Salsabil (Quran)

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

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

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

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