ابْن son of in Arabic
ابْن is how you say “son of” in Arabic.
Root أ ب ن ʾ-b-n. noun (kinship term). ibn.
Arabic
English
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Meaning of son of in Arabic
- son
- son of — used before a name to form a patronymic e.g. in genealogical name-chains such as "Ibn Baṭṭūṭah"
Example sentence
لَوْلَا صِحَة مامته مَا قيل ابْن الحنيفة
If not for the soundness of his leadership, he would not be called the son of Hanifiyyah.
ابْنُ the son of
This heads an 'of' pairing, 'son of ___', and stands in the '-u' ending as what 'was called'. Used figuratively, calling someone the 'son' of the faith makes him its true offspring and embodiment.
The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used
Lane's own entry cross-references اِبْن (and its feminine اِبْنَة) to the separate root ب ن ي, so despite sharing its spelling with this entry, "son" is not historically part of the impute/trace/eulogize family gathered under ا ب ن here. اِبْن is common in Arabic name-chains, placed directly before a father's name.
Words from the same root
- أَبَنَ to impute a fault to, or suspect, someone
- أَبَّنَ to trace footprints; to eulogize the dead
- أُبْنَة a knot or flaw; figuratively a fault or rancour
- مَأْبُون one suspected of a fault or vice
- مُؤَبِّن one who eulogizes the dead
- إِبَّان the time or season of a thing
More example sentences
فيبعث الله تعالى عيسى بن مريم صلى الله عليه وسلم ،
Then Allah, the Exalted, will send Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him,
بْنَ son of
This means 'son of' and heads a possessive linking Jesus to his mother — 'son OF Mary'. Standing between two names in apposition, it takes the accusative matching 'Jesus'. It governs the name to come in the genitive.
وكذلك قال ابن عباس ﵄ تبدى بالمطر ثم ترجع به في كل عام
And likewise, Ibn Abbas said: It appears with rain and then returns with it every year.
ابْنُ Ibn
A noun 'son of' that opens an 'of' pairing with the following name; as the subject of 'said' it takes the nominative ending. It links a person to their father in the standard naming pattern.
وكذلك قال ابن عباس ﵄ تبدى بالمطر ثم ترجع به في كل عام
And Ibn Abbas similarly said: It appears with rain and then returns with it every year.
ابْنُ Ibn
A noun 'son of' that opens an 'of' pairing with the following name; as the subject of 'said' it takes the nominative ending. It links a person to their father.
وكذلك قال ابن عباس ﵄ تبدى بالمطر ثم ترجع به في كل عام
Likewise, Ibn Abbas said it begins with rain and then returns with it every year.
ابْنُ Ibn
This is the noun 'son-of', the front of a name-pair 'son of Abbas', part of the standard Arabic naming pattern. It is in the plain subject ending as the named subject of 'said' and heads into the genitive name that follows, which it owns.
فما أظنك في ذلك تبلغ رتبة ابن تيمية ولا والله تقربها،
So I do not think you in that will reach the rank of Ibn Taymiyyah, nor by God will you come close to it,
ابْنِ of Ibn
This noun, son-of, is the owner half of the pairing and itself the head of a further chain owning the next name, in the genitive. It is the standard 'son of' link in an Arabic name, owned by 'rank' yet owning the name that follows.
قصة الجصاص مع ابن الفرات
The Story of Al-Jassas with Ibn Al-Furat
ابْنِ son of
A noun, 'son of', that heads its own 'of' pairing within the name, 'son of al-Furat'. It governs the genitive on the next word and is the standard building block of Arabic lineage names.
كان الجصاص تاجرًا أحمق، فدخل على ابن الفرات الوزير،
Al-Jassas was a foolish merchant who entered upon the minister Ibn Al-Furat.
ابْنِ son of
A noun, 'son of', heading an 'of' pairing within the name, in the genitive after 'upon'. It governs the genitive on the family name next.
قال من عند الوزير ابن الفرات
He said: From the minister Ibn Al-Furat.
ابْنِ son of
This 'son of' word stands in apposition to the minister it describes and takes the genitive -i to match him. It is the first link of the name pairing 'son of Al-Furat', a possessive of lineage built by placing the two names side by side.
كان ابن عباس إذا جلس مع أصحابه حدثهم ساعة ثم قال حمضونا، فيأخذ في أحاديث العرب ثم يعود يفعل ذلك مرارًا
When Ibn Abbas sat with his companions, he would talk to them for an hour and then say, 'Refresh us,' and would start discussing Arab stories before returning, doing this repeatedly.
ابْنُ son of
A 'son of' word that here begins the subject's name; as part of the subject it takes the -u ending and owns the name after it, 'son of Abbas'.
وقال ابن إسحاق كان الزهري يحدث ثم يقول
And Ibn Ishaq said Al-Zuhri used to narrate, then say
ابنُ son of
A 'son of' word beginning the speaker's name; as the doer of 'said' it takes the -u subject ending and owns the name after it, 'son of Ishaq'.
عن ابن زيد قال
From Ibn Zayd, he said
ابْنِ son of
The 'son of' word linking the narrator to his father. It bridges two names, owned by the first and owning the second. Here it carries the genitive ending because the citing preposition before it governs the whole name into that case.
أخبرنا محمد ابن قال
Muhammad Ibn informed us, saying,
ابْنُ Ibn
This links a person to his father in a naming chain, putting the named man into a possessive pairing with the father's name that comes next: it sets up 'son of so-and-so' by placing the two names directly side by side. The man before it owns the relationship, the father after it completes it.
وروي أيضا عن ابن مسعود
It is also narrated from Ibn Mas'ud.
ابْنِ Ibn
This word 'son of' links a person to their father and sits in the genitive after 'from'; it is the front of a 'son of Mas'ud' naming chain. It joins to the father's name with no word for 'of'.
قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ما ملأ ابن آدم وعاء شرا من بطنه،
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: A human fills no container worse than his stomach.
ابْنُ son of
This is the front half of 'son of Adam', a possessive pairing standing for 'a human being', and it is the subject of the verb before it. It draws its reference from the name that follows.
يحسب ابن آدم أكلات يقمن صلبه،
A human needs only a few bites that sustain his spine.
ابْنُ son of
This is the front half of 'son of Adam', a possessive pairing meaning 'a human', and it functions as the one for whom the bites suffice. It draws its reference from the name that follows.
يَقُول الله يَا ابْن آدم إِنَّمَا هِيَ ارْبَعْ وَاحِدَة لي وَوَاحِدَة لَك وَوَاحِدَة بيني وَبَيْنك وَوَاحِدَة بَيْنك وَبَين خلقي
Allah says, 'O son of Adam, there are four things: one for Me, one for you, one between Me and you, and one between you and My creation.'
ابْنَ son
This noun is the one being addressed after the call particle, and it is the front of a possessive pairing, 'son of Adam'. As an addressed noun heading such a pair it takes the accusative ending and reaches to the owner next.
قال أخبرنا عبد الله بن أبي يحيى بن أبي كثير
He said, 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Yahya ibn Abi Kathir informed/narrated to us.'
بْنُ son of
A connector, 'son of', linking the man to his father in the name-chain. It joins this name to the next as an 'X of Y' of names.
قال أخبرنا عبد الله بن أبي يحيى بن أبي كثير
He said, 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Yahya ibn Abi Kathir informed/narrated to us.'
بْنُ son of
A second 'son of' connector, linking 'Abu Yahya' onward to the next ancestor in the chain. It continues the stacked 'X of Y of Z' of names.
Common questions
- How do you say "son" in Arabic?
- ابْن (ibn).
- What is ابن used for in Arabic names?
- It is placed before a father's or ancestor's name to form a patronymic, giving the sense "son of..." within a name-chain.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).