- Arabic Tidbits -

In Surah Nuh it says:

وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا وَجَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًا
"And (don't you see how Allah) has made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?" [Nuh: 16]

The moon is described as being 'Nur', i.e. something from which light comes from. Mostly it is a reflective light, or light emanates from it. However, in the same verse, the sun is described as being a 'Siraj', a lamp. Siraj is the type of lamp which utilises and burns oil in order to produce light and a little bit of heat. Subhan'Allah, this is exactly what the sun does; it burns fuel in order to give out both light and heat. Amazing and precise descriptions of both the moon and sun...

The preciseness that is characteristic of Arabic is evident in how, when a particular word is spoken by a person, his listener is able to know exactly what is being referred to.

Example:

In Arabic, the word مَنْزِل Manzil, often translated as "house", literally means a place to which you descend, (from َنَزَل, to descend; here camels and riders come to mind, when they stop at a place, whether temporarily or permanently). The Arabs differentiated between the various types of houses:

If a house was made of مَدَر madar (sticky clay with a thick consistency), they called it a بَيْت Bayt.

If it was made of وَبَر wabar (the hide of camels), they called it a بِجاد Bijaad.

If it was made of صوف (wool), they called it a خِباء Khibaa'.

If it was made of [animal] hair, they called it a فُسْطاط Fustaat.

If it was made of woven threads/fibre they called it a خَيْمة Khaymah (i.e. tent).

If it was made of [animal] skins, they called it a قَشع Qash'.

[al-Mudhish fil-Muhaadharaat by Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy upon him)]

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