Salsabil (Quran)

Arabic term referring to a spring or fountain in paradise

Salsabil (Arabic: سلسبيل, romanized as Salsabīl, Salsabiil, Salsabeel, Selsebil, Selsabil, Salsabiel) is an Arabic term referring to a spring or fountain in paradise, mentioned in the Qur'an and in some hadiths. The term is also used as a common and proper noun.

## In the Quran

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In the Quran, the word is used once, to refer to a spring or fountain in paradise (Jannah).[1] The sole quranic reference is in sura Al-Insan.[2] There is also mention in some hadith.[3][better source needed]

> وَيُسْقَوْنَ فِيهَا كَأْسًا كَانَ مِزَاجُهَا زَنجَبِيلًا (17) عَيْنًا فِيهَا تُسَمَّىٰ سَلْسَبِيلًا (18)[4]

> wayus'qawna fīhā kaʼsan kāna mizājuhā zanjabīlan (17) ʻaynan fīhā tusammā salsabīlan (18)[5]

> "And there they will be given a cup whose mixture is of Zanjabiil [ginger]. A fountain there, called Salsabiil."

> — Quran, sura 76 (Al-Insan), ayat 17-18

The verse may be in reference to the previous verse concerning the drink provided to those who enter paradise. "Salsabil" is usually but not always considered to be used as a proper noun, not a common noun, in this verse (that is, the capitalized name of one specific water source).[1] The common noun is used in Hindustani to mean "[r]unning limpid, sweet water",[6] and in Persian for a pleasant beverage.[3][better source needed]

## Derivations

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The Qur'anic term is probably the source of the engineering use of "salsabil", to designate a type of fountain. This is used for aerating drinking water in a sebil,[7]: 63, 262 [8][9] for evaporative cooling of a building, or both.[10]

Part of the Salsabil neighborhood in Tehran

Like many terms found in the Quran, it is used as a proper name given to people, as both a personal[11][better source needed] or as a family name.[12][better source needed] It is also the name of one of the old neighborhoods in Tehran, Iran.[13]

## See also

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* Salsabil (fountain) (for cooling)
* Sebil (for drinking)
* Shadirvan (for wudu, ablutions)

## References

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1. ^ a b "Translations, Chapter (76) sūrat l-insān, verse 18". corpus.quran.com. The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Translation.
2. ^ "Salsabil - Ontology of Quranic Concepts from the Quranic Arabic Corpus". corpus.quran.com.
3. ^ a b "Salsabil". WikiShia.
4. ^ Quran 76:17–18
5. ^ "Chapter (76) sūrat l-insān, verse 18". The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Word by Word Grammar, Syntax and Morphology of the Holy Quran.
6. ^ Yates, William (1847). A dictionary, Hindustani and English. Printed at the Baptist Mission Press. OCLC 891595206.
7. ^ Williams, Caroline (2008). Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide (6th ed.). Cairo: American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774162053.
8. ^ Sumner-Boyd, Hilary; Freely, John (2010). Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City (Revised ed.). Tauris Parke Paperbacks.
9. ^ Mostafa, Saleh Lamei (1989). "The Cairene Sabil: Form and Meaning". Muqarnas. 6: 33–42\. doi:10.2307/1602278. JSTOR 1602278.
10. ^ Ford, Brian (September 2001). "Passive downdraught evaporative cooling: principles and practice" (PDF). Architectural Research Quarterly. 5 (3): 271–280\. doi:10.1017/S1359135501001312.
11. ^ "What Does The Name Salsabil Mean?". The Meaning of Names.
12. ^ "Salsabil". forebears.io.
13. ^ "Iranians rebel over price of beloved pistachio". USA TODAY. Associated Press. 2013-04-01.