحُمْرٌ مُّخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَٰنُهَا وَغَرَابِيبُ سُودٌ ٢٧
Do you not see that Allāh sends down rain from the sky, and We produce thereby fruits of varying colors? And in the mountains are tracts, white and red of varying shades and [some] extremely black.
All the words of the root ح م ر in the Quran (6 occurrences)
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Humaira 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.
