حفنة تراب مقدسي

English translation: handful of sacred soil

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Arabic term or phrase:حفنة تراب مقدسي
English translation:handful of sacred soil
Entered by: Aadil Zargam

15:41 May 24, 2007
Arabic to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Arabic term or phrase: حفنة تراب مقدسي
This seems to be an expression commonly said when someone important dies. I just wonder what it literally means or what the English correspondent to it would be.
Thans in advance
Noha Kamal, PhD.
Local time: 03:14
handful of sacred soil
Explanation:
there is a man who is putting a handful of sacred soil under an oath at the grave site of another person

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Note added at 4 hrs (2007-05-24 20:32:04 GMT) Post-grading
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Thank you very much.
Selected response from:

Aadil Zargam
India
Local time: 05:44
Grading comment
I guess this is closer to what I am looking for. Thanks!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5A scoop of holy dust {especially from Jerusalem}
Sajjad Hamadani
4handful of holy ashes
AhmedAMS
4handful of sacred soil
Aadil Zargam
4a handful of the (unattainable) soil of Jerusalem
Ahmad Batiran


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
handful of holy ashes


Explanation:
.

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Note added at 21 mins (2007-05-24 16:03:00 GMT)
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The translation still works on the level of (حفنة تراب مقدسي) but I will check if the translation should be altered considering the whole expression.

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Note added at 1 hr (2007-05-24 17:22:45 GMT)
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This is all what I found. It might help you decide if the given translation fits into your context or not. The following is an excerpt from http://www.huwar.com/showthread.php?t=1671

والقبيح قبيح مطلقاً دون فرق بين ارتكابه من قِبل الخالق أو المخلوق، وهذا يُعرب عن أنّ الحلف بغير اللّه سبحانه إذا كان لغاية عقلائية أمر لا محذور فيه.
ثمّ إنّ الغاية ـ غالباًـ من حلفه سبحانه بالاَُمور الكونية هي الاِشارة إلى الاَسرار المكنونة فيها ودعوة الناس إلى الامعان فيها وكشف رموزها، ولكن الغاية في حلف الاِنسان بالذوات القدسية ـ وراء الاشارة إلى قدسيّتهم ـ هي امّا الترغيب أو الترهيب أو كسب ثقة المقابل. وإذا عطفنا النظر إلى السنة النبوية نجد أنّ رسول اللّه (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) يحلف بغير اللّه سبحانه.



    Reference: http://www.swaminarayan.org/lordswaminarayan/holyrelics/holy...
AhmedAMS
Russian Federation
Local time: 04:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic, Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Well, the senetnece I have is شخص يقسم بوضع حفنة من التراب المقدسي على قبر شخص آخر. Would your suggestion still work?

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32 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
handful of sacred soil


Explanation:
there is a man who is putting a handful of sacred soil under an oath at the grave site of another person

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2007-05-24 20:32:04 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thank you very much.

Aadil Zargam
India
Local time: 05:44
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
I guess this is closer to what I am looking for. Thanks!
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
a handful of the (unattainable) soil of Jerusalem


Explanation:
"شخص يقسم بوضع حفنة من التراب المقدسي على قبر شخص آخر"
التراب المقدسي و ليس المقدّس. إذاً التراب هنا يعود على بيت المقدس أو القدس و ذلك لأنه عزيز و بعيد المنال. و يُفهم مِن هذا أنّ قائله (بغض النظر عن صحة فعله) يقسم على فعل أمر عسير جداً لعدم القدرة على جلب مثل هذا التراب أو الحصول عليه

Ahmad Batiran
Yemen
Local time: 03:14
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
A scoop of holy dust {especially from Jerusalem}


Explanation:
A scoop of holy dust {especially from Jerusalem}

Sajjad Hamadani
United States
Local time: 20:14
Native speaker of: Native in UrduUrdu, Native in ArabicArabic
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