Imran

2. Detailed Meaning of Imran

The authoritative classical dictionary Lisan al-Arab doesn’t tell us any specific meaning for this word, starting and concluding with “it’s a name”. The same is true for the dictionary Tāj al-ʿArūs. The exact literal meaning is not agreed upon definitively, but possibilities include:

• “Long-lived”
• “Prosperous”
• “Exalted in status”

Imran is rooted in ع–م–ر (ʿ–m–r), the same root for:

• ʿUmr (عمر) – life, age
• ʿImārah (عمارة) – construction, settlement

So, Imran may have a meaning related to vitality, continuity, or honor in lineage.

It is the name of the father of Maryam, mother of Isa (Jesus) (peace be upon them). Imran is mentioned three times in the Quran.

Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of Imran over the worlds. Descendants, some of them from others. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing. [Mention, O Muhammad], when the wife of Imran said, ‘My Lord, indeed I have vowed to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.’ But when she delivered her, she said, ‘My Lord, I have delivered a female.’ And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, ‘And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah].’ (3:33-36)

And Allah presents an example of those who believed: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, ‘My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds and save me from the wrongdoing people.’ And [the example of] Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity, so We blew into her [garment] through Our angel [Gabriel], and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was of the devoutly obedient. (66:11-12)