Amen!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whereas, in English, we end our prayers with the Hebrew-derived word Amen<\/em>, Latter-day Saint prayers in Arabic end in the obviously related word Amin<\/em> (pronounced ah-MEEN) \u2014 or, to spell it in the ugly but fairly accurate transliteration system that I\u2019ll be employing in this blog entry, aamiin<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perhaps some will be interested to learn a bit about the range of meanings, in Arabic, for the root \u2019mn<\/em>, which underlies that word amin<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are two \u201cForm I\u201d verbs derived from the root, which I give here in the third person masculine perfect, the third person masculine imperfect, and their respective verbal nouns, using doubled vowels to indicate what would be, in Arabic, a lengthened<\/em> vowel:<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n- amuna\/ya\u2019munu\/amaana<\/em> means \u201cto be faithful,\u201d \u201cto be reliable,\u201d \u201cto be trustworthy.\u201d<\/li>\n
- amina\/ya\u2019manu\/amn<\/em> means \u201cto be safe\u201d or \u201cto feel safe.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The verbal noun amaana<\/em> means not only \u201creliability,\u201d \u201ctrustworthiness,\u201d \u201cloyalty,\u201d and \u201cfidelity,\u201d but \u201chonesty,\u201d \u201cintegrity,\u201d and \u201cconfidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
A ma\u2019man<\/em> is a \u201cplace of safety.\u201d \u00a0A person who is \u201creliable\u201d is said to be ma\u2019muun<\/em> (roughly, ma\u2019-MOON), which, literally translated, means \u201ctrusted\u201d or \u201crelied upon,\u201d or, alternatively, to be\u00a0amiin<\/em> (ah-MEEN).<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The verbal noun amn<\/em> means \u201csafety,\u201d \u201cpeace,\u201d \u201csecurity,\u201d and \u201cprotection.\u201d \u00a0Thus, the (United Nations) Security Council is the majlis al-amn<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The noun amaan<\/em> overlaps in meaning with amn<\/em>, but can also denote \u201cimmunity\u201d and \u201cassurance of protection.\u201d \u00a0It can be said that someone or something is fii amaan Allaah<\/em>, \u201cin God\u2019s care.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Form II verb derived from the root is ammana<\/em>, which means \u201cto reassure,\u201d \u201cto set s.o.\u2019s mind at rest,\u201d \u201cto ensure,\u201d \u201cto safeguard,\u201d \u201cto guarantee,\u201d \u201cto confirm,\u201d and so forth.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Form II verbal noun, ta\u2019miin<\/em> (pronounced ta\u2019-MEEN), indicates \u201csecuring,\u201d \u201cprotection.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is no Form III verb from the root, and there are no Forms V, VI, VII, or IX (which latter is rare for most Arabic verbs, anyway).<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Form IV verb coming off of the root \u2019mn<\/em>\u00a0is a\u2019mana<\/em>, which signifies \u201cto believe.\u201d \u00a0Accordingly, the noun\u00a0iimaan<\/em> (pronounced ee-MAAN) is the common word for \u201cfaith\u201d or \u201cbelief,\u201d and a mu\u2019min<\/em> is a \u201cbeliever.\u201d \u00a0In the days when the caliphate was in existence, the caliph was often called the amiir al-mu\u2019miniin<\/em> (ah-MEER al-mu\u2019-min-EEN) \u2014 \u201cthe prince of the believers\u201d or \u201cthe commander of the faithful.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Form VIII verb is i\u2019tamana<\/em>, which conveys the meaning of \u201cputting trust\u201d in someone or something, \u201chaving faith\u201d or \u201chaving confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Form X, ista\u2019mana<\/em>, picks up the meanings of Form VIII but can also signify \u201cto ask for protection,\u201d \u201cto seek a \u00a0promise of security.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
So there is a rich network of meanings connected with the root \u2019mn<\/em> in Arabic, which is a cognate language to modern and biblical Hebrew, and, thus, connected with our word Amen<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
What does an Arabist think about during Sunday meetings? \u00a0Now, sadly, you may have an idea.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Whereas, in English, we end our prayers with the Hebrew-derived word Amen, Latter-day Saint prayers in Arabic end in the obviously related word Amin (pronounced ah-MEEN) \u2014 or, to spell it in the ugly but fairly accurate transliteration system that I\u2019ll be employing in this blog entry, aamiin. \u00a0 Perhaps some will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Amen](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2019\/03\/Ameen.gif\")
<\/a>