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TheArabic wordḥaḍra (حضرة,lit. 'presence';[1][2]construct state:حضرةḥaḍrat;plural:حضراتḥaḍrāt), and its derivatives in languages of thePersianate world (Persian:حضرت,romanized: ḥażrat;[3]Azerbaijani:həzrət;Turkish:hazret;Urdu:حضرت,romanized: ḥażrat;Uzbek:hazrat) are used to form variousstyles in theArab world,Iran, theRepublic of Azerbaijan,Turkey,Afghanistan,Central Asia andSouth Asia. InUrdu, the term has also come to be formally used to refer to a male in general, such as in the literary phraseḵẖawātīn o ḥazrāt (خواتین و حضرات,transl. 'ladies and gentlemen').
In Arabicstyles, the wordحضرةḥaḍra is used in itsconstruct state (حضرةḥaḍrat), followed by a possessive suffix (e.g.حضرتكḥaḍratuka for a man orḥaḍratuki for a woman) or by a noun in thegenitive case (e.g.حضرة الأستاذḥaḍratu l-ʾustāḏi for a male professor orحضرة الأستاذةḥaḍratu l-ʾustāḏati for a female professor). In Persian styles, the wordحضرتḥażrat is typically used with anezafe followed by the complement (e.g.حضرتِ […]hazrat-e […]). In Turkish styles, the wordhazret may be found in the plural with possessive form, as an honorary suffix (e.g.[…] Hazretleri).
The title is used for the prophets of the Islamic faith inArabic,[1]Persian,Pashto,Turki,Urdu. Thetwenty-five great Hazrat includeMuhammad,Abraham,Noah,Moses, andJesus. It carries connotations of thecharismatic and is comparable to traditional English honorifics addressing high officials, such as "Your Honour" (for judges), "Your Majesty" (for monarchs), or "Your Holiness" (for clerics).
This word may sometimes also appear after the names of respected Muslims, such asimams,sheikhs, andulama e.g. TurkishHazretleri ('his Hadrat') in Islamic culture. This is similar to theFrench honorificsMonsieur andMadame, andJapanese honorificSama. The term was also loaned byTurkish intoAlbanian andBosnian asHazreti. InUrdu, the term is formally used to refer to a male in general, such as in the literary phraseḵẖawātīn o ḥazrāt (خواتین و حضرات,transl. 'women and men'), whilebanda (بندہ) is more common in informal contexts.
The term is not exclusively used by Muslims, as Arabic and Persian-speakingBahá'ís also use the term to refer to individuals of religious significance, such asprophets and theirsuccessors.
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