عُرْوَة
Boy Arabic origin ʿUrwa
CompanionIn the Quran“The handle, the loop”; figuratively, what one holds on to
The word as it is recited in the Quran: Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary, Al-Baqarah 2:256.
ʿUrwa ibn Masʿud al-Thaqafi came to negotiate for Quraysh at al-Hudaybiya; he later said that he had never seen, at the court of Caesar, Chosroes or the Negus, a king venerated by his companions as Muhammad ﷺ was by his (al-Bukhari 2731). The Prophet ﷺ said that he was the man who most resembled ʿIsa (Muslim 167). After embracing Islam, he was killed by his own people at Taʾif while calling them to Islam.
ʿUrwa means the handle of a bucket or jug, the loop by which an object is grasped and held (root ʿ-r-w). The lexicographers also call ʿurwa the trees that keep their leaves in winter, where herds find pasture when everything else is dry. The Quran uses the word figuratively: whoever believes in Allah “has grasped the firmest handhold” (al-ʿurwa al-wuthqa, 2:256). The name thus evokes a sure support, something to hold on to.
Yes: the word Urwa appears in the Quran 2 times, in 2 surahs.
لَآ إِكْرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشْدُ مِنَ ٱلْغَىِّ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَا وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ٢٥٦
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become distinct from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in ṭāghūt and believes in Allāh has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.
وَمَن يُسْلِمْ وَجْهَهُۥٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ عَٰقِبَةُ ٱلْأُمُورِ ٢٢
And whoever submits his face [i.e., self] to Allāh while he is a doer of good - then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold. And to Allāh will be the outcome of [all] matters.
All the words of the root ع ر و in the Quran (3 occurrences)
خَرَجَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم زَمَنَ الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ، حَتَّى كَانُوا بِبَعْضِ الطَّرِيقِ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ خَالِدَ بْنَ الْوَلِيدِ بِالْغَمِيمِ فِي خَيْلٍ لِقُرَيْشٍ طَلِيعَةً…
عُرِضَ عَلَىَّ الأَنْبِيَاءُ فَإِذَا مُوسَى ضَرْبٌ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ كَأَنَّهُ مِنْ رِجَالِ شَنُوءَةَ وَرَأَيْتُ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ - عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ - فَإِذَا أَقْرَبُ مَنْ رَأَيْتُ بِهِ شَبَهًا عُرْوَةُ بْنُ…
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Urwa 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.
