Ruqayya (Arabic: رقيّة) (also spelled Ruqaiya, Ruqayyah, Ruqaiyyah, Ruqaya, Rukaiya etc.) is an Arabic female given name meaning "rise, ascent, ascending", "chant or recite Divine Words". It is derived either from Arabic رقى (ruqia) meaning "rise, ascent" or from رقية (ruqyah) meaning "spell, charm, incantation". It also means "enchanting, bewitching or of being armed against sorcery". Ruqayyah is the name of a daughter of the Islamic prophet Mohammad.
Famous people called Ruqayya include:
Ruqayyah bint Husayn, daughter of Husayn - grandson of Muhammad.
Ruqayyah bint Muhammad, daughter of Muhammad.
Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, first wife and chief consort of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
Ruqaya Al-Ghasra, a Bahraini athlete. She was one of the first women to represent Bahrain at the Olympic Games.
Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa'i, Nigerian minister of Education.
Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood, British Muslim author and winner of the Global Peace and Unity Lifetime Achievement Award for literature.
Ruqayyah Boyer, a Dutch-Guyanese model and the current title holder of Miss Guyana Universe.
Ruqaiya Hasan, a professor of linguistics, she has researched and published widely in the areas of verbal art, culture, context, text, lexicogrammar and semantic variation.
