Baraka

Baraka can refer to several things:

Hebrew or Jewish origin

• In Judaism, a berakhah or bracha (Hebrew: ברכה; plural ברכות, berakhot) is a blessing, usually recited at a specific moment during a ceremony or other activity. Berakhot traditionally start with the words "Barukh attah, Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha-olam, ..." ("Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, ..."). See also: Baruch and Barakah.

Arabic or Islamic origin

• Barakah (or Baraka) is a term referring to a sense of divine presence, charisma, wisdom, and/or blessing transmitted from master to pupil. It can refer to "breath", or "breath of life" (see Qi or prana), but is more often associated with a place or person. It is also a Sufi term referring to a sense of "divine presence" or "charisma."
• "Baraka" is a French term (very rarely used) for luck.
• "Berkah" is the Indonesian word derived from Barakah. It means a great blessing or a great favourable gift (especially from Allah or God).
• Baraka is gracefully bestowed "spiritual energy".
• Baraka (Nigella sativa) seed is a spice that has purported health benefits. It is called Habbat-ul-Baraka (blessed seed) in Arabic.

Other languages

• Baraka is the Serbian and Bulgarian word for shack. The party founders of the Croatian Democratic Union refer to themselves as barakaši, derived from baraka.
• Baraka is the Swahili word for blessing ("Haraka haraka haina baraka" -- "Hurry hurry has no blessing," a Swahili proverb similar in meaning to "Haste makes waste")

Entertainment

• Baraka is a 1992 experimental documentary film directed by Ron Fricke. The name is derived from the Sufi term described above. See also the Spirit of Baraka website.
• Baraka is a 1983 novel written by Canadian John Ralston Saul.
• Baraka is a character from the Mortal Kombat franchise.
• The Boys of Baraka is a 2005 documentary film.

Baraka is a song by the band STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)

Places

• Baraka is a barangay in the Norzagaray municipality, in the province of Bulacan, Philippines.
• Baraka was a site in Gabon where American missionaries from New England established a mission in 1842. It is now Libreville.
• Al-Baraka was a popular Moroccan restaurant in the Lavapiés neighborhood of Madrid, Spain.
• Baraka is a village in the eastern Congolese province of Sud-Kivu on Lake Tanganyika.
• Baraka is a college for sustainable agriculture and rural development in Kenya - see Baraka College
• Baraka School was an educational program in Kenya, featured in the film The Boys of Baraka
• Baraka is also the local nickname for Barakaldo (Vizcaya, Spain)
• Baraka is an alternative-oriented club in Kutina, Croatia
• Baraka is an adventure travel agency in Hungary.

People

• Amiri Baraka (1934 - ), a U.S. writer.
• Baraka Khan (? - 1280, son of Baibars and briefly (1277 - 1279) a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria.
• Baraka al-Yamaniyah, wife of `Abd al-`Azīz Āl Sa`ūd, first monarch of Saudi Arabia.
• Baraka was, according to the apocryphal book of Jubilees, the wife of the antediluvian patriarch Jared.
• Mersaid Baraka was a teacher to Timur, and was also placed in the mausoleum Gur-e Amir where Timur and several of his descendants are entombed.
• Barack Obama, a U.S. politician (first name spelled slightly different).