May She Rest fi Salaam
December 16, 2012 4:20 PM   Subscribe

What is the appropriate expression of condolence, in Palestinian Arabic, for an Arab Christian?

The relative of a friend of mine passed today, and I would like to offer my condolences, in Arabic.

Ideally, I'd like a couple phrases, in Arabic characters with harakat, and translation, along the lines of "may she rest in peace," "may God keep her soul," "May you be comforted," "I'm sorry for your loss." I'm not looking for a direct translation, but the contextually correspondant phrase in common usage in her community.
posted by femmegrrr to Writing & Language (4 answers total)
 
Biblegateway offers free versions of the entire Bible in Arabic. Perhaps John 16:22 which reads "So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."

becomes

وَهَذا هُوَ حالُكُمُ الآنَ. فَأنتُمْ حَزانَى، لَكِنِّي سَأراكُمْ ثانِيَةً،
وَسَتَفرَحُ قُلُوبُكُمْ. وَلَنْ يَقدِرَ أحَدٌ أنْ يَسلِبُ مِنكُمْ فَرَحَكُمْ.

I'm not an Arabic speaker, but I hope this is of some help. All the best to your friend.
posted by 4ster at 6:29 PM on December 16, 2012


Best answer: الله يرحمها
God have mercy on her.

This is the widely accepted Arabic expression of condolence after death. There are several additions that people add, but this is the core phrase. Short and sweet.
posted by Cwell at 7:18 PM on December 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks, Cwell! That's the greeting that I'm familiar with for Muslims -- just to clarify, it's also appropriate for Christians?
posted by femmegrrr at 2:26 AM on December 17, 2012


Best answer: Will you be sending your condolences in writing or over the phone/in person? There are some expressions that are more "standard" (used in writing) and some that are more colloquial (used in conversation). I've transliterated the expressions below; I'm not completely familiar with Palestinian Arabic phonology, so some of my transliterations may be a little off, but they will still be understandable. (The 3 represents the letter ع, 'ein.) All of the expressions below are used by Christians and Muslims in the Levant (aside from one I've noted that is used by Christians only).

I would recommend using the expression الله يرحمها (allah yirHamha), "God have mercy on her," with or without one of these add-ons:
ويصبركن (wa-ySabbirkun) - "and make you (plural) patient (enough to bear the loss)"
ويحسن اليها (wa-yiHsin ileiha) - "and be charitable to her (in the hereafter)"
ويجعل مثواها الجنة (wa-yij3al mathwaha el-janna) - "and make her resting place heaven." You can add on مع الملائكه والقديسين (ma3a el-malayke wel-'addiseen) - "with the angels and saints" - which is used by Christians only.

I would also recommend one or more of the following expressions:
العمر الك (el-3omor elek) - "May life be yours."
إن شاء الله خاتمة الأحزان (in sha' allah khatmet el-aHzan) - "May it be the last of your sorrows, God willing."
العوض بسلامتك (el-3awaD bi-salamtik) - "May you have good health (as a compensation)."
البقية بحياتك (el-ba'iyye b-Hayatik) - "May her spirit/memory remain in your life."

These expressions are typically combined. For example:

الله يرحمها ويعوضنا بسلامتكم. الرب يلهمكم الصبر وإن شاء الله خاتمة الأحزان (allah yirHamha wa-yi3awwiDna bi-salamitkum. er-rabb yilhimkum eS-Sabr wa-in sha' allah khatmet el-aHzan.)
God have mercy on her and compensate us (for the loss) with your health. May God inspire you with patience and make it the last of your sorrows, God willing.
الله يرحمها ويجعل مثواها الجنة. ربنا يكون معك ويصبر قلبك (allah yirHamha wa-yij3al mathwaha el-janna. rabbina yikoon ma3ik wa-yiSabbir 'albik.)
God have mercy on her and make heaven her resting place. May God be with you and give your heart patience.
الله يرحمها ويصبركن. البقية بحياتك وإن شاء الله آخر الأحزان (allah yirHamha wa-ySabbirkun. el-ba'iyye b-Hayatik, wa-in sha' allah aakhir el-aHzan.)
God have mercy on her and give you patience. May her memory remain in your life, and may this be the last of your sorrows.

Of course, you don't have to use so many expressions together, and can just say something like الله يرحمها، العمر الك (allah yirHamha, el-3omor elek), الله يرحمها، العوض بسلامتك (allah yirHamha, el-3awaD bi-salamtik) or الله يرحمها ويصبركن، إن شاء الله خاتمة الأحزان (allah yirHamha wa-ySabbirkun, in sha' allah khatmet el-aHzan).

Also, as far as Bible verses go, a couple of the most common ones used in this situation by Arab Christians are:
مَنْ آمَنَ بِي، وَإِنْ مَاتَ فَسَيَحْيَا - "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." (John 11:25)
الرَّبُّ أَعْطَى وَالرَّبُّ أَخَذَ، فَلْيَكُنِ اسْمُ الرَّبِّ مُبَارَكاً - "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)
posted by gg at 4:02 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


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