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Assabile

إِيمَان

Iman: meaning of the name

Girl Arabic origin Īmān

In the QuranVirtue

“Faith”, the firm belief of the heart

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The word as it is recited in the Quran: Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary, Al-Hujurat 49:7.

Iman in Islam

The word occurs forty-five times in the Quran, which says: “Allah has endeared faith to you and made it beautiful in your hearts” (49:7). Asked by Jibril, the Prophet ﷺ defined it: “That you believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers and the Last Day, and that you believe in destiny, its good and its bad” (Muslim 8).

Meaning of the name Iman

Iman is the verbal noun of amana, “to believe, to trust”, from the root ʾ-m-n of safety and faithfulness (amn, amana): to believe is to find safety by trusting Allah. For Sunni scholars, faith is conviction of the heart, word of the tongue and deeds of the limbs. A very common feminine name (Imane in the Maghreb, Iman in the Middle East).

In Arabic
إِيمَان إيمان
Transliteration
Īmān
Root
أ م ن · 879 occurrences in the Quran
Gender
Girl
Origin
Arabic

Is Iman in the Quran?

Yes: the word Iman appears in the Quran 45 times, in 21 surahs.

وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ لَوْ يُطِيعُكُمْ فِى كَثِيرٍ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلْإِيمَٰنَ وَزَيَّنَهُۥ فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلْكُفْرَ وَٱلْفُسُوقَ وَٱلْعِصْيَانَ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلرَّٰشِدُونَ ۝٧

And know that among you is the Messenger of Allāh. If he were to obey you in much of the matter, you would be in difficulty, but Allāh has endeared to you the faith and has made it pleasing in your hearts and has made hateful to you disbelief, defiance and disobedience. Those are the [rightly] guided.

Surah Al-Hujurat, Verse 7

قَالَتِ ٱلْأَعْرَابُ ءَامَنَّا قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَلَٰكِن قُولُوٓا۟ أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ ٱلْإِيمَٰنُ فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَإِن تُطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ لَا يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمَٰلِكُمْ شَيْـًٔا إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ۝١٤

The bedouins say, "We have believed." Say, "You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts. And if you obey Allāh and His Messenger, He will not deprive you from your deeds of anything. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful."

Surah Al-Hujurat, Verse 14

رَّبَّنَآ إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِى لِلْإِيمَٰنِ أَنْ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَـَٔامَنَّا رَبَّنَا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّـَٔاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ ٱلْأَبْرَارِ ۝١٩٣

Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)] calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die among the righteous.

Surah Ali ’Imran, Verse 193

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَٰقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ ٱلطُّورَ خُذُوا۟ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَٰكُم بِقُوَّةٍ وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ قَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَأُشْرِبُوا۟ فِى قُلُوبِهِمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ بِكُفْرِهِمْ قُلْ بِئْسَمَا يَأْمُرُكُم بِهِۦٓ إِيمَٰنُكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ۝٩٣

And [recall] when We took your covenant and raised over you the mount, [saying], "Take what We have given you with determination and listen." They said [instead], "We hear and disobey." And their hearts absorbed [the worship of] the calf because of their disbelief. Say, "How wretched is that which your faith enjoins upon you, if you should be believers."

Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 93

37 other verses

All the words of the root أ م ن in the Quran (879 occurrences)

In the hadiths

Authentic Sahih Muslim 8a

Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish prayer, to pay Zakah, to fast Ramadan, and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able to find a way thereto

One day, we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and had very black hair. No traces of travel were visible on him, and none of us knew him. He came in and sat down opposite the…

الإِسْلاَمُ أَنْ تَشْهَدَ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَتُقِيمَ الصَّلاَةَ وَتُؤْتِيَ الزَّكَاةَ وَتَصُومَ رَمَضَانَ وَتَحُجَّ الْبَيْتَ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً ‏.‏ قَالَ…

Narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattāb + 9 other versions Explained

Is this name permissible?

No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Iman 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 Iman in each language

French
Imane, Iman, Imen
English
Iman, Eman, Imaan
Spanish
Iman, Imán
Turkish
İman
Arabic
إِيمَان

Similar names

Same root (أ م ن)

See also

Wednesday, October 14, 2026 3 جمادى الأولى 1448 هـ