Surat Ad-Dukhan (Arabic: سورة الدخان ) (Smoke) is the 44th sura of the Qur'an with 59 ayat. SummaryThis Surat begins by glorifying Allah's power. It contains a prophetic description of a day, described as occurring before the Day of Judgment, in which the sky fills with a great smoke. The smoke is prophesied to cause enough chaos that people will cry out to Allah for reprieve. It also states that Allah destroys disbelieving nations, as he did to the ancient indonesians. Verses 43-46 describe Jahannam. In verses 51-57, Allah describes Jannah and promises Houris to men who lived in piety. إِسْتَبْرَقٍ Fallacy about its origin Depiction of the life of Paradise, in the Grand Qur’aan, is in such words and description that we can perceive it as if we are watching a video recording. Few scenes are of social gatherings and parties amongst family friends along with wives and youngster sons and grandsons. On such occasions, people tend to wear costly and beautiful dress. يَلْبَسُونَ مِن سُندُسٍ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٍ مُّتَقَابِلِينَ they people wear garments, green coloured made from natural yarn of fine silk, and lightening effect producing cloth [brocade], while they meet and confront each other [in celebrating parties]. [44:53] َإِسْتَبْرَقٍ This is one of few words of Grand Qur'aan which is considered by some as a borrowed word from Persian. This word refers to a peculiar cloth "Brocade" which was neither conceived nor produced by Persia. Its idea was conceived and cloth manufactured by the Chinese who exported and introduced it to Arabia. Therefore, the presumption of its being a borrowed word from Persia seems ridiculous, on face value. Language is a medium to transmit and convey knowledge and perceptions from one mind to another mind. This transfer and transportation can be possible and could be termed as the best only if the listener and reader could infer and perceive exactly what was in the mind and heart of the first person. The language comprises of words. Therefore, for the exact transfer of knowledge and perception from one mind to another mind the words must have distinct and predefined meanings conveying a specific perception. The words must make two things distinct from each other to earn eloquence to the language. A noun, in any language, refers and indicates a thing, object, state etc. It gives us a perception about the apparent physical features and dimensions of the object whereby we may also perceive some other information known and related to it. A word in fact verbally mirrors the static image of physical realities relating to that object or phenomenon. We can also say that a word is in fact the transformation of a physical reality to sound articulated in a peculiar way. However, majority of the nouns of non-Arabic languages do not depict and convey abstract or hidden realities inherent in those objects and at times even may lack to mirror physical fact satisfactorily. However, in Arabic, all words emanate from a Root-source, which is, but three or four consonants of the language arranged in a peculiar sequence. Each Root of Arabic is unique and distinct and enfolds in it a peculiar and distinct perception and meanings. The most strange and highly scientific aspect of the Roots of Arabic language is that they enfold all physical/scientific realities and facts relating to both matter and life. The words will always contain and reflect the basic perception of its mother i.e. Root wherever and in whatever context they find mention The idea/thought or "verbal specification" of anything precedes the physical emergence and actualization of that thing. The created object in fact physically mirrors that thought-conception. The word assigned to describe the object is eloquent and succinct only if it portrays the thought-conception, which caused that object to take existence. The Arabic noun إِسْتَبْرَقٌ names and leads towards a fabric, which is obviously a physical object and NOT an abstract thought or concept. It refers to fabric, which finds named in English as "Brocade". It denotes, "a heavy fabric with a raised design and as a transitive verb denotes weave a fabric with raised design". [Dictionary, Encyclopedia Encarta]. The online Wikipedia says; "The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare "to stud, set with nails," from brocco, "small nail," from Latin broccus, "projecting, pointed." The best course to arrive at the true origin of the word is to trace back the origin of the object it refers. It takes us 1500 years back in time to Jiankang, present-day Nanjing City of China. There we are introduced "Nanjing Yunjin" the incredibly beautiful brocade made in Nanjing, capital city of eastern Jiangsu Province. Yun in Chinese means "clouds", and jin means "brocade". The Grand Qur'aan, more than 1400 years back, described this fabric as إِسْتَبْرَقٌ . It is derived from Root "ب ر ق". There is also a perfect verb from this Root similarly spelled إِسْتَبْرَقٌ Form-X. Measure X generally means to seek out or aspire for the meaning of Measure I onto ones self. The Arabic word إِسْتَبْرَقٌ conveys a perception in relation to the fabric as that which has acquired for itself the trait and resemblance of بَرْقٌ i.e. natural lightening. The wearing of dress made of such fabric finds mention in the social gatherings/celebrative parties held amongst friends in the Paradise. In times of revelation of Grand Qur'aan this fabric dress was indication of status, associated with luxury and opulence, and garments kept especially for ceremonial events. Now keeping in mind the Arabic Root and the word with its connotations let us see what the "Yunjin-Cloud Brocade" is. It was used exclusively by the imperial houses or as gifts bestowed by the emperors on princes or senior officials in ancient China. Yun Brocade of Nanjing is praised as "One of Unique Chinese Techniques", and "Treasure of the World". It is obvious that because of high-quality silk and an object of use by imperial houses and princesses, it was light and soft. A 1.28-meter-long silk coat with a pair of long sleeves is one of the relics discovered in the Mawangdui Han Tomb, in China. It is as light as the mist and as fine as gossamer, weighing a mere 49 grams. An inch of Cloud brocade was said to be as valuable as an ounce of gold by the ancient Chinese. What is interesting is that the delicate and soft brocade came out from wooden looms as big as 5.6-meters long, 4-meters high and 1.4-meters wide. The weaving technology of the brocade is exceedingly complex and exquisite, and no modern machine has yet been able to replace the ancient looms. The huge looms needed two operators, one above and one below in the delicate production sequence that was as complicated as a current computer programming language. The person sitting at the loom was known as a "thread puller". The person sitting on the lower part of the loom was called a "weaver". A woven fabric self-patterned. It is a silk weave and the pattern has a reversible positive/negative image. It relies on the play of light to give dimension to the pattern, which is subtle and rich at the same time. One side of the cloth always has darker face over the other. The pattern is created when light falls on the fabric. The light reflects off areas of visible arranged fabric warp threads, which look shiny against visible weft threads that look dull within the weave. This fabric satisfies the requirement that imperial articles should be graceful, resplendent and magnificent. Another acquired feature of "Brocade" is its being resplendent which it exactly shares with بَرْقٌ i.e. natural lightening. The effect of lightening is dazzling, immediately after flash there is a dark shade for the sight. Brocade has this peculiar feature, created with great skill by some brainy Chinese producing exactly what is the effect of lightening. The Arabic word mirroring this cloth seems to have made a correction to the "Yunjin"-Cloud Brocade, since its features and peculiarity is not relevant to all the clouds. Not all clouds produce Lightening. Cumulonimbus or thundercloud, الْمُعْصِرَاتِ in Arabic, they produce lightening بَرْقٌ. Can there be a word better than إِسْتَبْرَقٌ in any other language that could portray the idea and conception that was in the mind of that Chinese who conceived and produced this fabric? May be, tomorrow, the scientists find a similarity between the "mystic" process of its weaving with interaction of the upper positively charged part with the lower negatively charged part of the thundercloud. During its weaving the thread puller sits on top of the loom and lifts the warp while the weaver, sitting under it, weaves the weft with gold and colored threads.
