عُقْبَة
Boy Arabic origin ʿUqba
Companion“The turn, the relay”; from the root of what follows and the outcome
ʿUqba ibn ʿAmir al-Juhani, a learned Companion and Quran reciter, reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Have you not seen verses revealed tonight, the like of which has never been seen? ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak’ and ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’” (Muslim 814). He later became governor of Egypt. The conqueror ʿUqba ibn Nafiʿ founded Kairouan.
ʿUqba comes from the root ʿ-q-b, which expresses what comes after: the sequel, the issue, the outcome (ʿaqiba, “the end”, ʿuqba, “the final outcome”). The lexicographers give ʿuqba the meaning “turn, relay”: when two travellers share one mount, each rides it in turn, and that turn is his ʿuqba. The name should not be confused with ʿaqaba (عَقَبَة), “the steep path, the pass”, a word of the Quran (90:11) and the name of the place of the pledges of allegiance near Mecca.
The name Uqba does not appear as such in the Quran, but its root (ع ق ب) occurs 80 times. Examples:
وَٱلَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا۟ ٱبْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنفَقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِٱلْحَسَنَةِ ٱلسَّيِّئَةَ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ عُقْبَى ٱلدَّارِ ٢٢
And those who are patient, seeking the face [i.e., acceptance] of their Lord, and establish prayer and spend from what We have provided for them secretly and publicly and prevent evil with good - those will have the good consequence of [this] home -
سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُم بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى ٱلدَّارِ ٢٤
"Peace [i.e., security] be upon you for what you patiently endured." And excellent is the final home.
بَلْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِمَا لَمْ يُحِيطُوا۟ بِعِلْمِهِۦ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِهِمْ تَأْوِيلُهُۥ كَذَٰلِكَ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَٰقِبَةُ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ ٣٩
Rather, they have denied that which they encompass not in knowledge and whose interpretation has not yet come to them. Thus did those before them deny. Then observe how was the end of the wrongdoers.
All the words of the root ع ق ب in the Quran (80 occurrences)
أَلَمْ تَرَ آيَاتٍ أُنْزِلَتِ اللَّيْلَةَ لَمْ يُرَ مِثْلُهُنَّ قَطُّ { قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ} وَ { قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ} " .
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Uqba 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.
