Travellers flying with Etihad Airways might have noticed that the onboard safety video begins with an Islamic prayer. Translated into English, the prayer says “Glory be to the One who has given this to us, and we could not have done it on our own. And indeed, to our Lord we shall return.”
This prayer is called Doaa Al Safar, or the travel prayer. Many attribute it to the Prophet Mohammed who said it as he mounted a horse or camel to embark on a journey. For many Arabic-speaking travellers, a journey, whether it be by plane, road, train or ship, cannot begin without recitating Doaa Al Safar. It is a call to God so that he may protect them on their journey.
Musafir is the Arabic word for traveller. Musafir comes from safar, which means travel, and has other words that branch from it. An ambassador is safeer and safariyat is a travel agency. Used in different tenses, "travelled" becomes saafar, "travelling" is yusafir and "will be travelling" is sayusafir.
The word is also often used in poetry since travelling is usually an indicator of being away from family and loved ones, whether for work, immigration or in exile. Lebanese poet Khalil Jibran says in his poem Hum Fajr Al Hayat Biladbar: “Every time we meet, we embrace as if we are weary travellers returning from a long journey.” In this stanza, Gibran uses the word safar twice, first to mean travellers and second to mean the journey. Using it when describing a warm embrace evokes a sense of longing and passion.
-
The Arabic word for sign is aya. All photos: The National -
The Arabic word for cat is qita -
Laban is the Arabic word for milk -
Mosa, or Moses in English, is mentioned 136 times in the Quran -
The Arabic word for ownership is tamalouk -
The Arabic word for mint is ne’ena’a -
Shuback is the Arabic word for window -
Hilal is Arabic for crescent -
Musafir, the Arabic word for traveller, is often used in music and poetry, evoking a sense of longing and passion -
Raqaba, the Arabic word for neck, can also denote caution and scrutiny -
Ithin, the Arabic word for permission, has many bureaucratic uses -
The Arabic word for chair is kursee -
Faten is Arabic name that has many spiritual and poetic meanings -
The Arabic word for embroidery is tatreez -
Zarafa is Arabic for giraffe -
The Arabic word for dignity, honour and respect is izza -
Hewi is the Emirati word for front garden -
Lahja is the Arabic word for dialect -
Muratabat is often translated as refreshments -
Handasa is the Arabic word for engineering -
The Arabic word for octopus is akhtaboot -
The Arabic word for mightiness is jabarut -
The Arabic word kibriyaa, often seen in Quranic verses, speaks to might and humility -
Junoon is the Arabic word for madness and obsession -
Adheem is commonly translated as great, magnificent or mighty -
Tanamor is the Arabic word for bullying -
The Arabic word for forgetfulness and oblivion is alnisyan -
Yallah, the Arabic word for 'let's go', is an expression of urgency, encouragement or even impatience -
The Arabic word majlis, rooted in Bedouin tradition, refers to a space for hospitality and dialogue -
Falaj is Arabic for water channel -
Ne'meh is Arabic for blessing -
The Arabic word sumud means resilience and steadfastness -
The Arabic word for mountain is jabal -
Kibreet is Arabic for matchstick -
Sahaba means cloud in Arabic -
Qilada is the Arabic word for necklace
The word is also often used in Arabic songs for similar reasons. The 1996 Rashed Al Majed song Al Musafir, written by the late Saudi prince and poet Badr Bin Abdul Mohsin, begins: “Don't wave to the traveller; the traveller is gone. Don't call out to the traveller; the traveller is gone.”
Here the word is used in sorrow from the point of view of the person being left as the traveller, the lover, is gone. The song continues to a stanza that says: “Come on, my heart, let's go; the world has become too tight for us,” showing how hard it is for the person left behind.
In its simplest form, musafir is a straightforward word that means traveller, but used in different contexts and with different emotions, the word hides feelings of hope, sadness, relaxation and loneliness.
