# خوافر



## Idris

What it means and what is its singular?


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## Masjeen

Idris said:


> What it means and what is its singular?


 
*خوافر=؟؟؟ *
*do you mean حوافر= Hooves*​


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## Idris

No, I mean خوافر


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## Masjeen

There is no such word 
in Arabic language (fus7a + dialects)
ما ادري اذا صج يطلع لها معنى!! ـ​


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## WadiH

Idris said:


> No, I mean خوافر



Where did you hear it?  Do you remember the context?


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## Idris

I heard it here:

http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Lesson&iw_a=view&lesson_id=46057

Start listening from 10:00, the word in question occurs at about 10:07


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## Faylasoof

Unfortunately due to a technical problem the sound on my computer is terrible. I can barely make out anything at the moment. However, I have come across this word. Initially, I assumed that it was a misprint as I first saw it in this context:
خوافر الخيل \  خوافر الجياد​ This I assumed was meant to be حوافر the plural of حافر = hoof.

 But then I read that  خافرة السواحل is a *coast guard cruiser* and thought that حوافر is perhaps a broken plural of خافرة. I’ve also seen حوافر in the following:

ينجو البعض بمخاطيف خوافر السواحل, ويغوص الجل في دهاليز الغياهب​ Link



يسكت مخاطبنا من جديد وهو ينزع قفازاته وينظر إلى البحر من بعيد) خوافر وطواقم الانقاذ تعمل جاهدة على إنقاذ الأرواح​ Link


حثنا في كل مكان عن أي شخص بإمكانه أن يقدم لنا بعض التفسيرات من مسؤولي الجزيرة وغيرهم لكن الإجابة كانت هي نفسها حتى من السلطات الأمنية التي تحرس الجزيرة: «لا نعرف من يكونون؟» هكذا علّق السيد «ميمو» أحد المختصين في خوافر الانقاذ العاملة في سواحل الجزيرة​ Link



ود الاعادي ان يسفوا تربها​ فيهم كباد من احاح ثائر​ كلا وربك لنينالوا ذرة ​ منه واسياف الخليف خوافر​ 
Link

Clearly here, in these verses, it has a very different meaning.


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## WadiH

Idris said:


> I heard it here:
> 
> http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Lesson&iw_a=view&lesson_id=46057
> 
> Start listening from 10:00, the word in question occurs at about 10:07



I listened to it a few times, and I don't hear anything that sounds like خوافر in there.


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## shafaq

.  خافرة means "sentry",  "on duty" or "on call" and خوافر is its plural. Just remember مخفر.
doctor on call  طبيب  خافر
clinic on duty عيادة خافرة
pharmacy on duty صيدلية خافرة


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## Josh_

I also found in an electronic dictionary خفير with the meaning of "sentinel."  I have never seen it in context.



shafaq said:


> doctor on call  طبيب  خافر
> clinic on duty عيادة خافرة
> pharmacy on duty صيدلية خافرة


If Google is any indication those seem to be uncommon.


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## ayed

shafaq said:


> . خافرة means "sentry", "on duty" or "on call" and خوافر is its plural. Just remember مخفر.
> doctor on call *طبيب مناوب*
> clinic on duty *عيادة مناوبة*
> pharmacy on duty *صيدلية مناوبة*


In Saudi, we usually use what in blue, shafaq


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## shafaq

After returning it; I am going to correct my fault. خوافر isn't the plural of خافرة but خفير . All others are still in tact. I would like add some new:
.  *خافرة* or خافر according to the position also means "emergency aided" person, group or vessel.
. خفير means sentry, watchman.


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## ayed

In Badawi daily life and their poetry, one would hear الخفرة , a girl who is single and seldom seen by others.She usually stays at a goat-hair(بيت الشعر)or a house.She rarely goes out of a house.The plural is الخفراتjust google it and you would see many poetic verses touching upon this word.
I expect the word الخوافر means الخفرات if the context talks of the world of women.


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## shafaq

ayed said:


> In Saudi, we usually use what in blue, shafaq


Yes ! I know that. Because I had been there for more than five years.  نوبة is used in Turkish too in this form as نَوْبَتْجى


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## Faylasoof

shafaq said:


> After returning it; I am going to correct my fault. خوافر isn't the plural of خافرة but خفير . All others are still in tact. I would like add some new:
> . *خافرة* or خافر according to the position also means "emergency aided" person, group or vessel.
> . خفير means sentry, watchman.


 
Shafaq, could you give us a reference for these. 

Both Solomone's Arabic Dictionary and Wehr give this:

خَفَرَ = to watch over; guard

خَفَر_khafar_ = guard; escort

Additionally Wehr gives:
خَفَر السواحل _khafar us sawaaHil _= coast guard

The only خافِرَۃ I saw was as in the compound that I mention above (خافرة السواحل = coast guard cruiser). Wehr has this too. But neither Solomone nor Wehr give خَوافِر. 

However there is precedence of a noun like فاعِلَۃ taking the broken plural فَواعِل. It would be nice to see it listed in lexicons though.


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## shafaq

Faylasoof said:


> Shafaq, could you give us a reference for these.


 Shure ! Here and here.Thank you for these two links. You saved me from a search on the net.


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## Faylasoof

shafaq said:


> Shure ! Here and here.Thank you for these two links. You saved me from a search on the net.[/QUOTE]
> 
> You are very welcome Shafaq! Service provided!
> 
> Sorry! It seems I wasn’t very clear! I meant the entry and meanings you give.
> 
> Yet another reference would be really nice esp. with the meanings you presented - in a lexicon.
> 
> As I say above, both Wehr and Solomone mention the verb and the noun, as I present above, but neither give خَوافِر though خَوافِر we know is used in both prose and poetry.
> 
> I was surprised and rather disappointed that none of the lexicons I looked at (five in all) have an entry for this broken plural!!


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## azeid

ayed said:


> In Badawi daily life and their poetry, one would hear الخفرة , a girl who is single and seldom seen by others.She usually stays at a goat-hair(بيت الشعر)or a house.She rarely goes out of a house.The plural is الخفراتjust google it and you would see many poetic verses touching upon this word.
> I expect the word الخوافر means الخفرات if the context talks of the world of women.



Like what Ayed said,خَفَر means shyness and here examples from the classic poetry
Omar Ibn Abi Rabe3a said​قالت لها أختها تُعاتِبُها ... لا تفسدنّ الطّواف في عمرِ
قومي تصدَّى له ليبصرَنا ... ثم اغمزيِهِ يا أختِ في خفرِ
قالت لها قد غمزتُه فأبَى ... ثم اسبكرّت تشتدّ في أثرى​and as Gareer said about a woman
تَبدو فَتُبدي جَمالاً زانَهُ خَفَرٌ ... إذا تَزَأزَأَتِ السُّودُ العَناكيب​




Faylasoof said:


> Both Solomone's Arabic Dictionary and Wehr give this:
> 
> خَفَرَ = to watch over; guard
> الخفيرis the one that people called him to protect them to save them not only the guard and in the Egyptian dialect the خ was replaced with غ so we say غفير  but in the formal documents we write it خفير
> and its plural is  خفراء like فعيل --- فعلاء
> خَفَر_khafar_ = guard; escort
> 
> Additionally Wehr gives:
> خَفَر السواحل _khafar us sawaaHil _= coast guard
> Yes,It is still in use.
> .



I never heard the word خوافر before.


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## Idris

Okay, this is what I hear in the recording whose link I posted in one of my earlier posts in this thread:

الاستغفال وراء الخوافر مستحيلة الوقوع


The context is that the shaykh is preaching about not wasting time.

Hope this clear things up a bit.


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## WadiH

Idris said:


> Okay, this is what I hear in the recording whose link I posted in one of my earlier posts in this thread:
> 
> الاستغفال وراء الخوافر مستحيلة الوقوع
> 
> 
> The context is that the shaykh is preaching about not wasting time.
> 
> Hope this clear things up a bit.



Then you must have either given us the wrong clip, or the wrong time-frame.  I listened from 9:40 to 11:20 and never heard this sentence you're quoting.


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## djara

Idris said:


> الاستغفال وراء الخوافر مستحيلة الوقوع



I fail to see the grammar of this (part of a) sentence.
What does مستحيلة الوقوع refer to?

If it is الاستغفال  then we should have: "الاستغفال وراء الخوافر مستحيل الوقوع"

If it is الخوافر  then we should have: "الاستغفال وراء خوافر مستحيلة الوقوع"

Am I wrong?


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## Idris

Wadi Hanifa said:


> Then you must have either given us the wrong clip, or the wrong time-frame. I listened from 9:40 to 11:20 and never heard this sentence you're quoting.


 
The link to the clip was correct. The problem I think was in the variety of formats it contains. Anyway, here is the direct link to the clip (in mp3, 5.1 MB):

http://download.media.islamway.com/lessons/munajjed/143-TarkMaLaYa3ne.mp3

Start listening from 10:00 until about 10:17
(the time-frame I'm giving is from Windows Media Player 11)


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## Idris

djara said:


> I fail to see the grammar of this (part of a) sentence.
> What does مستحيلة الوقوع refer to?
> 
> If it is الاستغفال then we should have: "الاستغفال وراء الخوافر مستحيل الوقوع"
> 
> If it is الخوافر then we should have: "الاستغفال وراء خوافر مستحيلة الوقوع"
> 
> Am I wrong?


 
I don't see any grammatical problem in: الاستغفال وراء الخوافر مستحيلة الوقوع

Clearly, مستحيلة الوقوع refers to الخوافر 

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## WadiH

Okay, I've finally found the portion you're asking about.

First of all, الاستغفال here is actually الاسترسال, which basically means taking a long detour (figuratively speaking), like giving a lecture about Newton's laws, but then going on a long tangent about the society of 17th century London.  الاسترسال can also simply mean going into a lot of detail about any subject.

I don't know why he used خوافر here, but it's usual meaning is basically what the other members gave you above.  From context here, it's clear that he's admonishing against going into long discussions of impossible, hypothetical situations.



Idris said:


> I don't see any grammatical problem in: الاستغفال وراء الخوافر مستحيلة الوقوع
> 
> Clearly, مستحيلة الوقوع refers to الخوافر
> 
> Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.



I don't see any problem with it either, unless there's some obscure rule that says that the sifa must be defined by an article if the mawsuuf itself is defined by an article.


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