|
|
|
|
|
When the Latin alphabets are
used, the Ayyad ('Ay-yad, عيّاد)
name is found to be spelled in different ways
(which is dependent on the locale/local tongs); some examples of such phonetic
spellings are: Ayyad, Ayad, Aiyad, Iyad, Hayad, Hayat, Hayyat.
In our educated opinion, the
most proper spellings are: "Ayyad", which is the closest spelling
phonetically to the original pronunciation and Arabic spelling. In the case
of using "Aiyad", we see the use of the letters "iy" instead of the "yy" to
express the "Shaddah" on the letter "Ya'" (ي)
in Arabic, which is not the most accurate representation.
The "Shaddah" (Arabic:
شَدَّة "[sign of] emphasis", also called by
the verbal noun to the same root, Tashdid تشديد
tašdīdun "emphasis"), is one of the diacritics (Harakat) used with the
Arabic alphabet, marking a long consonant (geminate). It is thus
functionally equivalent to writing a consonant twice in the orthographies of
languages like Latin, Italian, Swedish and Ancient Greek, and thus it is
rendered in Latin script in most schemes of Arabic transliteration, e.g.
رُمَّان = rummān "pomegranate".
Hence, after understanding this, it becomes clear why using "Ayad" as an
alternate spelling is inaccurate too.
The spelling of the family
name as "Iyad", is simply not correct, because "Iyad" is
usually pronounced "ee-yad" (as in "Iliad"). Iyad is a unique
name in Arabic (إياڌ)
with a completely different meaning.
In some European countries
like France, Central Asia, and Russia, we
come across the "Hayyad, Hayad, and Hayat" spellings which are directly
influenced by the pronunciation capabilities of the local tongs; hence in
these cases it is an adaptability matter, and can be considered accurate for
that region of the world.
In Japan also, there are
pronunciation limitations too... "Ayyad" will be pronounced as: "Ai-ya-do"
and is spelled
as "A-i-ya-do"... it is interesting to note that the syllable pronunciations
have very nice meanings:
"Ai"="love", "ya"= "dealer", and "do"="the way of...", which
will translate to "The way of the love dealer"! The name
is phonetically written (in Katakana) as follows:
The main name of an Arab person is the ism, his or her personal name (e.g. "Karim" or "Fatima"). Most Arabic names are originally Arabic words with a meaning, usually signalling the good character of the person. Indeed, karīm means "generous", maħmūd means "praiseworthy", and both words are employed as adjectives and nouns in regular language. Arab newspapers sometimes try to avoid confusion by placing names in brackets or between quotation marks. Generally, context and grammar will indicate how the word is being used, but foreign students of Arabic may initially have trouble with this. Muslim practices: A very common form for Muslim Arab names is the combination of `abd followed by another word: `abd X means "servant of X" or "slave of X", where X is a word describing Allah (God), often one of the Muslim 99 Names (descriptions) of God. The result is a name such as Abdullah ("Submissive to the God") or Abdurrashid ("Submissive to the Righteous One"). "Abdul" used by itself means "slave of the" and is a shortened name not a complete name. Christian practices: To an extent most Christian Arabs have names that are indistinguishable from those of their Muslim brothers and sister, but Christian Arabs do not use specifically Muslim names such as Mohammed. There are also Arabic versions of Christian names (i.e. saints' names), and names of Greek, Armenian, or Assyrian origin. Adoption of European names, especially French ones, has been a centuries-long convention for Arab Christians — especially (but not only) in the Levant. Thus, George Habash, Charles Helou, Camille Chamoun, etc.  Kunya
Often, a kunya referring to the person's first-born son is used as a substitute for the ism: for example, "Abu Karim" for "Father of Karim". The female variant is "Umm", thus "Umm Karim" for Mother of Karim. The kunya precedes the ism when not replacing it. Nasab
The nasab is a patronymic or series of patronymics. It indicates the person's heritage by the word ibn (sometimes bin) which means "son". Thus Ibn Khaldun means "son of Khaldun" (Khaldun is the father's ism, or proper name). Several nasab can follow in a chain, to trace a person's ancestry backwards in time. This was important in the tribally based society of the ancient Arabs, both for purposes of identification and for social and political interaction. Laqab
The laqab is intended as a description of the person. So, for example, in the name of the famous Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rashid (of A Thousand and One Nights fame). "al-Rashid" means "the righteous" or "the rightly-guided". Nisba(h)
The nisba describes a person's occupation, geographic home area, or descent (tribe, family, etc). It will follow a family through several generations, and it is for example common to find people with the name al-mişrī (the Egyptian, or rather "of Egypt") in many places in the Middle East, despite the fact that their families may have resided outside Egypt for several generations. The nisba, among the components of the Arabic name perhaps most closely resembles the Western surname. Example: Abu Karim Muhammad al-Jamil ibn Nidal ibn Abdulaziz ibn... [through his family tree as far back in history] ... al-Filistini abū karīm muhammadu-l-jamīl ibn nidāl ibn 'abdil-'azīzi-l-filistīnī This means, in translation: "Father-of-Karim, Muhammad, the beautiful, son of Nidal, son of Abdulaziz, ...., the Palestinian" (karim means generous, muhammad means praised, jamīl means beautiful; al-azīz means The Magnificent, and it is one of the 99 names of God.) Abu Karim is a kunya, Muhammad is the person's proper name (ism), al-Jamil is a laqab, Nidal is his father (a nasab), Abdulaziz his grandfather (second-generation nasab) and "al-Filistini" is his family nisba. Normally, this person would simply be referred to as "Muhammad" or "Abu Karim", but to signify respect or to specify which Mohammad we are speaking about (namely, the beautiful one from Palestine), the name could be lengthened as above, to the extent necessary or desired. It is not uncommon for Arab families to be able to trace their genealogy back to Abraham, and further back to the sons of Noah...etc. Westernization of Arabic naming
practices and names
It must be noted that many Arabic countries have now adopted a Westernized way of naming. This is the case for example in Lebanon and Maghreb countries where French conventions are followed, and it is rapidly gaining ground elsewhere. Also, many Arabs adopt to Western conventions for practical purposes when travelling or when residing in Western countries, constructing a first name/surname model out of their full Arab name, to fit Western expectations and/or visa applications or other official forms and documents. The reverse side to this is the surprise of many Westerners when asked to supply their first name, second name, father's name and family name in some Arab visa applications. The Westernization of an Arab name may require transliteration. Often, one name may be transliterated in several different ways (Abdul Rahman, Abdoul Rahman, Abdur Rahman, Abd al-Rahman, or Abd ar-Rahman), as there is no single accepted system. A single individual may even try out several different ways of transliterating his or her name, producing even greater inconsistency. Mistakes made by Westerners and other
non-Arabs
It is important to note that, while such names may be written "Abdul (something)", "Abdul" means "servant of the" and is not, by itself, a name. Thus, to address Abdul Rahman bin Omar al-Ahmad by his given name, one must say "Abdul Rahman", not merely "Abdul". If he introduces himself as "Abdul Rahman" (which means "the servant of the Compassionate One"), one must not say "Mr Rahman", as "Rahman" is not his name, but a name of God, and it might be taken as an insult. Another mistake sometimes happens with names including the Arabic word `alā'' علاء = "nobility". (Here, ` represents the ayin sound and ' represents the glottal stop.) In Arabic pronunciation, `alā and Allāh are clearly different. But Europeans, Iranians and Indians often cannot pronounce some Arabic sounds correctly, and tend to pronounce these two names the same. For example, an internet search will find many instances of the Muslim man's name `Alā'-ed-dīn = "the nobility of the religion" misspelt as Allah-ed-din. (This name is known to Western culture through Aladdin.) Another mistake can result from differences between Arabic grammar and the grammar of some other languages. Arabic forms noun compounds in the opposite order from Iranian languages. For example, during the recent war in Afghanistan, a BBC team found in Kabul an internal refugee whose name they stated as "Allah Muhammad". This may be a misspelling, as described in the previous paragraph; but if not:- By the rules of Arabic grammar, this name means "the Allah who belongs to Muhammad", which is not acceptable as a man's name. But by the rules of Iranian and most Indian languages this name means "the Muhammad who belongs to Allah", which is acceptable; the Arabic equivalent is "Muhammad Ullah". Most Afghans speak Iranian languages. Such mismatched and grammatically incorrect Arabic and Arabic-Persian compound names are not uncommon in Afghanistan. Another mistake can result from Europeans not knowing that "Allāh" often becomes "Ullāh" when it is the second part of an Arabic compound, as in Habīb Ullāh = "beloved of God"; here a European may in error report the man's name as 'forename "Habib", surname "Ullah"'. Problems may be presented by transliteration. The general rule is to follow the transliterated spelling adopted by the individual in question, if it exists, or else to follow one of the available systems. If someone has decided to spell his name "Mohammed," it is somewhat rude to refuse to accept this and to insist on "Muhammad," even if "Muhammad" is the preferred transliteration among scholars. Similarly, to refer to the late President Nasser of Egypt as "Jamal 'Abd al-Nasir" would be technically correct, but likely to produce confusion. Modern and regional variations
While the ibn/bin prefix is still commonly used in names, its use is declining; in some places, this prefix is only used in government interactions, and in other places it is dropped altogether. In Mauritania its usage is still common, but ever since the colonial era many people have preferred the dialectal form ould (ولد, pronounced [wulː]). Syria retains a heavy Turkish influence, which is reflected in commonly found names of Turkish and Kurdish origin; c.f. Adib al-Shishakli. Maghribi names are quite distinctive due to heavy Berber (Tamazigh) and French influences. In certain Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, the name Mohammed or Muhammed (often abbreviated to Mohd.) commonly precedes a male Muslim's given name, followed by the word "bin" and his father's name, for example Muhammad Amin bin Hashim. If the person has performed the Hajj, the honorific "Haji" would be prefixed to his name, for example Haji Muhammad Amin bin Hashim, or even Haji Muhammad Amin bin Haji Hashim. Persons claiming descent from Prophet Muhammad may carry the title "Syed" or "Sheikh" ("Sharifah" or "Siti" for females) before their name and a family name may follow the personal name, for example Syed Muhammad Amin al-Habshi bin Syed Hashim al-Habshi. In Western China, officials will, when spelling a native name in Chinese characters, sometimes represent "Muhammad" by the Chinese character 馬/马 Mo. [citation needed] Sometimes Muslim or otherwise Arabic names are used by people who are not Muslims or even have origins in the Middle East. Examples are: Ayesha, Fatima, and the USA army commander Omar Bradley. Arab family naming convention
In Arabic culture a person's ancestry and his/her family name are very important. Assume a man has the name of "Saleh bin Tariq bin Khalid Al-Fulani" "Saleh" is his personal name, and is the name that his family and friends would call him by. "Bin" translates as "son of", so "Tariq" is Saleh's father's name. "Bin Khaled" means that Tariq was the son of Khalid, making Khalid the grandfather of Saleh...etc... "Al-Fulani" would be Saleh's family name So "Saleh bin Tariq bin Khalid Al-Fulani" translates as "Saleh, son of Tariq, son of Khaled; of the family Al-Fulani." Modern naming convention may drop the word "bin" as it is already implied, so Saleh's full name would be "Saleh Tariq Khalid Al-Fulani" If Saleh was married his wife would keep her maiden name. His sons and daughters will take Saleh's family name, so his son Mohammed would be called "Mohammed bin Saleh bin Tariq Al-Fulani". OK!.... Now:  he linguistic root of our family name "Ayyad"
originates from the Arabic past tense verb "'Ayyada" (عَيَّڌ),
which means "gifted", making "Ayyad" mean "The one who always
gives gifts (Sighat Al-Mubalagha). Ayyad can be derived from "'Eid" (عِيْد) which
is also a derivative of "'Ayyada" and means "Holiday/Celebration"
(which makes sense, since people give gifts on holidays), which makes the meaning of "Ayyad" a
person who celebrates a great deal, and gives gifts generously during holidays
and celebrations. Although both meanings are correct, the original
scenario is most accurate from a literary and grammatical correctness
perspective since in Arabic all words are grammatically derived from their
past tense form.
It is interesting to note that the first mention of
the name "Ayyad" in documented history was the given name
to the son of Nizar son of Ma'ad son of Adnan son of Ishmael son of Abraham (the
biblical prophet), which our family lineage descends from, and is
consistent with the cultural tradition of naming the sons by the names of
their fathers and grandfathers to honor them.
The
Ayyad's are genetic decedents of the "Arabized" Arabs, or
Adnanian Arabs, Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael.
Since ca.3500 BC to date, the Ayyad's and their ancestral lineage evolved to become very
diverse genetically and culturally through
merging and assimilating with other cultures due to
travel & relocation, trade, education & exploration, wars and other events
that encouraged intermarriage.
Its total area is the size of the entire Spanish-speaking Western Hemisphere (also 12.9 million square kilometers), larger than Europe (10.4 million), Canada (10 million), China (9.6 million), the United States (also 9.6 million), Brazil (8.7 million). Only Russia – at seventeen million square kilometers, the largest country in the world – and arguably Anglophone North America (eighteen million square kilometers) are larger geocultural units. The term "Arab" often connotes the Middle East, but the larger (and more populous) part of the Arab world is North Africa. Its eight million square kilometers include the two largest countries of the African continent, Sudan (2.5 million square kilometers) in the southeast of the region and Algeria (2.4 million) in the center, each about three-quarters the size of India, or about one-and-a-half times the size of Alaska, the largest state in America. The largest country in the Arab Middle East is Saudi Arabia (two million square kilometers). At the other extreme, the smallest autonomous mainland Arab country in North Africa and the Middle East is Lebanon (10,452 square kilometres), and the smallest island Arab country is Bahrain (665). Notably, every Arab nation borders a large sea or ocean." -Hourani, Albert (1991). A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Warner Books.
The Ayyad family have historically inhabited the Palestinian cities of Yaffa (Jaffa/يَافَا),
Bethlehem (بيت لحم)
and it surrounding towns like Beit-Jala, Ramallah (رام
الله), Nablus (Neapolis/نابلس),
Jerusalem (Aelia/إيلياء/القُدس
-and its surrounding towns like Abu-Dees), and Gaza (Ghaz-zah/
غزة).
We are still in the process of collecting
and sifting through information about
these branches.
We have also learned that
The Ayyad family have also historically inhabited other areas surrounding
the Mediterranean basin outside of Palestine (Palaestina/Filastīn/فلسطين) , such as Syria, Lebanon, the
Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, and since the 10th Century AD: Tunisia, Algeria,
Libya, Morocco and up to Spain (Al-Andalus).
In some countries in North
Africa, the family is called the "Ben Ayyad Family", literally translated
into the: "Sons of Ayyad Family" or culturally translated into "The Ayyad
Clan", specifically in Tunisia and Morocco, but to date we do not have any
in-depth information about these branches either.
Once we have sufficient
information about any branch, we will add independent pages for each of
these families on Ayyad Central. Currently, we have a lot of information
about the Gaza branch, which will be noticed as you study this site.
By the way, a question we
were asked by our visitors on multiple occasions was if the Christian
(Coptic in Egypt) and
Moslem Ayyad's are related, and we have verified that the
answer is: "definitely yes!" Do realize that genetic lineage has nothing to do with an
ideology or theology a person chooses to believe in or follow. You can choose what you
want to believe in (an ideology), but you can not choose the family you
descend from (heritage and lineage). We can "agree to disagree on ideas",
but we should always maintain a unity and affinity based on love and respect
for the commonalities between each other and those who came before us,
starting with the fact that we are all human beings.
Anyway, In the case of being an Ayyad, you have
'almost' nothing to
worry about...  Based on all the Ayyad's we have met so far (men or women),
we found that they are: kind, generous, humble, PASSIONATE (by
every meaning of the word), intelligent, proud, fearless, and certainly not to be
messed with (referring to their spicy temper
if they are
persistently "pushed around" and they run out of patience)! [lol]
Another interesting
finding that we came across during our research in 2005-2006, is a city/town called
"Ayyad" in
Azerbaijan.
  The
city's name is pronounced in several ways depending on the regional dialect:
"Ayyad/Ayad", "Hayad", and "Hayat". Does anyone have more information about
the peoples of this city, and/or its
history? Please let us know. (Click
on images to view enlarged images.
<<
Also we have the town of "Kawm
Ayyad" (literally translated to "Ayyad Clan") in the Nile Delta north of
Egypt:
<< ... and the town of "Bi'r
Ayyad" (literally translated to "Ayyad's Water well") in Libya:
original
name: Bi'r `Ayyādgeographical location: Libya, Africa geographical coordinates: 32° 7' 50" North, 12° 27' 49" East
 
<<and the town of "Oulad
`Ayyad (`Ayyad)" (Literally translated to "The sons of Ayyad") in Libya
Latitude 34.0869 /Longitude
-4.6092
 <<
and the mountain of "Ras Abi `Ayyad (`Aiyad)" in Jordan (Literally
translated to "Father of Ayyad" point)
Ras Abi `Aiyad, Jordan:
Latitude: 32.35 / Longitude: 35.9833333
 <<
and the Slope of "Iraq `Ayyad" in the West Bank, Palestine
Iraq Ayyad (`Aiyad), West
Bank: Latitude: 32.1 / Longitude: 35.3333333
 <<
and of course, the district of "'Hai Al-`Ayyaidah" in Gaza, Palestine
(literarily translated to the "The Ayyad's District"), which is also
referred to as "Hai Al-Shuja`iya" (translated to: "The Braves District" in
English), and as "Hai Al-Turkman" (translated to: "The Turkman District")
 Also,
if anyone knows if there is a relation or connection between the meaning of
the Arabic words Ayyad (عيّاد)
and Ayyadh (عيّاض), where the first ends with
the Arabic letter "Dal -د" or "D" and the other
"Dhadh -ض" or "Dh" Please let us know... of
course we will be researching this too :-)
  PS:
An example of the "Ayyadh" name is the City of "Ayyadh" (Iyadh) in Yemen of
the Aden Municipality:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
mong many
other things, from this site you can keep up with the events that
effect the Ayyad family branches in the America's, Europe, North
Africa, the Near & Far East, aside of the family's deep roots in the
motherland of Palestine... Yep we are a well rooted and surely a big
family!
.
![[Al-Uqaab]](isl-uqaa.jpg)
![[Ummayyad flag]](isl-umma.jpg)
![[Fatmids]](isl-fatm.jpg)
![[Red national Ottoman flag]](http://www.fotw.net/images/t/tr.gif)
.svg.png)
