The Arabic word haram means something forbidden. It has also been incorporated into Urdu and Persian.

The word zada is a suffix of Persian origin that means "child of"

The compound word haram zada is used in Urdu and Persian and many other languages like Turkish, Uzbek and denotes a person of unknown parentage or a person who is born out of wedlock, i.e. illegitimacy. It is a curse word and may well be met with violence if used to a person.

According to orthodox Islamic teachings, there is no blame on a child for the sins of his parents. Thus the legitimacy or lack thereof of one's birth is irrelevant as far as their status as a Muslim is concerned. http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=3006&ln=eng&txt=illegitimatehttp://www.mahmoodiyah.org.za/faq3.htm

Some of the Shia scholars however hold that an illegitimate child is forever prohibited from leading the prayer, likely due to their faith's emphasis on the blood line. However, the majority Sunni tradition vehemently rejects such a notion. http://www.khamenei.de/fatwas/fatwas05.htm

The Arabic language equivalent is "ibn ul-haram", literally "son of Haram", or "son of forbidden".

Other uses

In South Asia it is used as an insult implying a person who undertakes immoral or unethical actions.

See also

• Illegitimacy