Tafsir of Al-Insan 76:17-18

(And they will be given to drink therein a cup the mixture of which is ginger. A spring therein named Salsabīl.)

Most of what has been discussed regarding the words of the Almighty, "They will drink from a cup whose mixture is camphor," applies here as well regarding the various interpretations. As for ginger (zanjabīl), al-Dīnawarī said: It is a plant in the land of Oman, a root that spreads in the earth and is not a tree. Some of it is brought from the lands of Zanj and China, which is the finest. The Arabs loved it because it causes a stinging sensation on the tongue when mixed with a drink, which they found pleasurable. For this reason, they would mention it when describing the saliva of women. Al-A‘shā said:

‘Amr ibn al-Musayyab ibn ‘Alas also said:

Some count it among the non-Arabic words. That ginger is the name of a spring in Paradise is narrated from Qatādah, who said: "The favored ones drink from it pure, and it is mixed for the rest of the people of Paradise." The apparent meaning is that sometimes they drink from a cup whose mixture is camphor, and at other times they are given to drink from a cup whose mixture is ginger. Perhaps the mention of "they will be given to drink" (yusqawna) here, rather than "they will drink" (yashrabūna), is because it is more consistent with what preceded it: "And they will be served among them..."

It is also possible that this contains a symbolic indication that this cup is higher in status than the first cup. It is narrated from al-Kalbī that they are served two vessels: the first, its mixture is camphor, and the second, its mixture is ginger.

Salsabīl is like salsal and salsāl. Al-Zajjāj said: It refers to any drink that is at the peak of smoothness and ease of flowing down the throat. Ibn al-A‘rābi said: "I have not heard the word Salsabīl except in the Quran." It is as if the spring was named such because of its smoothness (salāsat) and the ease of its consumption. ‘Ikrimah said: A spring whose water is smooth (salsal). Mujāhid said: Rapid in flow, smooth and easy to swallow. Muqātil said: A spring whose water flows easily for them in their gatherings however they wish. According to what is narrated from Qatādah, it is a spring that gushes forth from beneath the Throne from the Garden of Eden and flows into the Gardens.

In al-Baḥr, the apparent meaning is that this spring is described as salsabīl, meaning it is described as being smooth in consumption and easy in taste. Salsabīl is not to be taken as a proper name, because it would have been diptote (mamnū‘ min al-ṣarf) due to being feminine and a proper noun. It is narrated from Ṭalḥah that he recited it without the alif (Salsabilā), making it a proper name for it. If it is a proper name, the reason for the majority recitation with tanwīn is for the sake of the rhythm of the verse-endings, as is said regarding salāsil and qawārīr.

Al-Zamakhsharī conjectured that the bā’ was added to it until the word became five letters long. If he meant that it was added literally, it is not sound, because the bā’ is not among the recognized letters of augmentation. If he meant that it is a letter in the structure of the word in salsal or salsāl, then that is sound, and it would be a case where the meaning coincides despite a difference in the root letters. In al-Kashf, it states: He does not mean the conventional augmentation—do you not see his saying "until it became five letters long"? This is also from the "greater derivation" (al-ishtiqāq al-akbar), so do not overlook this.

Some grammarians said Salsabīlā is a command to the Prophet and his nation to ask for the way (sabīl) to it, and they attributed this to ‘Alī—may God honor his face. This is not correct based on its literal appearance, unless it is meant that the phrase of the speaker saying "Salsabīlā" was turned into a name for the spring, just as one says Ta’abbaṭa Sharran or Dhawī Ḥuban. It was named such because no one drinks from it except those who ask for a way to it through righteous deeds. While this is grammatically possible, it is forced and an innovation, and attributing it to the Commander—may God honor his face—is a fabrication against him. In the poetry of Ibn Maṭrān al-Shāshī:

It is used in jinās mulaffaq (compound paranomasia) by more than one of the modern writers.