FREE · ABJAD (HISAB AL-JUMMAL)
What is my burj by name? In the abjad tradition every Arabic letter is also a number. Type your own given name and your mother’s in English or Arabic letters, check the Arabic spelling, and the calculator adds up the letter values, divides the sum by 12 and shows the burj the remainder points to, with its element, planet, day and temperament. It is a symbolic folk method, separate from the sun sign of your birth date.
Step one is writing both names in Arabic letters: your own given name and the given name of your mother. Surnames, family names and your father’s name stay out of the sum. If your given name has two parts, such as Muhammad Ali or Aisha Noor, write all of it. The calculator proposes an Arabic spelling when you type in English, but always look at it, because one wrong letter changes the total.
Step two is adding the letter values from the abjad chart. Take Ali, whose mother is Maryam. Ali, علي, is ʿayn 70 + lām 30 + yāʾ 10 = 110. Maryam, مريم, is mīm 40 + rāʾ 200 + yāʾ 10 + mīm 40 = 290. Together the two names make 400. Vowel marks (harakat) and shadda are ignored, so only written letters count, and a doubled letter written once is counted once.
Step three is dividing by 12 and keeping the remainder: 400 ÷ 12 = 33, remainder 4. The remainder is the burj number, counted from Aries: 1 Aries (Hamal), 2 Taurus (Thawr), 3 Gemini (Jawza), 4 Cancer (Saratan), 5 Leo (Asad), 6 Virgo (Sunbula), 7 Libra (Mizan), 8 Scorpio (Aqrab), 9 Sagittarius (Qaws), 10 Capricorn (Jadi), 11 Aquarius (Dalw). A remainder of 0 counts as 12, Pisces (Hut). Ali son of Maryam therefore has Cancer as his abjad burj.
These are the 28 letters in the Eastern (Mashriqi) abjad order, remembered as abjad, hawwaz, hutti, kalaman, sa‘fas, qarashat, thakhadh, dazagh. The first nine letters count from 1 to 9, the next nine from 10 to 90, the next nine from 100 to 900, and ghayn alone is 1000.
| Letter | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| ا | alif | 1 |
| ب | bāʾ | 2 |
| ج | jīm | 3 |
| د | dāl | 4 |
| ه | hāʾ | 5 |
| و | wāw | 6 |
| ز | zāy | 7 |
| ح | ḥāʾ | 8 |
| ط | ṭāʾ | 9 |
| ي | yāʾ | 10 |
| ك | kāf | 20 |
| ل | lām | 30 |
| م | mīm | 40 |
| ن | nūn | 50 |
| س | sīn | 60 |
| ع | ʿayn | 70 |
| ف | fāʾ | 80 |
| ص | ṣād | 90 |
| ق | qāf | 100 |
| ر | rāʾ | 200 |
| ش | shīn | 300 |
| ت | tāʾ | 400 |
| ث | thāʾ | 500 |
| خ | khāʾ | 600 |
| ذ | dhāl | 700 |
| ض | ḍād | 800 |
| ظ | ẓāʾ | 900 |
| غ | ghayn | 1,000 |
Muhammad with a mother named Fatima is the classic test case. Muhammad, محمد, is 40 + 8 + 40 + 4 = 92. Fatima, فاطمة, is fāʾ 80 + alif 1 + ṭāʾ 9 + mīm 40 + ta marbuta 400 = 530. The sum is 622, and 622 ÷ 12 = 51 with remainder 10, so the burj is Capricorn. The same Muhammad with a mother called Khadija, خديجة (600 + 4 + 10 + 3 + 400 = 1017), reaches 1109, remainder 5: Leo.
The letter ة (ta marbuta) is where sources part ways. Many Arabic and Turkish references count it as ت, worth 400, and this calculator uses that by default. Others count it as ه, worth 5; the letter does look like a hāʾ topped with two dots. Switch the option and Fatima drops from 530 to 135: 92 + 135 = 227, and 227 ÷ 12 = 18, remainder 11, which gives Aquarius instead of Capricorn. Whichever convention your family or teacher follows, apply it consistently.
A standalone hamza, ء, as at the end of Sana (سناء), is counted as 0 here; some sources give it 1, and the options panel lets you choose. A hamza sitting on another letter follows its carrier: أ, إ and آ count as alif (1), ؤ as wāw (6) and ئ as yāʾ (10). Alif maqsura, ى, as in Layla (ليلى) or Huda (هدى), is also worth 10.
English spelling cannot show which Arabic letter a name uses. An h may stand for ح (8) or ه (5), an s for س (60) or ص (90), a t for ت (400) or ط (9), and a z for ز, ذ or ظ. Short vowels are usually not written in Arabic at all. That is why the calculator shows you the Arabic it is going to count, with a label saying where that spelling came from.
Common names such as Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Khadija, Zainab, Aisha and Maryam come from a built-in list with their standard Arabic spelling. Usman and Ayesha are in the list too, so they come out as عثمان (661) and عائشة (781). Anything else is spelled letter by letter, and that guess can drift: a short vowel may be written or dropped, and an English “s” could stand for س (60) or ص (90), a difference of 30 that can move the sign. When the label says the spelling was generated automatically, correct the field before you read the result.
If you already know the Arabic or Urdu spelling, type it directly and it will be counted exactly as written. Persian and Urdu letters take the value of their Arabic base: پ = 2, چ = 3, ژ = 7, گ = 20, while the Urdu forms ک, ی, ہ and ے count as ك, ي, ه and ي. Names with no Arabic origin, such as Emily or Sophia, have no single correct spelling; write them as they sound, note the version you chose and keep using it.
No. Your sun sign, the one used in newspaper horoscopes, is the sign the Sun was passing through on your birth date. Your rising sign, or ascendant, is the sign coming up over the eastern horizon at the minute and place of your birth, and it needs an exact time to calculate. The abjad burj uses neither. It comes only from letters, so anyone named Ali whose mother is Maryam gets Cancer, whatever their birthday.
Because the two methods measure different things, they agree only by chance. Someone born in early August has a Leo sun sign, yet the same person can have Capricorn as an abjad burj. Neither cancels the other: one is an astronomical position, the other a number pattern in two names. For your birth-date sign or your ascendant, use the sun sign and rising sign calculators linked from the result card.
The confusion comes from the labels. Arabic writers sometimes call this result al-burj al-tali‘ (البرج الطالع), and in classical Arabic astrology al-tali‘ is also the word for the ascendant. Others call it the hidden or spiritual burj (al-burj al-batini, al-burj al-ruhani) to set it apart from the birth-date sign. In Turkey the same name-and-mother method is known as yıldızname. Whatever the label, the calculation stays a letter sum, not a chart of the sky.
Before Indian-Arabic numerals spread, Arabic letters also served as numbers, and abjad is that system. The mnemonic words that head the chart, abjad, hawwaz and the six after them, simply fix the order of the letters and the value each one carries. Ottoman poets used the same values for chronograms, composing a line whose letters add up to the year of the event it records.
Calculations from a person’s name and the mother’s name turn up in popular Arabic, Persian and Ottoman astrology manuals and dream books. They belong to a cultural and symbolic tradition, and the books do not all agree on details, which is why the ة and ء options exist. Two careful people can reach different results from the same pair of names simply by spelling or counting one letter differently.
Read your burj as a symbolic lens rather than a forecast. The element and temperament describe a style, such as hot and dry fire or cold and moist water, that you can compare with how you actually behave. Note the spelling and options you used so the result can be repeated, and do not let it decide matters such as health, money or marriage. For a reading tied to your actual birth, start with your sun sign and rising sign.
Each card gives the sign’s element and traditional planet, then the temperament and character themes this tradition links to it, plus one practical idea. Read them as symbolic portraits for reflection, not as predictions.
Fire · Mars
Fire meets Mars in Aries, the first burj, and the classical temperament is hot and dry: quick to start, quick to burn out. In this reading the sign carries courage, a taste for being first and a frankness that can sound blunt. Patience is the lesson it keeps meeting. A practical habit: when something irritates you, wait ten minutes before replying, and use Tuesday, the day of Mars, to begin the task you have been putting off.
Earth · Venus
Taurus joins earth with Venus. Its temperament is cold and dry, which the old texts link with steadiness and endurance rather than speed. The themes are loyalty, a feel for comfort, good food and beautiful things, and a stubborn streak once a decision is made. Change comes to this sign slowly and tends to last. Something to try: keep a simple weekly budget, and set aside one unhurried meal a week with people you trust.
Air · Mercury
With Mercury as its planet and air as its element, Gemini is hot and moist in the classical scheme, a temperament of movement and exchange. Read symbolically, the sign speaks of curiosity, a quick tongue and the ability to see both sides of a question; its weak point is scattered attention. One everyday idea: carry a small notebook for passing thoughts, and finish one book or course before opening the next.
Water · Moon
The Moon rules Cancer, a water sign whose temperament is cold and moist. Tradition ties it to home, memory and protective care, and to feelings that run deep and shift like the phases of the Moon. Sensitivity is both its gift and its burden. A grounded habit: call an older relative this week and ask about family history, and practise saying no without guilt when others lean on you too heavily.
Fire · Sun
Leo is the Sun’s own burj, fire again and hot and dry like Aries, but steadier in its warmth. The sign is linked with dignity, generosity and the wish to lead or be seen, while pride is the shadow that follows it. In this reading Leo shines best when its light helps others shine too. Try this: in your next group conversation, praise someone’s work by name before you talk about your own.
Earth · Mercury
Earth and Mercury together give Virgo a cold and dry temperament, the most exacting of the twelve. Its themes are precision, a sense of service and an eye for what needs fixing, along with a habit of judging oneself harder than anyone else would. Order calms this sign. As a daily practice, write a to-do list of three items instead of twenty, and stop for the day once those three are done.
Air · Venus
Venus returns as the planet of Libra, this time in air, with a hot and moist temperament. The scales give the sign its themes: fairness, partnership and a gift for diplomacy, together with real difficulty making up its mind. Libra in this tradition looks for balance in people and in places. A concrete step: when a choice has been circling for days, write down the two best options and give yourself until tomorrow evening.
Water · Mars
Scorpio pairs water with Mars, and its temperament is cold and moist: strong feeling held under a calm surface. Symbolic readings stress loyalty, privacy, persistence and an instinct for what others leave unsaid; the risk is holding on to grudges. A useful habit: when something still stings after a few days, write it down plainly, then decide whether to raise it with the person concerned or let it go.
Fire · Jupiter
Hot and dry like the other fire signs, Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, which tradition links with growth and wide horizons. Its themes are optimism, a love of learning and travel, and an honesty that can be too frank. Overcommitting is the classic trap. Everyday suggestion: before agreeing to a new plan, look at your calendar for the week, and keep one evening free for reading something outside your usual field.
Earth · Saturn
Saturn governs Capricorn, an earth sign with a cold and dry temperament, so the tradition reads it as serious, patient and built for the long road. Responsibility, discipline and respect for structure are its strengths; rigidity and overwork are the price. Saturday is Saturn’s day in the old week. One habit worth trying: put rest into your diary like an appointment, and keep it as faithfully as you keep work.
Air · Saturn
Aquarius shares Saturn with Capricorn but sits in air, so its temperament turns hot and moist. The old scheme makes it the sign of independent thinking, community and causes larger than oneself, sometimes with a cool distance in personal matters. Its ideas often run ahead of the people around it. For everyday life: join one shared project at a mosque, school or local group, and check in on a friend you have not heard from lately.
Water · Jupiter
The last burj, Pisces, unites water with Jupiter and carries a cold and moist temperament. Its themes are compassion, imagination and a rich inner life, alongside blurred boundaries and a pull toward escape when life gets loud. Every total that divides by 12 exactly lands here, since a remainder of 0 counts as twelve. A gentle routine suits this sign: keep regular sleep hours, and spend a few quiet minutes each evening writing down what the day brought.
Spell both given names in Arabic letters, look up the abjad value of every letter and add them all together. Divide that sum by 12 and keep only the remainder: 1 is Aries, 2 Taurus, and so on up to 11 Aquarius, while 0 means Pisces. For Ali and Maryam the sum is 400 and the remainder 4, so the burj is Cancer. The calculator above runs each step and shows the letter values.
Read the result in three layers. First the element: fire stands for drive, earth for patience, air for communication and water for emotional depth. Then the traditional planet: Mars speaks of courage, Venus of harmony, Mercury of the mind and Saturn of responsibility; the result also shows the planet’s weekday. Last comes the temperament, such as hot and dry or cold and moist, which sets the overall tone of the character. The personal reading in the result box combines all three. Use it as a mirror for thinking about your strengths and struggles, not as a forecast.
Yes. Leave the mother’s field empty and the calculator divides your own name’s total by 12. The traditional method adds both names, though, so a name-only burj is a shorter and different calculation. Yusuf on his own, for example, is يوسف = 10 + 6 + 60 + 80 = 156, which divides by 12 exactly and gives Pisces; once his mother’s name is added, the answer will usually change.
Not in the astronomical sense. The zodiac sign most people mean is the sun sign, worked out from the date of birth. The abjad burj comes only from the letters of two names, so it often differs from your birth-date sign and does not replace it. Treat it as a second, symbolic sign within a cultural tradition, and use the sun sign calculator when you want the sign of your birthday.
If by burj you mean the sign of your birth date, that is your sun sign, and it depends on where the Sun was, not on any name. Someone born on 10 April, for instance, is Aries (Hamal) by birth date, whatever their abjad burj turns out to be. The sun sign calculator linked in the result gives the exact sign, which matters most if you were born on a day when the Sun changed signs.
No. A rising sign, or ascendant, is the zodiac sign on the eastern horizon at your exact birth time and place, and it moves on to the next sign roughly every two hours. Because the abjad result is sometimes called al-burj al-tali‘, people mix the two up, but it is a letter sum that ignores time and place completely. Finding your real ascendant takes the rising sign calculator and your birth time.
The popular astrology and dream-book sources that teach this method prescribe the mother’s given name, and this calculator follows that convention without adding a theory of its own. In practice, what matters is consistency: use the given name your mother is normally called by, written in Arabic letters, and keep the same spelling every time you calculate, since a different spelling can move the result to another burj.
Both conventions are in use. Many Arabic and Turkish sources treat ta marbuta as ت = 400, which is the default here, while others read it as ه = 5. The choice can change the burj: Muhammad with Fatima gives Capricorn at 400 but Aquarius at 5. Pick the convention your family or source follows in the options panel. Writing the name with a plain ه instead of ة has the same effect as choosing 5.
A remainder of 0 means the total divides by 12 exactly, and the tradition counts that as the twelfth sign, Pisces. Hasan with a mother named Maryam is an example: حسن is 8 + 60 + 50 = 118, مريم is 290, the sum is 408, and 408 ÷ 12 = 34 with nothing left over. The result card adds a short note in this case so you can see why Pisces was chosen.
Leave out surnames and family names such as Khan, Qureshi or Siddiqui; only given names are used. A two-part given name, like Muhammad Usman or Aisha Noor, goes in whole. Aisha Noor (عائشة نور, 781 + 256 = 1037) with a mother named Zainab (زينب, 69) gives 1106, remainder 2, which is Taurus. Separate the parts with a space so each one is spelled on its own.
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