 | ||
Khoda Hafez (Persian: خُدا حافِظ, Devanāgarī: ख़ुदा हाफ़िज़, Bengali: খোদা হাফেজ, Kurdish: خودا حافیز), usually shortened to Khodafez in Persian is a common parting phrase in the Persian language used in Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Tajikistan and to a lesser extent, Iraq, Kurdistan, and South Asia. The locution is the most common parting phrase among both non-Muslims and Muslims in Iran; it is also sometimes used by non-Muslims of South Asia, such as Hindus and Christians.
Contents
Meaning
Literally translated it is: "May God be your Guardian". Khoda, which is Middle Persian for Ahura Mazda, and hāfiz from Arabic hifz "protection". The vernacular translation is, "Good-bye". The phrase is a loanword from Persian into the Kurdish, Sindhi, Urdu, Hindi, and Bengali languages. It also can be defined as 'May God be your protector.'
Romanization
Transliterations may also include Khudā Hāfiz, Khudā Hāfez, and Khodā Hāfiz. One would traditionally respond with replying Khudā Hāfiz. Interestingly, Khuda Hafiz and the English term Goodbye have similar meanings. Goodbye is a contraction of "Go(o)d be with ye". The word Good has the same connotation of God as in the phrase "Good Friday".