Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Arabic term or phrase:
Mostadha'afun
English translation:
weak and oppressed
Added to glossary by
Cath St Clair (X)
Feb 4, 2008 10:23
16 yrs ago
Arabic term
mostaz'afân
Arabic to English
Other
Religion
mostaz'afân
Sorry I am unable to write this word in Arabic - it appears as above in a French text I am currently translating.
The context is Mohsen Makhmalbaf's film 'Marriage of the Blessed':
'Autodidacte en quête d’un cinéma islamique apte à traduire le message de l’islam dans la société iranienne contemporaine et à exprimer la souffrance des "déshérités" (*mostaz'afân* - terme coranique très employé durant la révolution pour désigner les nécessiteux)'
By translating from the French, I have come up with the following three terms:
deprived, oppressed, disempowered
However, I would like to get a translation direct from the Arabic. Is one of these terms (or another?) generally preferred as a translation?
Many thanks in advance.
The context is Mohsen Makhmalbaf's film 'Marriage of the Blessed':
'Autodidacte en quête d’un cinéma islamique apte à traduire le message de l’islam dans la société iranienne contemporaine et à exprimer la souffrance des "déshérités" (*mostaz'afân* - terme coranique très employé durant la révolution pour désigner les nécessiteux)'
By translating from the French, I have come up with the following three terms:
deprived, oppressed, disempowered
However, I would like to get a translation direct from the Arabic. Is one of these terms (or another?) generally preferred as a translation?
Many thanks in advance.
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+8
11 mins
Iman Khaireddine
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in Arabic
Works in field
United Kingdom
Connecting Cultures
Native in: Arabic 
Works in: English to Arabic, French to Arabic, Arabic to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
32
Selected
weak and oppressed
in the Holy Quran, "المستضعفون Mostadha'afun" is translated in various English versions as "weak and oppressed". In French, it means "les impuissants".
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Note added at 51 mins (2008-02-04 11:14:45 GMT)
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Hi Cath. I think "impuissants" conveys the meaning better (weakness + oppressed), the same meaning implied in the Arabic term. "déshérités" is more like "deprived".
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Note added at 52 mins (2008-02-04 11:15:52 GMT)
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Correction: (weakness + oppression)
:-)
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Note added at 51 mins (2008-02-04 11:14:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Hi Cath. I think "impuissants" conveys the meaning better (weakness + oppressed), the same meaning implied in the Arabic term. "déshérités" is more like "deprived".
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Note added at 52 mins (2008-02-04 11:15:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Correction: (weakness + oppression)
:-)
Note from asker:
| Hi Imane - thank you for your suggestion. Since I have only the French to go on, it would be useful to know whether you then consider 'déshérités' to be a poor French translation? |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Nesrin
7 mins
|
| agree |
Sayed Moustafa talawy
: As per Nesrin...Knowledge which seems logic to me
15 mins
|
| agree |
AhmedAMS
15 mins
|
| agree |
Sam Berner
18 mins
|
| agree |
Mohamed Salaheldin
24 mins
|
| agree |
Neamaat Shehatah
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Aljobury
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Mohsin Alabdali
12 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Given the context, I consider it appropriate to stick with the traditional translation. Thanks to everyone, however, for all your interesting comments and suggestions."
+1
3 mins
+1
22 mins
"Mostadaafan": Wretched,miserable,poor,oppressed,..
I tried to translate the source text from French into English & came to know that the meaning,especially the word you're asking about is around:
"and to express the suffering of the "poor" (* * mostaz'afân - Koranic term widely used during the revolution to describe the needy )
So Mostadaafan here means any of the words I've given : Wretched,miserable,poor,oppressed,..
2 hrs
Yasser El Helw
Egypt
Egypt
Native in Arabic
&
English
Egypt
NATIVE SPEAKER OF MEDICINE
Native in: Arabic 
, English
Works in: Arabic to English, English to Arabic, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
28
the down-trodden
Good luck
Note from asker:
| Thanks, Yasser :) |
2 hrs
mostada'fan; a couple( indicate 2 pesonds) of weak, pathetic, defenseless. etc
.
5 hrs
weakish
Its derived from (ضعف) weakness.
Lacking the ablilty of acting by none natural reasons (food,water...itc)
Lacking the ablilty of acting by none natural reasons (food,water...itc)
Discussion
I think I should probably stick with the most commonly used translation, as not being a speaker of Arabic, I am hardly in a position to innovate. However, I like your suggestion and in a similar vein, also wonder about 'disempowered' as an option for a more modern translation. To me, this expresses the fact that they are powerless ('weak') and that their power has been taken away by others ('oppressed').