مِقْدَاد
Boy Arabic origin Miqdād
Companion“One who cuts through with force”, from the root q-d-d, “to split”
Al-Miqdad ibn ʿAmr, called Ibn al-Aswad after the man who had adopted him, was one of the first Muslims. At Badr he said to the Prophet ﷺ: “We will not say to you what the people of Musa said: ‘Go, you and your Lord, and fight’ (5:24); rather, we will fight on your right and your left, in front of you and behind you”, and the face of the Prophet ﷺ lit up with joy (al-Bukhari 3952).
Miqdad is built on the root q-d-d, “to cut, to split lengthwise” (qadd). The mifʿal pattern, which marks intensity or an instrument, makes it “one who cuts through vigorously”, and dictionaries of Arabic names explain it as “strong, sturdy”. The Quran uses this root for Yusuf’s shirt, torn from behind (12:25). The name is known above all through the Companion al-Miqdad ibn ʿAmr.
The name Miqdad does not appear as such in the Quran, but its root (ق د د) occurs 5 times. Examples:
وَٱسْتَبَقَا ٱلْبَابَ وَقَدَّتْ قَمِيصَهُۥ مِن دُبُرٍ وَأَلْفَيَا سَيِّدَهَا لَدَا ٱلْبَابِ قَالَتْ مَا جَزَآءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوٓءًا إِلَّآ أَن يُسْجَنَ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ٢٥
And they both raced to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back, and they found her husband at the door. She said, "What is the recompense of one who intended evil for your wife but that he be imprisoned or a painful punishment?"
وَأَنَّا مِنَّا ٱلصَّٰلِحُونَ وَمِنَّا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ كُنَّا طَرَآئِقَ قِدَدًا ١١
And among us are the righteous, and among us are [others] not so; we were [of] divided ways.
قَالَ هِىَ رَٰوَدَتْنِى عَن نَّفْسِى وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَآ إِن كَانَ قَمِيصُهُۥ قُدَّ مِن قُبُلٍ فَصَدَقَتْ وَهُوَ مِنَ ٱلْكَٰذِبِينَ ٢٦
[Joseph] said, "It was she who sought to seduce me." And a witness from her family testified, "If his shirt is torn from the front, then she has told the truth, and he is of the liars.
All the words of the root ق د د in the Quran (5 occurrences)
أَتَى النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهْوَ يَدْعُو عَلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَقَالَ لاَ نَقُولُ كَمَا قَالَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى {اذْهَبْ أَنْتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلاَ} وَلَكِنَّا نُقَاتِلُ عَنْ يَمِينِكَ وَعَنْ شِمَالِكَ…
يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّا لاَ نَقُولُ لَكَ كَمَا قَالَتْ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ لِمُوسَى {فَاذْهَبْ أَنْتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلاَ إِنَّا هَا هُنَا قَاعِدُونَ} وَلَكِنِ امْضِ وَنَحْنُ مَعَكَ. فَكَأَنَّهُ…
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Miqdad 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.
