Nayel

Meaning of Nayel

Nayel (transliteration: Nāʾil, also spelled Naell) is an indirect Quranic name for boys derived from the N-Y-L, which has suggestions of “accomplishing” and “obtaining”. Nayel primarily means:

• Obtainer, getter, winner, gainer; earner, attainer, achiever, acquirer. Nayel denotes a person who achieves or acquires something, such as a goal, reward, or desired object
• One who attains spiritual success and success in the afterlife: the Quran uses the N-Y-L root to refer to obtaining Allah’s pleasure and rewards, and Nayel, as its subject form, would mean one who is the obtainer of such approval and rewards from Allah.
• Someone successful, determined and hard-working (the modern Arabic connotations). One who has the qualities of success, a go-getter
• One who harms an enemy: Nayel denotes a person who “gets the better of” someone else, this is related to its meaning of “obtainer”, a person who is Nayel is one who obtains their desired goal from an enemy in a conflict, which obviously means causing them harm or loss.
• A thing obtained, a prize.

The great 12th century scholar of the Quran Al-Rāghib al-Isfahānī says, describing the N-Y-L root’s basic meanings:

النَّيْلُ: ما يناله الإنسان بيده، نِلْتُهُ أَنَالُهُ نَيْلًا.
قال تعالى: لَنْ تَنالُوا الْبِرَّ [آل عمران/ 92] ، وَلا يَنالُونَ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ نَيْلًا [التوبة/ 120] ، لَمْ يَنالُوا خَيْراً [الأحزاب/ 25] والــنَّوْلُ: التّناول. يقال: نِلْتُ كذا أَــنُولُ نَوْلًــا، وأَنَلْتُهُ: أوليته، وذلك مثل: عطوت كذا:
تناولت، وأعطيته.

Al-nayl [N-Y-L]: what a person reaches with his hand. Niltuhu anāluhu naylan (I reached it, I reach it, reaching). Allah the Exalted said: “You will never attain righteousness” [Quran, Āl ‘Imrān/92], and “They do not inflict any harm upon an enemy” [Quran, At-Tawbah/120], “They did not obtain any good” [Quran, Al-Aḥzāb/25].
And al-nawl: the act of reaching/taking. It is said: niltu such-and-such anūlu nawlan, and analtahu: I gave it to him.¹

The 14th century scholar Ibn Manẓūr says in Lisān al-ʿArab (one of the most respected dictionaries of Arabic)

النائِل: ما نِلْته.

Al-nāʾil (= Nayel): What you obtain/achieve.²

And in a hadith included in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Companion Wahb bin ʿAbdullāh describes a scene about Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] in which describes the successful ones as Nayel:

وعن أبى جحيفة وهب بن عبد الله رضى الله عنه قال‏:‏ رأيت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بمكة وهو بالأبطح في قبة له حمراء من آدم، فخرج بلال بوضوئه، فمن ناضح ونائل، فخرج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وعليه حلة حمراء، كأني أنظر إلى بياض ساقيه، فتوضأ وأذن بلال، فجعلت أتتبع فاه ههنا وههنا، يقول يمينا وشمالاً‏:‏ حي على الصلاة، حي على الفلاح، ثم ركزت له عنزة، فتقدم فصلى يمر بين يديه الكلب والحمار لا يمنع‏.

From Abu Juhayfah Wahb ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I beheld the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, at Mecca whilst he was at al-Abṭaḥ in a crimson pavilion of red leather. Then Bilal emerged bearing his ablution water, and lo! between those who only got a sprinkle and others who were successful / obtained their desire [i.e. got a substantial amount of water]. Thereafter the Prophet came forth, peace and blessings be upon him, garbed in a red garment, and methinks I yet gaze upon the whiteness of his shins. He performed his ablution and Bilal gave the call to prayer, and I found myself following his mouth hither and thither as he turned right and left, proclaiming: “Come to prayer, come to success!” Then a short spear was planted for him, and he stepped forward and led the prayer, whilst before him passed dogs and donkeys unhindered.[notes]Riyad as-Salihin 781.[/note]

Nayel From the N-W-L Root

There is another word Nayel, with the exact same Arabic spelling and pronunciation, that is from a different root and has different meanings. According to the greatest scholarly sources I checked, this root is never mentioned in the Quran. However, the great scholar Al-Rāghib al-Isfahānī (already quoted above) mentions N-W-L as part of N-Y-L, as if they are the same.³ In which case the following meanings would also belong to Nayel as a Quranic name.

Nayel when derived from the N-W-L (ن و ل) root, has meanings of giving, bestowing, and generosity. Nayel’s meanings in N-W-L are:

• Gift: something given freely
• An instance of favor, generosity or kindness received from someone, such as a donation or present.
• Related to giving, bestowing, generosity

According to Lisān al-ʿArab by Ibn Manẓūr:

نول: الليث: النَائلُ ما نِلْت من معروف إِنسان، وكذلك النَّوَال. وأَنالَهُ معروفه ونَوَّلَه: أَعطاه معروفه
[The root] N-W-L: Al-Layth⁴ [said]: Nāʾil (= Nayel) is what you have obtained from a person’s kindness, and likewise al-nawāl (Nawal). And anālahu ma’rūfahu and nawwalahu [two Arabic verbs that are the action-form of Nayel]: he gave him his kindness/favor.⁵

The Andalusian scholar Ibn Sīda al-Mursī (d. 1066 CE) clarifies the meaning of Nayel in context:

وَرَجُلٌ نَالٌ جَوَادٌ يَجُوزُ أَنْ يكونَ فَعْلاً وأَنْ يكونَ فَاعِلاً ذَهَبَتْ عَيْنُهُ وقيلَ كَثِيْرُ النّائلِ وَنَالَ يَنَالُ نَائِلــاً وَنَيْلاً صَارَ نَالاً وَمَا أَنْوَلَهُ أَي مَا أَكْثرنَائلَهُ.
And a man who is nāl [a word related to Nayel] is [one who is] extremely generous (literally: possesses the quality of having Jawad): [he goes on to say:] it is possible that it could be of the pattern faʿl and that it could be of the pattern fāʿil whose middle radical has been dropped. And it is said “[he] has much nāʾil (= Nayel)” [has a great number of generous acts in his past and present]. And nāla yanālu nā’ilan wa naylan [various verbs from the N-W-L root]: “he became nāl” [showing how to use the related word nāl]. And [when it is said] mā anwalahu: it means how abundant is his nāʾil [= Nayel, his giving/generosity].⁶

Quranic References for Nayel’s N-Y-L Root

From the test above, we can tell the verses below are clearly from N-W-L, since there is no suggestion of getting the better of someone/something in a fight or conflict.

وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ

And when his Lord tested Abraham with certain words, and he fulfilled them, He said: “Indeed I am making you a leader for mankind.” He said: “And from my offspring?” He said: “My covenant does not pertain (la yanālu) the wrongdoers [i.e. is not attainable by them].” (Quran 2:124)

لَنْ يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَكِنْ يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنْكُمْ كَذَلِكَ سَخَّرَهَا لَكُمْ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

Their flesh and their blood will never reach Allah, but rather the piety from you reaches Him. Thus He has subjected them to you so that you may magnify Allah for what He has guided you to, and give good tidings to those who do good. (Quran 22:37)

وَرَدَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِغَيْظِهِمْ لَمْ يَنَالُوا خَيْرًا وَكَفَى اللَّهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْقِتَالَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ قَوِيًّا عَزِيزًا

And Allah turned back those who disbelieved in their rage – they did not obtain any good. And Allah spared the believers from fighting, and Allah is Strong, Mighty. (Quran 33:25)

مَا كَانَ لِأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُمْ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ أَنْ يَتَخَلَّفُوا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَرْغَبُوا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُصِيبُهُمْ ظَمَأٌ وَلَا نَصَبٌ وَلَا مَخْمَصَةٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَطَئُونَ مَوْطِئًا يَغِيظُ الْكُفَّارَ وَلَا يَنَالُونَ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ نَيْلًا إِلَّا كُتِبَ لَهُمْ بِهِ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

It was not for the people of Medina and those around them of the Bedouins to stay behind from the Messenger of Allah or to prefer themselves over his soul. That is because they are not afflicted by thirst or fatigue or hunger in the way of Allah, nor do they tread any ground that enrages the disbelievers, nor do they inflict any harm upon / prevail over (yanālūna) decisively (naylan)⁷,  an enemy, except that a righteous deed is recorded for them thereby. Indeed, Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good. (Quran 9:120)

1. Al-Rāghib al-Isfahānī, al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb al-Qurʾān , entry for: نيل.
2. Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab , entry for: نيل.
3. Al-Rāghib al-Isfahānī, al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb al-Qurʾān , entry for: نيل.
4. Al-Layth refers to Al-Layth ibn al-Muẓaffar (died around 187 AH / 803 CE), a prominent early Arabic lexicographer and grammarian from Khorasan. He was one of the teachers of the famous lexicographer Al-Azharī (author of Tahdhīb al-Lughah).
5. Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab , entry for: نول.
6. Ibn Sīda al-Mursī, Al-Muḥkam wa-l-Muḥīṭ al-Aʿẓam , entry for: نول.
7. Here the Quran uses a common Arabic emphatic form (al-mafʿūl al-muṭlaq = absolute object/cognate accusative) where a verb is followed by its subject, then by a noun from the same root. In English we can translate this noun as “in a major way”, “decisively”, and so on, or “in a true/real/strong” way. Another Quranic example of this emphatic form is وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا , which literally, to someone who does not know much Arabic, would seem like “and Allah spoke to Moses a speaking”, but its true meaning is “and Allah truly/genuinely spoke to Moses”, the intent here is to emphasize that this wasn’t merely a spiritual communication between Allah and Moses [peace be upon him]; it was a genuine conversation where Allah spoke and Moses replied ordinarily as if speaking to another human. By using this form, the Quran makes it clear that this conversation shouldn’t be seen as having been merely a dream-like or spiritual experience; it was a genuine occurrence.