Rashid — Name Meaning in Islam

Root: ر-ش-د (r-sh-d), "to be on the right path, to have sound judgment". Rashīd is the faʿīl pattern, which in Arabic can carry both a passive and an active weight at once: one who is rightly guided, and one whose judgment guides others. The root's core is not knowledge but maturity — the settled good sense that lets a person handle their own affairs.

From the same root: rushd (right direction, maturity of judgment), rāshid (upright, on the right way), murshid (a guide), irshād (guidance, direction), rashād (right conduct), ar-Rashīd (counted among the divine names in the traditional lists), and ar-Rāshidūn, the title given to the first four caliphs. The Qur'an sets rushd against ghayy, error, in al-Baqara 2:256, where it is said that right guidance has become distinct from misguidance; and in Hud 11:78 a man of sound judgment, rajul rashīd, is asked for among a people.

Spellings: Rashid, Rasheed, Reşit or Reşat (Turkish), Rasyid (Indonesian), Rashid (Urdu), Rachid (French and Maghrebi), رشيد.

Pronunciation: ra-SHĪD, stress on the second syllable, which holds a long ī. The r is tapped, and the sh is the ordinary English sound.

Feminine counterpart: Rashīda, in wide use.