"al-Dīn" style names from Ibn al-Bannāʼ
by Basil Dragonstrike


This list collects all the so-called titles of the form "____al-Dīn" and similar formations (e.g. al-Dawla instead of al-Dīn). Some of these come from nasabs, where an ancestor is referred to by his "title" rather than his ism.

In spoken Arabic, the prefix "al-" is not always pronounced as written. Specifically, the "a" is elided (that is, not pronounced) following a word ending in a vowel; also, the "l" is sometimes assimilated (that is, it is changed to the sound of the following letter) before "sun letters." Makdisi has changed the spelling of "al-" to fit the pronunciation throughout his translation. Upon consideration, I have decided to use the spelling "al-" throughout, as I believe this is more useful to re-enactors, particularly as the spelling with "al-" is more common than with it altered.

People in the SCA should note that while this sort of name phrase used to be considered presumptuous, that is no longer true, and has not been since October 2020.


‘Alam al-Dīn
‘Amīd al-Daula
Dhakhīrat al-Dīn
Ḑiyā’ al-Dīn
Fakhr al-Daula
‘Imad al-Dīn
Taqī al-Dīn
Za‘īm al-Daula
Za‘īm al-Mulk

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