Arabic 101

One thing that we have learned is that language tells you a lot about a culture. So today we will give a crash course in the top Arabic terms we hear the most in a day:

1. If you are coming to the Gulf, first make sure you have a sweet Arabic name. Some of the most common male names we have seen are: Abdulah, Abdulaziz (by far the two most popular), Sultan, Mohammad, Mohanned (had the hardest time hearing the difference at first but the subtle pronunciation difference was very important to the person I was talking to), Khald, Osama, and Nwaf. For girls the most popular names are Reem, Eman, Noura, Haifa, and Fatimah. Some of the most interesting names are: Al Hanouf, Abeer, and Felwalu (still trying to figure out how to pronounce these).

2. Now with the phrases, we'll start from the beginning. How you say hello is: assalam wa alaikum meaning peace be upon you. The story behind it goes as follows:

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) said: "Allah created Adam from dust after He mixed the clay and left him for some time until it became sticky mud, after which Allah shaped him. After that Allah left him till it became like potter's clay [a sounding clay]. Iblis used to go past him saying 'You have been created for a great purpose.' After that Allah breathed His spirit into him. The first thing into which the spirit passed was his eye and then his nose. He [Adam] sneezed. Allah said: "May your Lord have mercy upon you, O Adam! Go to those angels and see what they would say.' So Adam went and greeted them. they replied saying: "Peace be upon you and the mercy and blessings of Allah." Allah said: "O Adam! This is your greeting and that of your offspring." (Sahih Bukhari).
3. Next, the phrase you will hear most in the Kingdom is the phrase - inshallah - meaning if Allah wills. For example you will hear this when calling a taxi: diver - "I will be there in 10 minutes, inshallah." You will hear it when talking about schedules - "Monday's meeting is at 10, inshallah. Tuesday's meeting is at 9, inshallah...". And we have even heard it in the classroom - teacher - "Everyone must finish there assignment in 5 minuets." Student - "OK maybe, inshallah." We love our students!

4. Another term we hear a lot is mashala – which means "Allah has willed it." This is mostly said as a protection though. For example, say someone tells you they love your hair. If you do not say mashala, they could begin to become jealous of your possessions and start desiring to have your hair (ok maybe hair is a weird example). So the idea is that to not say mashala after every complement, you are actually harming everyone around you. You will hear it all the time too. For example, say Johny buys a new car and is showing his friends. You will hear Johny repeat mashala after almost every sentence to protect himself and his friends. It's very different for us but it's as natural as you get here.

5. The last phrase we hear a ton is alhumdulillah - (which is by far the funnest to say). The word is a great word and it means "Praise be to Allah (God)" and is one that we say often. There is so much to praise God about and our Arab friends are always quick to remember it. Alhumdulillah!

So as you can see from this quick Arabic lesson, what defines this Saudi culture is Islam. Saudi culture is so closely defined by it's religion it is hard to imagine the two without each other. We really do love it here and love this culture and people so much. We have met the most generous and amazing Muslims here. We love you all and hope to talk to you all soon!