Ridha

Ridha ( _ar. رضا) is an Arabic word and male first name meaning "contentment".

Meaning of the word

It is an Islamic concept rooted in the Qur'an and the practices of its founder Muhammad. [ Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2005 DVD. Copyright © 1994-2004. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.] . This idea of contentment is expressed in two Qur'anic verses which discuss the contentment of God (Arabic "Allah") with believers and, conversely, of believers with God:

:"Allah was well pleased with the believers..." (Quran-usc|48|18)

:"The true believers (mu'minin) are pleased with God." Fact|date=February 2007

Muhammad also said:

:"He who is satisfied with God gets real taste of iman."Fact|date=February 2007

Muslims believe that God's pleasure with the servant is expressed through his gifts both material and spiritual and the servant's pleasure with God is the name of his obedience to God's commands and submission to his will. Ridha on the part of the human also includes his determination to accept God's decree irrespective of whether it is favourable or unfavourable.Fact|date=February 2007

Name

The name is very popular among the Shia community, especially in Iran, the largest Shia-dominated nation in the world, mainly because the 8th Imam of Shia Islam, Imam 'Ali al-Ridha, bore this name.

Because the Arabic "-dh" sound (comparable to the English "-th") does not exist in the Persian language, Persian-speakers replace the sound with a "-z" and pronounce the name as Rezā. This pronunciation was also adopted by other languages influenced by Persian, most of all Turkish and Hindustani.

References