Carrying the Weight of Your Name

Only recently it comes to my understanding (deep understanding), that every word contains meaning. Each word means to describe physical appearance, detailing (color, texture, and shape), behavior and lot of things beyond my capabilities to describe.

Let try one quick experiment. When you read ‘cat’ what is the thing that appear in your mind?

Perhaps, the same things that appears in my mind. We will imagine an animal, full with fur, whiskers, purr, and cute, lovely, sharp teeth and have claws. Name the details we might imagine the same. For those who are very much in contact with cats, they probably can imagine in more detail. For example the most famous cat in the internet is Maru (from Japan), cat dislike when we touch their feet, they will sound a specific sound when they see lizards, etc, etc.

That is how word contains meaning and this meaning is very specific.

That is how I now really understand the importance of the knowledge been given to Prophet Adam. Prophet Adam was thought the knowledge to name things, in scientific term as taxonomy. It is look like very simple but has strategic role and value in it. With this knowledge, Prophet Adam has been elevated to superior level to compare with the angels. Then the angels were asked to prostrate before Adam.

Isn’t it a beauty? The knowledge to name things is very significant to human being, so only then we can discretely identify things.

Now, how about your own name? Isn’t it comes from a good word. It is very rare that our parent will name us with bad name (word) aieee? So, your name will act on similar basis. The word itself contains meaning, and that is actually a prayer from parent to their children. They want you to become good, as the name accompany you along the way.

Again, let try one quick example.

Joseph (Yusof), is the name of a prophet. He is very handsome man, kind hearted, superb and brilliant leader, visionary, wisdom and virtue, the keeper of the knowledge of dream interpretation and so on. But the word describe Joseph that is common to people is handsome. So, you will bring the weight of this name, to become handsome and have charismatic appearance to other people.

…and Muhammad. The name is reflection of praise. And now we do know that our Prophet Muhammad sawa is worthy of praise, reflect to his name, as what Allah Himself ask us to do. Every morning, day and night to praise his name, when we perform prayer, when we are about to make supplication to Allah, we will praise Prophet Muhammad names, as adab in prayer, and to seek for intercession by his name.

Subhanallah. Again, isn’t it a beauty.

I’m struggling all these years to find the literal meaning of my name. Unfortunately, I’m the only children carrying a name without a literal meaning in it. Sad? I tell you the truth, yes, I’m quite sad. I searched the meaning of my name in many books (name and its meaning) and I bought Arabic dictionary to find out by myself for the sake of my doubt. Maybe my name is too unique so that it can’t find it way inside name book. But definitely my name is common. There are peoples with my name even though I’ll agree it is not too many. So I search the root word in Arabic dictionary. Not a single Arabic character match with my name written in Arabic (I’m using Al Marbawi dictionary).

To be true, I’m sad with this. I’m always this question inside my head, why my parent did not named me with a name that associate with literal meaning in it. While my other siblings do.

But now I know this realm, somehow I don’t have to carry the weight of my name. There will no expectation, generalization, specification and identification. Considering this aspects, this is good, doesn't it?

But I have a name and it is now open to give literal meaning for who I am. And I will, define it with a good meaning, by Allah will, by Allah will, InsyaAllah.

You, whom been given with a name with meaning, you’re carrying the weight of your name. Live it to the expectation, because you are…the name.