Shahid or Shaheed (شاهد) is a Muslim theophoric name, from Ash-Shaheed (Arabic: الشهيد‎), one of the 99 names of God in the Qur'an.
As a male given name it is common among Muslims, being also one of the names given to Muhammad. It is the Arabic word شَهيد (šahīd) meaning both witness and martyr.
In India and Pakistan, the two meanings in Arabic have diverged with different pronunciations. ShÄhid (from Arabic: شاهد‎) is a noun meaning "witness" in Urdu and Hindi, whereas Shaheed (ShahÄ«d, from شهيد) means "martyr". In these countries, Shahid is commonly given as a name, whereas Shaheed is less so.
"Shaheed" is sometimes given after death as an honorific to Muslim and Sikh martyrs, e.g. the 18th century Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh and the Indian freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh (1907â€"1931).
People named Shahid or Shaheed
Famous people with the name Shahid include:
Given name
- Shahid Afridi (born 1980), Pakistani cricketer
- Shahid Azmi, (1977-2010), Indian lawyer and human rights activist
- Shaheed Kader, Indian film director
- Shahid Kapoor (born 1981), Bollywood actor
- Shahid Khan (born 1952), American-Pakistani millionaire
- Shaheed Latif (1913â€"1967), Indian film producer
- Shahid (actor), Pakistani actor active from 1971 to 1998
- Shahid Parvez Khan (born October 14, 1955), Indian sitar maestro
Surname
- Abdulla Shahid Maldivian MP
- Mohammed Shahid (born 14 April 1960), Indian field hockey player
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) American Hip-Hop DJ and member of hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest
References
See also
- Shahid (disambiguation)
- Shahidi (surname)
- All pages beginning with Shaheed
- All pages beginning with Shahid
