The Qur’anic Root B R Z (Burūz and Ibrāz)
Coming forth and becoming visible; from open ground and confrontation with an enemy to people, the earth, and Hell appearing at the Resurrection
Qur’anic and lexical forms
بَرَزُوا
(barazū)
Form I masculine plural perfect; five Qur’anic form I occurrences together with la-baraza
لَبَرَزَ
(la-baraza)
Masculine singular perfect with the lām of the conditional response; Āl ʿImrān 3:154
بُرِّزَتِ
(burrizati)
Form II feminine singular passive perfect; two Qur’anic occurrences
بَارِزَةً
(bārizatan)
Feminine accusative active participle; Al-Kahf 18:47
بَارِزُونَ
(bārizūna)
Masculine plural nominative active participle; Ghāfir 40:16
البَراز
(al-barāz)
Open ground; non-Qur’anic lexical noun
مُبَارَزَة
(mubārazah)
Confrontation; lexical form III verbal noun, not Qur’anic
مَبْرُوزَة
(mabrūzah)
Unfolded writing in Labīd’s poem; debated lexical form, not Qur’anic
بَرْزَة
(barzah)
A social description in the lexicons; not Qur’anic
تَبَرَّزَ
(tabarraza)
Going into open space and a euphemistic use; non-Qur’anic verb
أَبْرَزَ
(abraza)
Making visible; lexical form IV, not Qur’anic
1. Introducing the root and its Qur’anic forms
In Arabic, بُرُوز (burūz) concerns coming forth, becoming apparent, and being exposed to view. Something that was behind an obstacle or hidden from others can be described by بَرَزَ (baraza) when it emerges from that condition and becomes visible.
Early uses also connect the word with open, unobstructed space. Someone who steps out from a group to confront another in the field has baraza. When something is brought out of concealment and placed before viewers, transitive forms such as أَبْرَزَ (abraza) and بَرَّزَ (barraza) are used.
The family is not restricted to bodily movement. Arabic also uses its forms for a person’s standing or superiority becoming apparent, a hidden thing emerging, and a document being unfolded and exposed to view.
B R Z occurs nine times in the Qur’an, in nine verses of eight surahs. Its main forms are:
- بَرَزُوا (barazū) and لَبَرَزَ (la-baraza), form I verbs, five occurrences in total;
- بُرِّزَتِ (burrizati), the form II passive, twice;
- بَارِزَةً (bārizatan) and بَارِزُونَ (bārizūna), each occurring once as an active participle.
They occur in Al-Baqarah 2:250, Āl ʿImrān 3:154, Al-Nisāʾ 4:81, Ibrāhīm 14:21, Ibrāhīm 14:48, Al-Kahf 18:47, Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:91, Ghāfir 40:16, and Al-Nāziʿāt 79:36.
All Qur’anic uses can be understood through emergence and coming forth, but what emerges differs. A group may come out to face an enemy, people may leave the Prophet’s presence, the earth may become exposed, or people and Hell may appear in the scene of Resurrection.
Three things must be distinguished: leaving a previous position, becoming visible to others, and being made visible by another agent. They are closely related but differ morphologically and grammatically.
2. The semantic center in early Arabic
Appearing and emerging from concealment
In Maqāyīs al-lughah, Ibn Fāris gives B R Z one semantic base:
«ظُهُورُ الشَّيْءِ وَبُدُوُّهُ»
ẓuhūru al-shayʾi wa-buduwwuhu
That is: “A thing’s becoming visible and apparent.”
He follows this meaning through uses concerning people, open ground, warriors confronting one another, and merit or superiority becoming evident.
Two aspects are connected in this definition: something was previously not exposed to observation, and it is now apparent.
For example, someone may be inside a house and then come outside. From the perspective of people standing outside, that person has emerged into view.
Likewise, two groups may step out from their ranks and become visible to one another on the battlefield.
The image does not mean that every instance of burūz must begin inside a house, cave, or closed container. What matters is the transition from concealment or being out of confrontation into an exposed situation.
Barāz: open, uncovered ground
Lisān al-ʿArab describes البَراز (al-barāz) as open, spacious, exposed ground without an obstruction such as trees or other covering.
بَرَزَ is also used of someone who goes out into such open space.
The military expression المُبارَزَة (al-mubārazah) belongs to this field: warriors step out from their ranks and appear for direct confrontation.
The image clarifies the relationship between open space and appearing, but cannot by itself establish which meaning arose first historically.
Barāz may have been named for its visibility and lack of covering, or burūz may have been explained through entering open ground. Dictionaries place them in one semantic field without proving a definite sequence of origins.
Mubārazah: leaving the ranks for confrontation
In military use, تَبَارَزَ الْفَارِسَانِ (tabāraza al-fārisāni) describes two warriors leaving their ranks or groups and facing one another.
Ibn Fāris explains this through appearance and coming forth: each warrior steps out from his companions and becomes exposed to his opponent.
The distinction between برز and قاتل (qātala), “to fight,” is apparent here. Burūz concerns coming forth and appearing for confrontation; fighting and killing are other acts.
Combat may begin after coming forth, but برز alone does not mean striking or killing.
This matters in Al-Baqarah 2:250. The Qur’an first describes Saul’s army coming forth to face Goliath and his forces, then describes the enemy’s defeat in the following verse.
Superiority and social standing becoming apparent
Early Arabic also uses بَرَزَ الرَّجُلُ (baraza al-rajulu) of a person whose merit, ability, or standing becomes more evident than that of others.
بَرَزَ الْفَرَسُ عَلَى الْخَيْلِ (baraza al-farasu ʿalā al-khayli) is likewise recorded for a horse pulling ahead of others in a race.
The image of emerging from among others remains recognizable. A horse that moves ahead becomes distinct and visible within the group; a person may likewise stand out through ability or action.
Superiority should not become the root’s fixed meaning. Someone can step out from a crowd without being morally better or more capable.
In its direct use, burūz therefore carries no inherent positive or negative evaluation. Merit, courage, hostility, and injustice emerge from the subject matter and context.
3. Early poetry and extensions of the root
A letter unfolded and exposed
A poem by Labīd ibn Rabīʿah contains this image:
كَمَا لَاحَ عُنْوَانُ مَبْرُوزَةٍ
ka-mā lāḥa ʿunwānu mabrūzatin
يَلُوحُ مَعَ الْكَفِّ عُنْوَانُهَا
yalūḥu maʿa al-kaffi ʿunwānuhā
Translation: “As the identifying heading of an unfolded document comes into view, its heading visible in the hand that holds it.”
The verse is recorded in the collection attributed to Labīd and in dictionaries such as al-Jawharī’s Ṣiḥāḥ. مَبْرُوزَة (mabrūzah) here concerns a letter or document brought out of concealment and made visible.
The witness shows that burūz is not confined to a person’s physical emergence. A document previously covered can be exposed to be seen.
In another poem, Labīd likens the remaining traces of dwellings to writing on a tablet:
أَوْ مُذْهَبٌ جُدَدٌ عَلَى أَلْوَاحِهِ
aw mudhhabun judadun ʿalā alwāḥihi
النَّاطِقُ الْمَبْرُوزُ وَالْمَخْتُومُ
al-nāṭiqu al-mabrūzu wa-al-makhtūmu
Sense translation: “Or like a gilded writing, with lines upon its tablets: writing that speaks, exposed and sealed.” جُدَد (judad) in this image denotes lines or tracks of the inscription.
المبروز (al-mabrūz) is set beside المختوم (al-makhtūm). The commentary on the collection explains the former as exposed writing and the latter as sealed, unopened writing.
There is an important textual dispute over المبروز. Some lexicographers prefer المُبْرَز (al-mubraz), and Abū Ḥātim suggests المزبور (al-mazbūr), “written.” Al-Jawharī defends mabrūz by citing another verse from Labīd.
The witness cannot establish a definite morphological rule without acknowledging the textual dispute. Nevertheless, sources record mabrūz as exposed or unfolded writing.
Labīd lived across the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods. Although some sources place the second poem among his early compositions, the date of every verse has not been established independently. These witnesses are valuable for early Arabic, but should not all be treated unreservedly as securely pre-Qur’anic poetry.
Barzah: visibility and social presence
Arabic sources use امرأة بَرْزَة (imraʾah barzah) of a woman who is not secluded from others’ sight and can sit before people and speak with them.
The description is not confined to bodily visibility. Ibn Fāris and other lexicographers also use it of a dignified, chaste, recognized woman whose judgment is trusted.
Two points follow from this usage.
First, being visible and exposed to view is not inherently morally negative. Someone may be publicly present and known while remaining trustworthy in conduct and character.
Second, intelligence, dignity, and chastity are not components of B R Z’s basic meaning. They accompany barzah in a particular social usage.
Burūz therefore should not always be translated as flaunting oneself or showing off. That would unduly restrict its range.
Tabarraza: going outside and a euphemistic use
Arabic also uses تَبَرَّزَ (tabarraza) for going into open space. It is used euphemistically for relieving oneself; lexicographers explain this through people withdrawing from others and going into open ground.
The act is named through the setting in which it commonly took place. Lisān al-ʿArab distinguishes barāz as open ground from its euphemistic use concerning bodily relief.
That euphemism should not be imposed on Qur’anic برز. None of its nine occurrences concerns relieving oneself. Recording a euphemism in later sources does not by itself date its origin.
This illustrates how a root can develop idiomatic and euphemistic uses without its general meaning changing in every sentence.
4. Human actions: coming forth, confrontation, and leaving a gathering
Saul’s army faces Goliath
Al-Baqarah 2:250
وَلَمَّا بَرَزُوا لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
wa-lammā barazū li-Jālūta wa-junūdihi qālū rabbanā afrigh ʿalaynā ṣabran wa-thabbit aqdāmanā wa-unṣurnā ʿalā al-qawmi al-kāfirīna
Translation: “When they came forth to face Goliath and his forces, they said: Our Lord, pour patience upon us, make our feet firm, and give us victory over the people who practice kufr.”
بَرَزُوا is a third-person masculine plural perfect verb. Its subject refers back to Saul’s forces, introduced in the preceding verses.
لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ (li-Jālūta wa-junūdihi) identifies the opposing side. Coming forth here is more than leaving an enclosed place: the forces become exposed before the enemy, ready for confrontation.
The early military sense of mubārazah also concerns warriors stepping out from their ranks. Yet the general use of barazū should remain distinct from the particular form of single combat.
Al-Baqarah 2:250 concerns an army facing an army. Barazū should not be restricted to individuals stepping out one by one for duels.
The verb does not itself mean winning. Al-Baqarah 2:251 describes the battle’s outcome separately.
Burūz here describes becoming visible and facing the enemy; patience, steadfastness, and the request for help come from other parts of the verse.
Āl ʿImrān 3:154: leaving houses for the places of death
The second occurrence concerns war and anxiety about those killed.
In Āl ʿImrān 3:154, a group discusses the battle’s outcome and human decisions, claiming that they would not have been killed there had the affair been in their hands.
The reply states that even if they had been in their houses, those for whom being killed had been prescribed would have come forth to their places of falling.
لَبَرَزَ is a third-person masculine singular perfect verb. Its initial lām reinforces the conditional response. الَّذِينَ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَتْلُ (alladhīna kutiba ʿalayhimu al-qatlu) is its subject, while إِلَىٰ مَضَاجِعِهِمْ (ilā maḍājiʿihim) gives the direction of movement. A singular verb preceding a plural subject is normal in this Arabic construction; it does not make the subject a single person.
Lexically, baraza here concerns leaving the houses and going toward another place.
The verb itself does not mean being killed. That is conveyed by the separate phrase كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَتْلُ; maḍājiʿihim specifies the places concerned.
Thus baraza should not be defined here as predestined death. The root expresses movement and coming forth; destiny and death emerge from the whole sentence and its context.
Nor should the verse become a general claim that people have no responsibility for their choices or that protecting life is meaningless. That question requires considering the relevant Qur’anic passages on choice, responsibility, war, and death together.
Al-Nisāʾ 4:81: leaving the Prophet’s presence
Al-Nisāʾ 4:81
وَيَقُولُونَ طَاعَةٌ فَإِذَا بَرَزُوا مِنْ عِنْدِكَ بَيَّتَ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ غَيْرَ الَّذِي تَقُولُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ يَكْتُبُ مَا يُبَيِّتُونَ ۖ فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
wa-yaqūlūna ṭāʿatun fa-idhā barazū min ʿindika bayyata ṭāʾifatun minhum ghayra alladhī taqūlu wa-llāhu yaktubu mā yubayyitūna fa-aʿriḍ ʿanhum wa-tawakkal ʿalā llāhi wa-kafā bi-llāhi wakīlan
Translation: “They say: Obedience! But when they leave your presence, a group of them secretly plans something other than what you say. The God records what they secretly plan. Turn away from them and place your trust in The God; The God is sufficient as a trustee.”
Barazū is accompanied by مِنْ عِنْدِكَ (min ʿindika). Min marks the point of departure: they leave the addressee’s presence.
The sense of going out and leaving a place of presence is clear.
The important point is what follows. Those who profess obedience before the Prophet behave differently after leaving and adopt a secret plan.
A reader might consequently think barazū itself means their hypocrisy being exposed.
That is not lexically precise.
Barazū describes their departure. The inconsistency between speech and behavior comes from other clauses: first professing obedience, then secretly planning something contrary to the Prophet’s words.
There is even a subtle contrast: their departure is visible, but the wrongdoing that follows is concealed.
Burūz here therefore means neither exposing secrets nor every private matter becoming visible. The verb describes their leaving the addressee’s presence.
The occurrence shows B R Z retaining its meaning even in a sentence about concealed behavior.
5. The Resurrection: people, the earth, and Hell
Another group of Qur’anic uses concerns scenes of Resurrection. People become apparent, the earth is exposed, or Hell is placed before viewers.
Emergence and visibility are shared, but what appears and how it relates to the rest of the sentence differ.
A. Ibrāhīm 14:21: all before divine judgment
Ibrāhīm 14:21
وَبَرَزُوا لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا فَقَالَ الضُّعَفَاءُ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا إِنَّا كُنَّا لَكُمْ تَبَعًا فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُغْنُونَ عَنَّا مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ۚ قَالُوا لَوْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ لَهَدَيْنَاكُمْ ۖ سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْنَا أَجَزِعْنَا أَمْ صَبَرْنَا مَا لَنَا مِنْ مَحِيصٍ
wa-barazū li-llāhi jamīʿan fa-qāla al-ḍuʿafāʾu li-lladhīna istakbarū innā kunnā lakum tabaʿan fa-hal antum mughnūna ʿannā min ʿadhābi llāhi min shayʾin qālū law hadānā llāhu la-hadaynākum sawāʾun ʿalaynā a-jaziʿnā am ṣabarnā mā lanā min maḥīṣin
Translation: “They all came forth before The God. The weak said to those who had acted arrogantly: We were your followers; can you now avert any of the punishment of The God from us? They said: Had The God guided us, we would have guided you. It is the same for us whether we panic or remain patient; we have no escape.”
Barazū is a masculine plural perfect verb. جَمِيعًا (jamīʿan) expresses the comprehensive scope, and لِلَّهِ (li-llāhi) relates their emergence to The God. The perfect form here depicts the Resurrection scene; grammatical perfect form alone does not place the scene in the past of worldly life.
The verse does not concern only one individual or particular group coming out. Everyone present in the scene stands exposed before divine judgment.
A conversation follows between followers and arrogant leaders. The followers ask those they followed in the world whether they can now save them from punishment.
The conversation shows that relations of power and following also come under judgment in the next world. Barazū does not itself mean the collapse of power, severed relationships, or leaders’ inability.
Those implications arise from the speakers’ statements and the situation described.
Does barazū li-llāhi imply that they were previously hidden from The God?
No. That reading does not fit the wider Qur’anic wording.
In human language, burūz concerns becoming apparent in a scene. Relating that appearance to The God does not mean people were previously concealed from His knowledge or sight.
Ghāfir 40:16 explicitly says that nothing about them is hidden from The God on that day. The statement belongs within the setting of divine knowledge and judgment.
Two things can therefore be distinguished: people becoming exposed in the setting of accountability, and The God knowing them.
The God does not need people to emerge from behind an obstacle before knowing their deeds.
Conversely, that truth should not erase the tangible scene of people emerging and being gathered at the Resurrection, reducing barazū to a merely conceptual disclosure of truth.
The verse describes people’s appearance and then their conversation. The ultimate nature of the scene exceeds the details specified by barazū itself.
B. Ibrāhīm 14:48: appearing when the earth and heavens change
Ibrāhīm 14:48
يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ الْأَرْضُ غَيْرَ الْأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ ۖ وَبَرَزُوا لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ
yawma tubaddalu al-arḍu ghayra al-arḍi wa-al-samāwātu wa-barazū li-llāhi al-wāḥidi al-qahhāri
Translation: “On the day when the earth is changed into another earth, and the heavens likewise, they come forth before The God, the One, the Overpowering.”
Barazū is the same plural form found in Ibrāhīm 14:21.
Here, however, people’s appearance accompanies the transformation of earth and heavens.
تُبَدَّلُ (tubaddalu) belongs to B D L and concerns change or replacement. Barazū belongs to another root and describes people emerging.
The transformation of earth and heavens is therefore not part of the lexical meaning of burūz.
Two events or features are connected within one scene: the familiar world changes, and people come forth before The God.
The verse ends with الْوَاحِدِ (al-wāḥid) and الْقَهَّارِ (al-qahhār), descriptions of The God concerning His oneness and overpowering mastery.
The setting thus expressly brings divine power and sovereignty into the picture of people appearing.
Yet barazū itself does not mean being overpowered or defeated. That comes from the divine descriptions and the judgment context.
C. Al-Kahf 18:47: the earth exposed
Al-Kahf 18:47
وَيَوْمَ نُسَيِّرُ الْجِبَالَ وَتَرَى الْأَرْضَ بَارِزَةً وَحَشَرْنَاهُمْ فَلَمْ نُغَادِرْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا
wa-yawma nusayyiru al-jibāla wa-tarā al-arḍa bārizatan wa-ḥasharnāhum fa-lam nughādir minhum aḥadan
Translation: “On the day when We set the mountains in motion and you see the earth exposed and apparent, We gather them and leave none of them out of the gathering.”
Unlike the preceding examples, burūz here describes the earth itself.
بَارِزَةً is the feminine active participle of baraza, functioning here as an accusative circumstantial description of الْأَرْضَ (al-arḍa), “the earth.”
The construction thus means seeing the earth in an exposed, visible condition.
Why is the earth described as bārizah?
The preceding wording describes the mountains being set in motion.
In ordinary experience, mountains, trees, buildings, and uneven terrain can conceal part of the earth’s surface. Removing such obstructions leaves the earth more exposed to view.
Al-Ṭabarī likewise explains bārizah as visible earth, unobscured by mountain, tree, or building. He also reports another reading emphasizing its inhabitants becoming apparent after coming forth.
The first reading is grammatically more direct: bārizatan describes al-arḍa, and the preceding verb concerns the mountains moving.
The word’s meaning must nevertheless remain distinct from the full image of the verse.
Bārizah means exposed or apparent. The word alone does not establish that the entire earth has necessarily become a perfectly flat geometrical plane with no elevations or depressions.
Such details require considering the passages on earth and mountains changing together, rather than deriving them from this participle alone.
The earth’s exposure and people being gathered
After describing the earth, the verse states that people are gathered and no one is left out.
The combination presents an encompassing scene: the earth is exposed, and people have been gathered.
Bārizah should not, however, be turned into “the place of accountability.” Accountability and gathering are understood from other verses and verbs.
وَحَشَرْنَاهُمْ (wa-ḥasharnāhum) belongs to Ḥ SH R and means gathering them; it is not a meaning of B R Z.
The distinction matters for Resurrection passages. Emergence and gathering may occur together while remaining distinct actions.
6. Yawma hum bārizūna: people exposed to view
Ghāfir 40:16
يَوْمَ هُمْ بَارِزُونَ ۖ لَا يَخْفَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ ۚ لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ ۖ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ
yawma hum bārizūna lā yakhfā ʿalā llāhi minhum shayʾun li-mani al-mulku al-yawma li-llāhi al-wāḥidi al-qahhāri
Translation: “The day when they are exposed and apparent: nothing about them is hidden from The God. To whom belongs sovereignty today? To The God, the One, the Overpowering.”
Bārizūna is a masculine plural active participle describing the condition of those exposed on that day.
Other verses use the perfect barazū to depict emergence as an event. Here the participle describes their condition.
The morphological difference matters, but the participle alone does not imply that the condition lasts forever. Its duration and nature are not established by that form itself.
Exposure and the denial of concealment
The same verse says:
«لَا يَخْفَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ»
lā yakhfā ʿalā llāhi minhum shayʾun
The sentence clarifies the scene. People are exposed, and nothing about them is hidden from The God.
Divine knowledge in the Qur’an is not limited to the Resurrection.
Other passages, including Āl ʿImrān 3:5 and Ghāfir 40:19, describe The God knowing what is apparent and concealed.
Ghāfir 40:16 therefore does not say that He was unaware of people’s deeds in the world and learns of them only at the Resurrection.
The difference concerns the disclosure of judgment and the inability to hide from confronting one’s deeds’ consequences; it does not concern new knowledge arising for The God.
Al-Ṭabarī likewise explains bārizūna as people being visible without an obstruction or covering between them and those looking upon them.
Does bārizūna mean naked?
No such requirement follows lexically.
Bāriz means exposed or apparent. A person can appear in an open field without being naked.
Something previously out of sight can also become visible without every feature being uncovered.
The word bārizūna alone therefore does not specify the clothing or nakedness of all people in the scene.
Claims about clothing at the Resurrection require independent evidence on that subject.
The root’s basic meaning here is people being exposed to view.
7. Wa-burrizati al-jaḥīmu: Hell is made manifest
Two verses use the form II passive:
«بُرِّزَتِ»
burrizati
This differs from barazū.
In barazū, people appear or come forth. In burrizati, something is brought into an exposed, visible condition.
The form thus includes making visible and exposing to view, rather than simply appearing.
A. Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:91: Hell is exposed to the misguided
Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:91
وَبُرِّزَتِ الْجَحِيمُ لِلْغَاوِينَ
wa-burrizati al-jaḥīmu li-l-ghāwīna
Translation: “Hell is made manifest to the misguided.”
Burrizati is a form II passive perfect verb. الْجَحِيمُ (al-jaḥīmu) is its nominative passive subject, and لِلْغَاوِينَ (li-l-ghāwīna) identifies those to whom Hell is exposed.
The preceding verse, Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:90, describes the Garden being brought near for those with taqwa. Hell is then made manifest to the misguided.
Two scenes are presented for two groups, but the roots behind أزلف (azlafa) and برز are distinct. The first concerns bringing near and the second making visible.
Burrizati therefore cannot simply mean “was brought near,” even if nearness and visibility might accompany one another in the scene.
Does Hell’s appearance mean it has just been created?
No. The verb alone does not convey that.
Something may exist already and become visible now. It may also be exposed to a particular group without the word saying when it began to exist.
بُرِّزَتِ الْجَحِيمُ therefore cannot date Hell’s creation.
The verb concerns making it visible in this scene. Its beginning, previous location, and physical nature are separate questions.
Al-Qurṭubī likewise explains Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:91 as making Hell apparent to those who were misguided.
B. Al-Nāziʿāt 79:36: Hell is exposed to whoever sees
Al-Nāziʿāt 79:36
وَبُرِّزَتِ الْجَحِيمُ لِمَنْ يَرَىٰ
wa-burrizati al-jaḥīmu li-man yarā
Translation: “Hell is made manifest to whoever sees.”
The same burrizati occurs here, but the phrase following it differs.
Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:91 has li-l-ghāwīna, “to the misguided.”
Al-Nāziʿāt 79:36 has لِمَنْ يَرَىٰ (li-man yarā), “to whoever sees.”
The second wording consequently foregrounds seeing itself.
Al-Ṭabarī explains it as Hell becoming apparent before the viewers’ eyes. Al-Qurṭubī reports several possibilities concerning the viewers’ scope, including everyone or a group whose ultimate fate concerns Hell.
The wording li-man yarā names no particular moral or religious group. Directly read, it concerns any viewer who sees Hell in the scene.
The difference between the two verses need not imply a contradiction. Hell may be visible before everyone while also being the place of punishment and final outcome for a particular group.
Al-Shuʿarāʾ foregrounds Hell’s relation to the misguided; Al-Nāziʿāt foregrounds its visibility to those looking.
Does the doubling in burrizati mean a more intense appearance?
Form II can convey making an action transitive or emphasizing its realization, but its pattern alone does not quantify an appearance’s degree or intensity.
In these verses, the more important distinction is that passive burrizati describes Hell being made visible.
The pattern itself does not establish that Hell appears gradually, in several stages, or through extremely forceful movement.
The verses do not give those details; a morphological feature should not become a story about the mechanics of the event.
9. Translation proposals for Forqan
The main English equivalents for B R Z are “coming forth,” “becoming visible,” and “appearing.”
One fixed equivalent does not suit every form and context.
In Al-Baqarah 2:250, بَرَزُوا لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ can be rendered “they came forth to face Goliath and his forces,” preserving departure and the direction of confrontation.
In Āl ʿImrān 3:154, “would have come forth” suits la-baraza in the construction mentioning houses. Being killed is understood from other wording.
In Al-Nisāʾ 4:81, barazū min ʿindika clearly means “they left your presence.” There is no need to turn it into “their hypocrisy was exposed.”
In Ibrāhīm 14:21 and Ibrāhīm 14:48, barazū li-llāhi can be rendered “they came forth before The God.” The explanation should avoid a narrowly spatial conception or the notion that people were previously hidden from divine knowledge.
In Al-Kahf 18:47, bārizatan is best rendered “exposed and apparent.” “Completely level” or “without any unevenness” requires examining the full Qur’anic image; neither directly translates the word itself.
In Ghāfir 40:16, bārizūna means “they are exposed and apparent.” The description itself specifies neither nakedness nor clothing.
In Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:91 and Al-Nāziʿāt 79:36, “was made manifest” better conveys burrizati than “came out,” because it preserves form II’s passive construction.
Hell is what is made visible, rather than a separately conscious agent deciding to emerge from somewhere.
“Hell was made manifest” is therefore more precise with respect to the verb’s structure.
10. Conclusion
B R Z in Arabic concerns coming forth, becoming apparent, and emerging from a previous condition. Early uses also concern open ground, people going out, warriors confronting one another, documents being exposed, and social standing becoming apparent.
The family occurs nine times in the Qur’an; every occurrence can be understood through emergence and exposure.
In Al-Baqarah 2:250, forces come forth to face an enemy. Āl ʿImrān 3:154 concerns leaving houses for the places specified; in Al-Nisāʾ 4:81, people leave the Prophet’s presence.
Resurrection passages use the same field on a larger scale: people become visible, the earth is seen exposed, and Hell is placed before observers.
The uses should not collapse into one undifferentiated image. An army coming forth, the earth being exposed, and Hell being made manifest differ in grammatical role and subject matter.
In particular, form I barazū must be distinguished from form II passive burrizati. The former concerns people appearing or coming out; the latter concerns something being made visible.
Relating people’s appearance to The God must likewise not imply that He previously lacked knowledge of their existence or actions. The disclosure of accountability and encompassing divine knowledge are different matters.
A suitable final definition for Forqan:
B R Z in Arabic concerns emerging from concealment, becoming visible, and exposure to sight or confrontation. Extended uses also express superiority becoming apparent, presence in open ground, and making something visible. The Qur’an uses the root for people confronting one another, leaving a place, the earth becoming exposed, and people and Hell appearing at the Resurrection. Movement, appearance, or making visible in each verse is determined by morphology, accompanying particles, and context. The root does not by itself mean victory, accountability, nakedness, or crossing barzakh; any relevant connection requires independent evidence.