Celebrated Lebanese-American writer, poet and artist Khalil Gibran wrote in The Prophet, his renowned book of poetry, prose and fables, that “your friend is your needs answered”.
Friendship, this week’s Arabic Word of the Week, describes one of the most timeless and universal bonds between two people.
Sadaaka is the Arabic word for friendship and derives from three letters, sad, dal and qaf.
The word is a noun and means the relationship between two people that is considered deeper than love.
While friends can like and love each other, there is another emotion attached to sadaaka, mawada, which is an intimate and strong platonic affection between two or more people, stemming from constant social and emotional relations, and surpasses the idea of romantic love.
While it’s possible for two people who are romantically involved to have a friendship, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will also develop the type of friendship described as mawada.
Sadaaka is based on bonds that include, liking and loving one another, being faithful and supportive, mutual respect and loyalty.
Sadeek is a noun, meaning one friend, asdikaa is the plural and sudakaa is a verb meaning to befriend someone.
There are other words that derive from the same root letters of sadaaka, which contain the same principles of honesty and loyalty.
For example, the verb saddaka refers to the action when someone tells the complete truth. Used in other contexts, it can also mean someone who is honest in their his or her actions.
The verb form of saddaka is sudakaa, which means the act of believing someone or the act of confirming a story someone is telling. It can also refer to officially verifying documents that prove a piece of information.
Tasaddaka is a verb that refers to the action of giving charity to the poor while sadakkaat are the items that are being given to charity.
Sideeq, which is also a common masculine name, means someone who always tells the truth and acts fairly and honestly in his actions and friendships.
