# Iraqi Arabic: يمة ذكريني من تمر زفة شباب.. من العرس محروم وحنتي دم المصاب



## Timmy123

Hi everyone
I think this is gulf or Iraqi Arabic but I will await your confirmation.
يمة ذكريني من تمر زفة شباب.. من العرس محروم وحنتي دم المصاب

What does this line of poetry mean? I am struggling to make sense of it .

Also, what is the background of this poetry? Is it strictly religous?

Thanks


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## Mohammed Lahmadi

Hi Timmy.
Yes you're right, this is typically gulf Arabic, and I could easily tell that having seen the first word (يمة = my mom), which is nowhere other than gulf word. 

Now, in regards to what the line means, I'm gonna have to strugglle a bit translating it into English, but I'll give it a go:
"oh my mom, tell me when a wedding procession passes by... I'm deprived of wedding (I never had a wedding) and ......"
For the last part (which I dotted), it didn't make sense to me, so that's why I couldn't put it into a prpper English sentence.
I've never come across this line before, but I would say it's not strictly religious.


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## mimou

Mohammed Lahmadi said:


> Hi Timmy.
> Yes you're right, this is typically gulf Arabic, and I could easily tell that having seen the first word (يمة = my mom), which is nowhere other than gulf word.
> 
> Now, in regards to what the line means, I'm gonna have to strugglle a bit translating it into English, but I'll give it a go:
> "oh my mom, tell me when a wedding procession passes by... I'm deprived of wedding (I never had a wedding) and ......"
> For the last part (which I dotted), it didn't make sense to me, so that's why I couldn't put it into a prpper English sentence.
> I've never come across this line before, but I can tell it's defenitely not strictly religious.




Well done so far. to continue in the same vien, the speaker will never know the joy of having his/her own wedding, and instead of the traditional Henna (حنا  حنتي), his/her hands will be dyed/adorned with the blood of their injured commrades (المصاب)


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## Mohammed Lahmadi

mimou said:


> Well done so far. to continue in the same vien, the speaker will never know the joy of having his/her own wedding, and instead of the traditional Henna (حنا  حنتي), his/her hands will be dyed/adorned with the blood of their injured commrades (المصاب)


Oh so it's the Henna, how'd I not think of that? well done Minou, you found the missing puzzle piece


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## barkoosh

Different sites show that this is a religious song (like this one: http://www.kuwait.sc/vb/t40911-2.html )

It's sung in the memory of el Qasem son of el Hasan. The song is sang as if the young man is talking to his mother after his death. So the المصاب (injured one) is the boy himself.


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## Ihsiin

This is a very famous Shi'i Iraqi poem written by Kadhim Mandhur al-Karbala'i and commemorates Qasim ibn al-Hasan, who's day of commemoration is the 8th of Muharram in the Arabic tradition.
The full text can be found here: http://www.kasaed.net/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=1739
The poem can be heard here recited by Hamza Zghayyir (for whom the poem was originally written): http://www.yahosein.com/latom/index.php?file=1327

Qasim ibn al-Hasan died at the battle of Karabala at roughly the age of 13, which, then, was a common age for young men to start thinking about marriage. The image of the wedding, and the idea that Qasim's mother would have been expecting to see her son married, but instead saw him slaughtered on the battle field, is a common poetical device in poems that commemorate Qasim which comes up again and again.


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## djara

Mohammed Lahmadi said:


> Hi Timmy.
> Yes you're right, this is typically gulf Arabic, and I could easily tell that having seen the first word (يمة = my mom), which is nowhere other than gulf word.


يمة = mom is used in some parts of Tunisia as well.


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## إسكندراني

djara said:


> يمة = mom is used in some parts of Tunisia as well.


And Egypt. And elsewhere.


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## Timmy123

Ihsiin said:


> This is a very famous Shi'i Iraqi poem written by Kadhim Mandhur al-Karbala'i and commemorates Qasim ibn al-Hasan, who's day of commemoration is the 8th of Muharram in the Arabic tradition.
> The full text can be found here: http://www.kasaed.net/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=1739
> The poem can be heard here recited by Hamza Zghayyir (for whom the poem was originally written): http://www.yahosein.com/latom/index.php?file=1327
> 
> Qasim ibn al-Hasan died at the battle of Karabala at roughly the age of 13, which, then, was a common age for young men to start thinking about marriage. The image of the wedding, and the idea that Qasim's mother would have been expecting to see her son married, but instead saw him slaughtered on the battle field, is a common poetical device in poems that commemorate Qasim which comes up again and again.



So it is sung only within religous contexts? Is it appreciated or recounted by for example sunni muslims or other faiths?
It seems it's words could applied generally.

May I also ask what is تمر?
Does  وحنتي دم المصاب mean 'my henna is the blood of the injured person'?

It seems very profound and sad.


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## إسكندراني

There are many poems which are very famous for Shi'ites but totally unknown to Sunnis. The poems might often be general but would mean something specific to someone who uses them to commemorate events every year.


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## Mohammed Lahmadi

djara said:


> يمة = mom is used in some parts of Tunisia as well.





إسكندراني said:


> And Egypt. And elsewhere.



Oh, that's news to me.I've always thought they say "mama". Thanks for correcting me though.


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## Mohammed Lahmadi

Timmy123 said:


> May I also ask what is تمر?



It means: she/it passes by. Don't get confused with تمر as for "dates".


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## rayloom

Timmy123 said:


> So it is sung only within religous contexts? Is it appreciated or recounted by for example sunni muslims or other faiths?
> It seems it's words could applied generally.



This type of songs, called لطميات are mostly sung in Shiite occasions, most natably عاشوراء, which commemorates the battle of Karbala and the martyrdom of Al-Husayn bin Ali.
They are mostly unknown to Sunnis, except for some famous ones I guess. I only know for example a single لطمية called يا ريح الهاب by Basim Al-Karbala'i. Thanks to the internet I have to say, since we don't have much Shiites in the Hijaz, save for a tiny minority in Madinah called نخاولة. Not much Shiite activity as well.
Probably Sunnis in Lebanon and Iraq are more exposed to this genre of religious songs.


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## Ustaath

would adding the diacritics help - even if not always pronounced as such in the Requiem ?

يَمّة ذكريني مِن تمِرّ زَفّة شباب.. مِن العرس محروم وحنَّتي دم المصاب


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## إسكندراني

Mohammed Lahmadi said:


> Oh, that's news to me.I've always thought they say "mama". Thanks for correcting me though.


I think most dialects use both.


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## Ihsiin

A small point: Yumma Dhukriini isn't a la6miyya, it's a ga3diyya, so named because the listeners remain seated when it's preformed.



> So it is sung only within religous contexts? Is it appreciated or recounted by for example sunni muslims or other faiths?
> It seems it's words could applied generally.



The poem was certainly written specifically about the death of Qasim ibn al-Hasan. If you read (or listen) on, the first verse refers to Jasim (that is to say, Qasim) and Ramla (Qasim's mother). As Rayloom said, these poems are pretty unknown my Sunna in general. I do know of an Iraqi Sunni, though, who used to listen to them because he enjoyed the poetry. It's certainly not the case that you _have_ to be Shi3i to appreciate and enjoy them.


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