Saba, name meaning in Islam

Saba (صَبَا) is an Arabic name for girls. It means the gentle east wind. The Prophet ﷺ said: "I was helped by the east wind (as-saba)" (Sahih al-Bukhari). Surah Saba is a different word, the land of Sheba.

Meaning and root

In Arabic, words are built from a root of usually three letters. Saba comes from the root ص ب و, and words from the same root share its core meaning. Similar names from the same family of words are listed below.

Is Saba in the Quran?

No. Saba 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 Saba

Say it SA-baa. The capital letters show the stressed part. In English it is also spelled Sabaa. In Arabic it is written with 3 letters, from right to left: ص ṣad + ب ba + ا alif.

Choosing Saba

Saba is a name with a good meaning, which is what the Sunnah asks for. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The most beloved of your names to Allah are Abdullah and Abdur-Rahman",³ and after these, any name with a good meaning is a sound choice. With the father's name it becomes Saba bint (and the father's name): see what bin, bint and abu mean.

Names like Saba

• Naseem
• Shuruq
• Sahar

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.