Having Something Uncommon In Common
It’s not Tom, Dick or Harriet.
It’s Halimah, Arabic for “filled with generosity and mercy.”
You won’t find the name in most baby books, but it’s certainly popular this week at the Subud World Congress.
Halimah - pronounced “hah-lee-mah” - is the most common first name among Subud members. It’s so popular that members hosted a luncheon Friday dedicated to all the Halimahs.
“Maybe we should all introduce ourselves?” asked one Halimah as the group sat around the table.
“But we already know each other’s names!” another Halimah said.
Halimah, also spelled Halima, is the feminine version of the name Halim, one of 99 names for Allah or God in Islam. Despite the name’s roots, not all the Halimahs at Subud are Muslim.
There are several dozen Halimahs at Subud, but only 12 showed up for the luncheon outside the Ag Trade Center. And not a single Halim showed his face.
They arrived shortly after 1 p.m., greeting each other with a hug or kiss and a “Hi Halimah.”
“See? We love each other,” said Halimah Collingwood of Arcata, Calif., as she embraced a namesake.
It’s common for Subud members to change their names, she said.
“A lot of people don’t feel comfortable with their names at birth,” said Collingwood, a Subud member for 32 years. So they asked their spiritual advisor, Bapak, for a new one.
Although Halimah is popular among Subud members, it’s still an unusual name, acknowledged Halima Gamblin of Ottawa, Ontario. When she was a child, her classmates could never pronounce her name, she said. So she ended up with all sorts of nicknames including “Helium” and “Hum.”
“(The name) is empowering,” said Gamblin, who was given the name at birth. “It suits my nature. It describes who I am.”
Over sandwiches and chips, the women talked about their astrological signs, the attributes of people named Halimah and the time they received their spiritual name.
Halimah was the midwife who delivered the Mohammed, the founder of Islam, said Halima Ogbeide of Norway. The name, she told the group, also means “the lap that’s worthy of receiving the Prophet.”
Halimah Rumble, a longtime Subud member, told the women that she received the name during the conception of her child 27 years ago. She planned to use the name for her baby, she told them. But when it turned out to be a boy, she named him Mashuri and kept Halimah for herself.
As the women laughed and exchanged stories, passersby stopped and greeted them. “Hi Halimah,” one little girl said. “Hi!” the women replied in unison.
Musicians also came by their table to play music dedicated to the Halimahs.
“Never in my wildest dreams,” sang guitarist Luther Schultz, “have I been surrounded by so many Halimah queens. … When will they have a dinner for Luthers?”
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