# Jamaat al-Fuqra



## Necsus

Good morning!
Could anybody help me to find the English (or Italian) translation for 'Jamaat al-Fuqra' (or 'Jamaat ul-Fuqra', I don't now exactly)? 
It's a terrorist group related to Pakistan...
Thanks in advance!


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## MarcB

gruppo di poveri                                                          جماعة الفقراء
It is Arabic used in Pakistan.​


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## linguist786

Yes, "al-fuqaraa2" means _the poor_ in Arabic. So the English translation would be _group of the poor_ I guess.


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## Necsus

Thank you, MarcB and linguist786!


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## Aboo Imraan

You can say "the Fuqaraa Party" or literally "the Needy Party".


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## Necsus

Thank you very much, Aboo Imraan!


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## boubata

friends he may mean Al-fikra the idea


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## Syrian Bird

Hi everybody,
Since I am a native Arabic speaker, it's my duty to participate here..
However, you have already got the correct answer in details;
Jama3a= group [En.] = il gruppo [It.]
Al-fuqara2 = poor people = i poverti

But I disagree with the last suggestion (to evolve fuqaraa into fikra)
here is the reason:
In Arabic we have two distinctive letters: Kaf (which exists in latin languages) and Qaf (like in Qatar or Qoran or Qaeda )
Therefore, when I (as an arabic speaker) want to write a word containing the Qaf in latin letters, so I have to use the "Q" letter to indicate that this is originally not "k" in Arabic.
Hence Fuqaraa 100% refers to the first answer (poor), adding the vowels arrangement, even if it was written with K (i.e. fukaraa) it's still far away from "fikra".

No for terrorism
Yes for love
Syrian Bird


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## Necsus

Thank you all!


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## Chomsky

I think Fuqra here has nothing to do with poverty or need in the common sense .In Indian culture a faqir (or faquir)  is a Muslim or Hindu monk considered to be holy.He usually lives by begging.So I suggest the technical translation could be :Faqirs group 
to the best of my knowledge !


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## Necsus

Hi, Chomsky. Hmm... so you say that it should means something like 'Community of the Fakirs'...

On Wikipedia I can read:
"A *fakir* or *faqir* (Arabic: فقیر 'poor') is a Sufi, especially one who performs feats of endurance or apparent magic. [1] Derived from _faqr_ (فقر Arabic), Lit: poverty. [2]
The word is usually used to refer to either the spiritual recluse or eremite or the common street beggar who chants holy names, scriptures or verses."

But also:
"It has become a common Urdu and Hindi word for a beggar. When applied to Hindu mystics, the term is essentially a non-Indian word for Sadhus, Gurus, Swamis, or Yogis."

What do you think? Actually in Italy when we hear the word 'fachiro' (fakir) we almost always imagine a person who sleeps on nails and such...


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## cherine

I had thought about this faqir meaning at first, but when you said it's a terrorist group I thought it wouldn't fit. Faqirs (either sufis or people who sleep on nails  ) are not really the type of people who would venture in terrorist activities. Not that poor people are necessarily terrorist  but "poor" being a general term seemed to fit the context more.


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## MarcB

Definitely post 11 is not the meaning here! This misguided group is a violent separist group, that mistakenly believes they are following the prophet's(صلى الله عليه وسلم )Hijra to a community of the faithful.


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## Necsus

cherine said:


> I had thought about this faqir meaning at first, but when you said it's a terrorist group I thought it wouldn't fit. Faqirs (either sufis or people who sleep on nails  ) are not really the type of people who would venture in terrorist activities. Not that poor people are necessarily terrorist  but "poor" being a general term seemed to fit the context more.


 


MarcB said:


> Definitely post 11 is not the meaning here! This misguided group is a violent separist group, that mistakenly believes they are following the prophet's(صلى الله عليه وسلم )Hijra to a community of the faithful.


Yes, it is definitely a terrorist group. 
On Wikipedia I've found it translated as 'Community of the Impoverished': in your opinion what the meaning of 'Impoverished' could be here? Someone who has become poor? I don't think so. Maybe someone who has decayed?

@MarcB: why post #11? I was just asking a clarification there. Maybe you meant post #10 by Chomsky?


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## MarcB

Necsus, It should say #10 and the clarification in #11.


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## Necsus

MarcB said:


> Necsus, It should say #10 and the clarification in #11.


Ah, okay. Thank you. And may I ask you what do you think about the meaning of 'Impoverished'?


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## MarcB

The adj. impoverished is equal to poor used as an adj. the group of the poor, here poor is a noun.So to be gramatically correct you would have to say the impoverished group. I supose you can use impovrished as a noun, although it is not, according to most dictionaries.


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## Aboo Imraan

Also in many religious texts, Islamic scholars will sign off with the following before thier name: 

*الفقير الى الله* ​ 
Which I usually translate to mean: "The one in need of Allah". This is the singular form of the word. The word "needy" (in plural form) used for this group being discussed denotes the exact meaning in Arabic. While this is the name of a known terrorist group they chose the name because it denotes thier "need" of Allah and thier dependence upon Him. 

But whatever word works best for you Necsus, many good examples have been provided for you to choose from. 

Regards,
Aboo Imraan


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## Necsus

Thank you again, MarcB. I didn't know that _impoverished_ was used as a noun here! Its meaning is clearer, now.

Thank you, Aboo Imraan. Your explanation is very helpful to understand the fittest meaning of the word.


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