FRIDAY NOTES (26/06/26) FROM THE QURAN - BARRIERS AND MOUNTAINS

 

Non Muslims can skip this.  But this is very brief. Two minute read.

It happens that sometimes the same Arabic word in the Quran is translated using different English words in different verses. 

Now with AI (ChatGpt, Grok etc) I can do my Quran research instantaneously and in fantastic detail. 

So the Arabic word remains the same.  
But the English translation of that word may change from one verse to another. 

For example in the story of Dhul-Qarnayn (18:93–98):

Surah 18:93  Until, when he reached (a tract) between two mountains, he found, beneath them, a people who scarcely understood a word.

Surah 18:94  They said: "O Zul-qarnain! the Gog and Magog  do great mischief on earth: shall we then render thee tribute in order that thou mightest erect a barrier between us and them?

And here is another occurrence in 36:9

Surah 36:9  And We have put a barrier in front of them and a barrier behind them, and further, We have covered them up; so that they cannot see

Notice the words mountain and barrier. Both are translations of the same Arabic word  سَدًّا  (saddan) = a barrier, a dam, an obstruction.  This word comes from the same root س د د (s-d-d)

So the same Arabic root س د د (s-d-d) is translated in English as: 

18:93: السدين = two mountains
18:94: سدًا = a barrier 
36:9: سدًا = a barrier  

JABAL (جَبَل)  or mountain

Then there is the arabic word JABAL (جَبَل)  or mountain. 
The Qur'an uses جَبَل (jabal) when it explicitly means a mountain.

Examples:

• 2:260 – "Place a portion on each mountain (jabal, جَبَلٍ)."
• 7:143 – Allah manifests Himself to the mountain (jabal, الْجَبَلِ), and it crumbles.
• 11:43 – Noah's son says, "I will take refuge on a mountain (jabal, جَبَلٍ)."
• 59:21 – "Had We sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain (jabal, جَبَلٍ)..."

Root: ج ب ل (j-b-l)
Basic meaning:  mountain,  large natural hill or massif

In the story of Dhul-Qarnayn (18:93–98), the Qur'an does not use JABAL  جبل. 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

By Syed Akbar Ali