Asaas (Name)

Asaas (transliteration: ʿAsʿas, Arabic: عسعس) is an ancient Arabian name for boys that means “wolf”.¹ Its literal meaning is “that which comes/appears in the night”, used to refer to wolfs due to the fact that their howling is heard during the night.²³ When used as a verb, the word means “it came about during the evening/night.” The verb form is used in the Quran in verse 81:17:

A call to witness the night as it falls. (Some scholars interpret the word in this verse as "it recedes". Both interpretations are possible.)⁴

Asaas is also spelled As’as and As-as.

There is one Companion of the Prophet Muhammad named Asaas:

• Asaas bin Salaamahعسعس بن سلامة

Below is the name Asaas written in Arabic naskh script:

Below is the name Asaas written in Arabic kufi script:

1. Taj al-Lughah wa Sihaah al-Arabiyyah by al-Jawhari (d. 1003 CE), entry for عسس.
2. Ibid.
3. Lisaan al-Arab by Ibn Manzur (d. 1311 CE), entry for عسس.
4. Mukhtaar al-Sihaah by al-Razi (d. 1266 CE), entry for عسس.