Surah Al-Waqʿia ()
Al-Waqiah is an Arabic word that means Inevitable, Event or Revolution. It is the 56th Surah of the Quran. The total number of verses in this surah are 96.
56:17 يَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُّخَلَّدُونَ
And immortal grandsons/young children keep moving around them [56:17]
56:18 بِأَكْوَابٍ وَأَبَارِيقَ وَكَأْسٍ مِّن مَّعِينٍ
with [crystal] glasses and flagons and serving [hard] drinks brought from source reservoir.[56:18]
The Arabic word أَبَارِيقَ finds mention as the container for serving drinks circularly to glasses individually held by friends sitting together confronting each other. Its meanings in English are flagons. It denotes a large bottle, container with a wide base having a narrow neck for storing and sprouting alcoholic drinks to the glass of the drinker. In the same context, بِآنِيَةٍ is the substitute used in 76:15, which denotes a similar vessel/container.
أَبَارِيقَ This is one of few words of Grand Qur’aan, which some consider as a borrowed word from Persian. This word refers to an article of use, a utensil, for the storage and pouring of liquor to some smaller utensil for sipping/ drinking the liquid. Therefore, the presumption, that it is a word borrowed by Arabs whose language is perhaps the richest in concepts and has limitless vocabulary, is evidently erroneous.
أَبَارِيقَ It is a broken plural, of singular إِبْرِيقٌ , formed on the pattern of أَفَاعِيلُ . The Root is " ب ر ق". The basic perception infolded in it is that of lightening. However, the word exclusively points to an object known as flagons. Is it not strange that the Arabic language makes use of a Root, which apparently has no relationship with a peculiar shaped container for storage, and service of liquid?
The Flagon is apparently a utensil, vessel. However, it has an assigned job/function and is required to establish a link and relationship with another object, the empty glass of drink, for the transfer of its content. The one who in standing position serves the drink to the glass in hand of a sitting person from the flagon slightly raises its bottom. He sprouts a small quantity that produces a little glimmer, which flows downwards and touches the bottom of the glass creating a path. It establishes a conductive path between the ground/glass bottom and the main reservoir of flagon. On mapping out this conductive path, the sudden massive flow of drink follows filling the glass. All this activity from beginning to main strike occurs just in a second.
The lightening, which is the basic perception, infolded in Root "ب ر ق" works in the same manner. Once the ionization process is complete and plasma forms, the ionized air streaming from the cloud establishes a path to the ground. This path is termed as the "step leader". The "step leader" that reaches the earth first provides a conductive path between the cloud and the Earth. This leader is not the lightning strike; it only maps out the course that the strike will follow. The strike is the sudden, massive, flow of electrical current moving from the cloud to the ground.
[for detailed study see 1-Surat Fateha :Word by Word Analysis"]
See also
External links
AL-WAQIA (THE EVENT, THE INEVITABLE) at Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement
Al-Waqia at Sacred Texts
Holy Qur'an: Arabic with parallel English translation at Oneummah.net
Surat Al-Waqi`ah - The Holy Qur'an - القرآن الكريم at Quran.com
Waqia
![(56) Al Waqi`a [1/2] | Alafasy](http://web.archive.org./web/20110828064701im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vf6iknpS6Yg/0.jpg "(56) Al Waqi`a [1/2] | Alafasy")
