التماس

What it means

التماس (eltemas) means a plea, an earnest entreaty, or an urgent appeal. It comes from Arabic التماس (iltimâs), derived from the root ل-م-س (l-m-s) meaning to touch or to reach for, with the sense of reaching out to someone with an appeal. In Persian, التماس sits on the emotionally charged end of the spectrum for requests: stronger than درخواست (darkhâst, a neutral request) and closer in weight to زاری (zâri, beseeching or lamenting). To التماس کردن (eltemas kardan) is to beg or to plead, implying vulnerability and sincerity. The phrase التماس دعا (eltemas-e do’â) is a fixed social expression meaning please pray for me and is widely used in letters, messages, and spoken farewells.

How to use it

• التماس کردم که بیاد ولی نیومد (eltemas kardam ke byâd vali naiumad) “I begged him to come but he didn’t.”
• التماس دعا (eltemas-e do’â) “Please pray for me.” (fixed phrase)
• با التماس ازت میخوام (bâ eltemas azat mikhâm) “I am pleading with you / I ask you earnestly.”
• التماسش کردم ولی گوش نداد (eltemas-ash kardam vali gush nadâd) “I pleaded with him but he didn’t listen.”

Cultural note

التماس دعا (eltemas-e do’â) deserves special attention as a social ritual phrase. It is appended to letters, messages, and conversations as a way of asking the recipient to include the sender in their prayers. In a culture where prayer (دعا) is understood as a genuine act of care, this phrase is not merely polite filler: it expresses that the sender values the other person’s spiritual good wishes. It is especially common in correspondence between religious Iranians, between students and their teachers, and at the close of formal or semi-formal letters.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab