Abu is an Arabic term meaning "father of". It should be followed by another word to form a complete name, for example Abu Nidal, Abu Sayyaf. "Ibn" means son of. Muslim names commonly use these two terms. For example, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. The Arabic language (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Abu Nidal in 1976 in a photograph released by the Israeli army, one of only a handful of photographs of him known to exist. ... The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), or simply Abu Sayyaf, also known as Al Harakat Al Islamiyya, is a separatist group of Islamist terrorists based in and around the southern islands of the Philippines, primarily Jolo, Basilan, and Mindanao. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ...

Other applications of Abu

1. A man is sometimes known as the father of his son, as Abu Yusuf, Abu Duwad.
2. A man may be described as acting as a father in his relation to animals, e. g., Abu Bekr, "the father of a camel's foal;" Abu Huraira, "father of kittens." In some cases, a man's enemies will refer to him in such a way to besmirch him, like propaganda.
3. A man may be described as being the possessor of some quality, as Abu'l Gadl, "father of grace," or "the graceful one;" Abu'l Fida, "father of devotion," or "the devout one."
4. An object or a place may be given a nickname, such as Abu'l hawl, "father of terror," (the Sphinx at Giza). Abu'l fulus, "father of money," is frequently used to refer to a place where rumors have been told of a treasure being hidden there.

Often the use of Abu to describe a man will cause his real name to fall into disuse. Occasionally, Abu is abbreviated to Bu. Abu Bakr As Siddiq (Arabic ابو بكر الصديق, alternative spellings, Abubakar, Abi Bakr, Abu Bakar) (c. ... North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ... The Great Sphinx of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background. ... Giza (Arabic, الجيزة, transliterated al-ǧīzah; pronounced in the Egyptian Arabic dialect of Cairo al-GÄ«za; also sometimes rendered in English as Gizeh, Ghizeh, or Geezeh) is a town in Egypt on the west bank of the Nile river, some 20 km southwest of central Cairo and now part of...

See also

• List of Islamic terms in Arabic
• Abd (slave)