Talk:爾麥里

Arabic etymology

I think this term actually derives from the Arabic عمر, ʿumr or ʿamara; literally "life," "duration of life," "life span," "to live long," or "to be long-lived") is, for Hui Muslims in some Sufi orders, the anniversary of the death of their sheikh. Many Muslims dislike using this word, however, thinking it has too strong a Chinese cultural flavor linked to the birthday party celebration among the Han. They prefer to use the Arabic term ʿamal (عمل; literally "charitable work," "good deed," "doing," "acting," "work," "achievement," "practice," "activity," or "deeds pleasing to God") for commemorating the birth and death of their founder, chief, or sheikh. 173.88.241.33 18:01, 24 June 2017 (UTC)

I'm not sure. Do you have any sources backing your idea? 銀川方言詞典 says all three senses comes from Arabic Amel (行為). @Wyang, Atitarev, maybe you know better? — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 18:13, 24 June 2017 (UTC)

I think the anon is partially correct. The name for the ceremony seems to be a conflation of two Arabic etymologies: 1) Arabic عَمَل (ʕamal, “work”) and 2) Arabic عُمْر (ʕumr, “life, age”). Wyang (talk) 00:16, 25 June 2017 (UTC)

Anon and Wyang did a good job. --Anatoli T. ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 01:02, 25 June 2017 (UTC)

@Wyang, thanks for your findings! I've updated the entry accordingly, but check if I've done it correctly. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 04:01, 25 June 2017 (UTC)

Thanks, just make sure you note that there are a couple of different Chinese spellings given in the Google Books source Wyang linked to. 173.88.241.33 04:22, 11 July 2017 (UTC)