ثُرَيَّا
Girl Arabic origin Thurayyā
“The Pleiades”, a cluster of bright stars; an image of loftiness
The Prophet ﷺ, placing his hand on Salman the Persian, said: “If faith were at the Pleiades (al-thurayya), men — or a man — from among these would attain it” (al-Bukhari 4897). The Pleiades here stand for what is highest and hardest to reach.
Al-Thurayya is the Arabic name of the Pleiades, a small cluster of bright stars in the constellation Taurus. It is the diminutive of tharwa, “abundant” (root th-r-w, that of wealth, tharwa): lexicographers explain the name by the large number of its stars in so small a space. Something out of reach is said to be “by the Pleiades”. In modern Arabic, thurayya also means a chandelier. The name is written Soraya in Persian and in several European languages, Süreyya in Turkish.
No: neither the name Thuraya nor its root appears in the Quran. A name can be beautiful and permissible without coming from the Quran.
لَوْ كَانَ الإِيمَانُ عِنْدَ الثُّرَيَّا لَنَالَهُ رِجَالٌ ـ أَوْ رَجُلٌ ـ مِنْ هَؤُلاَءِ "
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Thuraya 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.
