Hanzalah, name meaning in Islam

Hanzalah (حَنْظَلَة) is an Arabic name for boys. It means a bitter desert plant. Parents choose the name for the companion, not for the plant.

Meaning and root

In Arabic, words are built from a root of usually three letters. Hanzalah comes from the root ح ن ظ ل, and words from the same root share its core meaning. Similar names from the same family of words are listed below.

Is Hanzalah in the Quran?

No. Hanzalah is not a word in the Quran. A name does not need to be in the Quran to be a good Muslim name: what matters is that its meaning is good. The Prophet ﷺ changed names with bad meanings and kept names with good ones.¹

How to say and write Hanzalah

Say it HAN-za-lah. The capital letters show the stressed part. In English it is also spelled Hanzala and Handhalah. In Arabic it is written with 5 letters, from right to left: ح ḥa + ن nun + ظ ẓa + ل lam + ة ta marbuta.

Choosing Hanzalah

Many parents choose Hanzalah to name their child after someone from the early generations of Islam, hoping the child will grow up with the same qualities. With the father's name it becomes Hanzalah bin (and the father's name): see what bin, bint and abu mean.

Famous people named Hanzalah

• Hanzalah ibn Abi Amir, martyred at Uhud, of whom the Prophet ﷺ said the angels washed his body

Names like Hanzalah

• Musab
• Hamza
• Umair

1. Sahih Muslim 2139, the Prophet ﷺ changing a name with a bad meaning.
2. Sahih Muslim 2315.
3. Sahih Muslim 2132.
4. Meanings follow classical Arabic usage and the standard name dictionaries; our teachers will check each one.

Our teachers will check the Arabic spelling and meaning on this page before launch.