Al-Maghreb

By AUTUMN on March 4, 2008 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In Arabic, Morocco is called al-maghreb, or المغرب, read right to left, and it means sunset. When the Arab conquest was at its peak, the sun would begin its journey over the empire at its furthest reaches in India, and set dramatically here at its western border. I only speculate that this is the narrative of how the country got its name.

Al-maghreb comes from the Arabic word for west, which is gharab (غرب).

The maghreb has another meaning for Moroccan and non Moroccan Muslims alike, as it is one of the 5 daily prayer times mandated in the Quran. It is also when they may break their fasts during Ramadan.