What it means
ترحیم (tarhim) is the word for a memorial service, a formal religious gathering held to pray for the soul of someone who has died. The word comes from Arabic, specifically from the Form II verb رَحَّمَ (rahhama), derived from the root ر-ح-م, meaning mercy or compassion. The form II construction carries the sense of invoking or asking for mercy, in this case asking God’s mercy upon the deceased. ترحیم is used in formal and religious registers; in more everyday speech people often say مجلس ترحیم (majles-e tarhim) to mean the memorial gathering itself.
How to use it
- مجلس ترحیم فردا شبه (majles-e tarhim fardâ shabe) “The memorial service is tomorrow evening.”
- به ترحیم دعوت شدیم (be tarhim da’vat shodim) “We were invited to the memorial service.”
- ترحیم توی مسجد محل برگزار شد (tarhim tu-ye masjed-e mahall bargozâr shod) “The memorial service was held at the neighborhood mosque.”
- روحانی ترحیم رو اداره کرد (ruhâni tarhim ro edâre kard) “The cleric led the memorial service.”
Cultural note
A ترحیم typically involves the recitation of the Quran, prayers for divine mercy on the soul of the deceased, and often a sermon or eulogy delivered by a cleric. These services are usually held on the third day after death, on the seventh day (هفتم, haftom), and on the fortieth day (چهلم, chellom). Guests dress in dark colors, sit in gender-separated spaces in traditional households, and are served tea and simple foods. Printed ترحیم announcements, often distributed in the neighborhood or posted on walls, use formal literary Persian and follow a recognizable typographic convention.