فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلْخُنَّسِ ١٥
So I swear by the retreating stars -
خَنْسَاء
Khansa: meaning of the name
Girl Arabic origin Khansāʾ
Female Companion“Short, slightly upturned nose”, an epithet of the gazelle; name of the great poet al-Khansaʾ
Khansa in Islam
Tumadir bint ʿAmr, known as al-Khansaʾ, the greatest elegiac poet of Arabic, famous for her laments for her brother Sakhr, came to the Prophet ﷺ with her tribe, the Banu Sulaym, and embraced Islam. Another female Companion, Khansaʾ bint Khidham, whose father had married her off against her will, complained to the Prophet ﷺ, who annulled the marriage (al-Bukhari 5138).
Meaning of the name Khansa
Khansaʾ is the feminine of akhnas: lexicographers describe khanas as a short nose, set slightly back from the face, with a lightly upturned tip. The word was also used of the wild cow (the oryx) and the gazelle, images of beauty for the poets. The root kh-n-s also means to draw back and slip away: the Quran uses it for the stars that recede (al-khunnas, 81:15). The name owes its fame to the poet al-Khansaʾ, the master of Arabic elegy.
- In Arabic
- خَنْسَاء خنساء
- Transliteration
- Khansāʾ
- Root
- خ ن س · 2 occurrences in the Quran
- Gender
- Girl
- Origin
- Arabic
Is Khansa in the Quran?
The name Khansa does not appear as such in the Quran, but its root (خ ن س) occurs 2 times. Examples:
All the words of the root خ ن س in the Quran (2 occurrences)
In the hadiths
Authentic
Sahih al-Bukhari 5138
that her father gave her in marriage when she was a matron and she disliked that marriage. So she went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and he declared that marriage invalid.
، زَوَّجَهَا وَهْىَ ثَيِّبٌ، فَكَرِهَتْ ذَلِكَ فَأَتَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَرَدَّ نِكَاحَهُ
Is this name permissible?
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Khansa 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 Khansa in each language
- French
- Khansa, Khansâ, Khanssa
- English
- Khansa, Al-Khansa, Khansaa
- Spanish
- Jansa, Al-Jansa, Khansa
- Turkish
- Hansa, Hansâ
- Arabic
- خَنْسَاء