Qur'anic Root ZHA L L
Shade, a covering that blocks direct exposure, casting shade, and in the verb ظَلَّ, continuing or remaining in a state.
1. Short Introduction to the Root
The root ظ ل ل has two important and distinct branches in the Qur'an, and they should not be mixed together.
The first branch is connected with shade, casting shade, an overhead covering, and being away from direct exposure. Words such as ظِلّ, ظِلال, ظَلِيل, ظُلَّة, and the verb ظَلَّلَ belong to this field.
The second branch appears in the verb ظَلَّ / يَظَلُّ and points to continuing, remaining, or staying in a state across time; for example, a face remaining darkened, a group continuing in devotion to idols, or ships remaining motionless on the sea.
In the Qur'an this root is used for natural shade, the shade of trees and clouds, the shades of the Garden, coverings of Fire, a shade that does not protect from flame, the movement of shadows, cloud shade, a structure like an overhead canopy, and the continuation of a state or action.
Short meaning:
Shade and a covering that blocks direct exposure; casting shade and placing something under a covering; and in the verbal form ظَلَّ, continuing or remaining in a state.
Shade in natural usage can provide comfort, coolness, and refuge, but the root itself is not always positive. The Qur'an also speaks of a shade of black smoke and coverings of Fire. So zhill is not simply the name of “reliable protection.” Anything that falls over another thing or covers it from above can, depending on context, be expressed within this linguistic field.
2. Important Forms and Derivatives of the Root
The root ظ ل ل occurs thirty-three times in the Qur'an in five morphological forms: nine times as the simple verb ظَلَّ, twice as the Form II verb ظَلَّلَ, fourteen times as the noun ظِلّ, twice as the adjective ظَلِيل, and six times as the noun ظُلَّة.
ظَلَّ / يَظَلُّ
The simple verb in the Qur'an usually means to continue, remain, or stay in a state:
ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا
His face remains darkened and distressed.
فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا عَاكِفِينَ
We continue in devotion before them.
فَيَظْلَلْنَ رَوَاكِدَ
Then they remain motionless.
This use should not be translated as “remaining under shade.” Although both branches belong to one root, the verbal meaning of continuation in these verses is known from sentence structure and linguistic usage.
ظَلَّلَ / يُظَلِّلُ
This is Form II and refers to casting shade or placing something under shade and covering:
وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ
We made the cloud cast shade over you. Form II here expresses causing shade or covering to occur.
ظِلّ
This is the main noun of the field. It refers to shade produced when something blocks direct exposure, or to the space that lies beneath that covering. In the Qur'an zhill occurs in the natural world, in descriptions of the Garden, and in descriptions of Hell.
ظِلال
This is the plural of ظِلّ, referring to shades or shaded spaces:
فِي ظِلَالٍ وَعُيُونٍ
In shades and springs.
ظَلِيل
An adjective meaning shaded, having shade, or shade whose quality is strong and lasting. Lexical sources explain it as “possessing shade” and sometimes as “continuous in shade.” The expression ظِلًّا ظَلِيلًا can intensify the quality of being shaded.
ظُلَّة
Something that casts shade from above or stands above like a roof or canopy. It can be used for cloud, a mountain overhead, high waves, or coverings of Fire. Lexically, zhillah may refer to anything that covers from above, including a canopy or a covering under which a person stands.
3. Reference Cards for Qur'anic Derivatives
Remained in a state, continued an action, or had a condition persist.
Cast shade, placed under covering, or put something above another so that it shaded it.
Shade or a space covered from direct exposure; depending on context, it may be a place of rest or a useless and punishing shade.
Shades or shaded spaces; plural of zhill.
Deeply shaded, possessing lasting or prominent shade.
An overhead covering, roof-like cover, or canopy: cloud, wave, raised mountain, or layer of Fire.
4. The Semantic Core of the Root
In the nominal branch and in Form II, the semantic core is:
Something standing between a source of exposure and another surface, so that it casts shade or covering upon it.
Shade is the result of an intervening barrier. A body, tree, cloud, roof, or any other covering may block the path of exposure and create a space different from the area under direct light.
From this angle, zhill is not merely “absence of light.” Shade is a relation between light, barrier, and the surface or space beneath. But this fact should not be turned into a claim that zhill in Qur'anic language names a material, energy, or independent technology.
The Qur'an uses zhill through clear human experience: shade extends, contracts, a person turns toward it, clouds create it, created things have shadows, and coverings such as cloud or wave stand overhead.
In the verbal branch ظَلَّ, the core is:
A state or action continues across part of time.
For example, someone remains in a state of darkened distress after hearing news, or a group continues in devotion to something.
Lexical sources connect this verb with doing something during the day and continuing in it; in Qur'anic usage, its natural translation is usually “continued,” “remained,” or “stayed in that state.”
These two branches should not be forced into one artificial physical theory. Their historical existence in one root does not by itself prove that “continuity” is derived from standing under shade, or that “shade” is derived from continuity.
5. The Material Image of the Root
The clearest material image of this root is the shade of a tree, wall, mountain, or cloud.
Light falls on a body, and that body does not allow direct light to reach the space behind or beneath it. A region with a different level of light and heat appears. A person standing in heat turns toward that region and sits in it.
The Qur'an says about Musa:
ثُمَّ تَوَلَّىٰ إِلَى الظِّلِّ
Then he turned back toward the shade.
Here zhill is simply the shaded place in which one may seek relief. There is no need to call it a protective atmosphere or a radiation-regulating system.
Another image is a cloud or roof-like cover standing above. ظلة is not the shaded region itself, but something that stands overhead like a covering.
A third image is moving shade. As the position of the light source or object changes, the length and direction of shade change:
كَيْفَ مَدَّ الظِّلَّ
This movement is natural and observable; the verse does not turn it into a mathematical formula, radiation pressure, or biological regulation.
6. Use of the Root in Early Arabic
In Arabic, ظل was used for being away from direct sunlight. A person who sought shade was said to استظلّ, meaning he went toward shade and sat in it. A place that had shade could be called مكان ظليل.
Lexical sources also report a tendency-level distinction between ظل and فيء. In some uses, zhill refers to shade before the sun's decline, while fay' refers to shade that returns after the sun's movement past its zenith; but not all lexicographers state this boundary in the same way.
ظلة was used for anything that casts shade from above over a person or thing, such as a cloud, a canopy, or a roof-like structure. High waves are also likened to ظلل because they rise overhead and cast a covering over the ship.
In metaphorical usage, being “in someone's shade” could point to being under his protection and support. This extension is understandable from the physical experience of shade: one who is under another's covering is protected from part of external harm.
Still, a root article should not conclude from this metaphor that every Qur'anic zhill means political power, military refuge, or guardianship. Qur'anic uses must first be understood from their own contexts.
7. History of Understanding and Restricting the Meaning
One restriction is translating every derivative of this root as “shade.” That becomes wrong with the verb ظَلَّ.
ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا
This does not mean “his face became shaded.” It means that his face remained darkened and distressed.
فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا عَاكِفِينَ
The verse is not about shade; it is about continuing devotion and attachment to idols.
On the other side, restricting ظل to “pleasant coolness” is also wrong. The Qur'an speaks of a shade of smoke and coverings of Fire:
وَظِلٍّ مِنْ يَحْمُومٍ
لَهُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ مِنَ النَّارِ
So the core of the root is not merciful protection. Shade and covering may be restful, natural, threatening, or useless.
Likewise, descriptions of the Garden's shade should not be turned into a definite theory about constant temperature, lack of thermal change, or the biological structure of the afterlife body. The Qur'an speaks of shade that is extended, lasting, and near; it does not explain the physical method by which it exists.
Calling zhillah “protective hardware” or zhill “an electromagnetic filter” does not clarify the Qur'anic meaning. These terms are neither natural English nor part of the Arabic root.
8. Methodological Note
In studying this root, several levels should remain distinct:
Direct meaning: shade, casting shade, an overhead covering, or the continuation of a state.
Natural effect of shade: reduced direct exposure, relative coolness, or a place of relief.
Contextual use: Gardenly comfort, cloud covering, threatening punishment, natural shade, or continuation of an action.
Scientific or interpretive reflection: thermodynamics, atmosphere, radiation, the afterlife body, or a political system of protection.
The natural effect of shade should not be placed inside the base translation of the word. For example, ظل does not mean “cooling zone,” even if natural shade may be cooler.
ظلة is also not necessarily protection. The mountain over Bani Isra'il, waves like canopies, and coverings of Fire are all expressed with this word. Their shared feature is being above and covering, not safety and support.
In the verbs ظَلَّ, the meaning of shade should not be imposed. The syntactic role and the predicate of the verb show in what state the subject remained.
9. Qur'anic Uses of the Root
Cloud Shade Over Bani Isra'il
وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَىٰ
And We made the cloud cast shade over you and sent down upon you manna and quail.
The same meaning appears in Al-Araf 7:160.
ظَلَّلْنَا is Form II and shows that the cloud was placed above them and created shade. The verse explicitly speaks of cloud, not an artificial roof or engineered system.
In a desert setting, cloud can reduce direct exposure, but that natural result should not be expanded into details such as precise temperature regulation, controlled cloud movement, or a fixed ecological environment.
The Extension and Movement of Shade
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَيْفَ مَدَّ الظِّلَّ وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَجَعَلَهُ سَاكِنًا ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا الشَّمْسَ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلًا
Have you not looked toward your Lord, how He extended the shade? If He had willed, He would have made it still; then We made the sun a guide over it.
ثُمَّ قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا قَبْضًا يَسِيرًا
Then We draw it back to Us with a gentle drawing.
The verses recall the observable relation between the sun and shade. Shade extends and is then gradually drawn back. The expression جَعَلْنَا الشَّمْسَ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلًا shows that the position and movement of the sun make shade knowable. The verse does not speak of logistical calibration or radiation pressure.
The Movement of Created Shadows
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَىٰ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ يَتَفَيَّأُ ظِلَالُهُ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَالشَّمَائِلِ سُجَّدًا لِلَّهِ وَهُمْ دَاخِرُونَ
Have they not looked at what The God has created: its shadows turn from the right and the left, prostrating to The God while they are humbled?
ظلاله is the plural of shade. The motion of shadows occurs with the change of light and the positions of things. The Qur'an expresses this natural movement in the language of prostration and humility before the order of The God. One should not conclude that shade is an independent being detached from the body.
The Prostration of Shadows
وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلَالُهُمْ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ
To The God prostrates whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and their shadows in the mornings and evenings.
The mention of morning and evening fits the visible lengthening and change of shadows. The verse presents this movement as a sign of created submission within The God's order. ظلالهم should not be turned into subtle bodies, energy copies of humans, or independent entities without evidence.
Natural Shades as Blessing
وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِمَّا خَلَقَ ظِلَالًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ أَكْنَانًا
The God made for you, from what He created, shades; and He made for you shelters in the mountains.
Shades and mountain shelters appear together, but they are not the same. Shade blocks direct exposure, while aknan are places of shelter and concealment in the mountains. Their pairing shows the natural usefulness of shade, but zhill should not be translated as “complete shelter.”
Musa in the Shade
ثُمَّ تَوَلَّىٰ إِلَى الظِّلِّ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ
Then he turned back toward the shade and said: My Lord, I am in need of whatever good You send down to me.
Here shade is a place of rest and relief from direct exposure. The verse gives a clear example of the ordinary and material meaning of ظل.
Zhill Opposite Harur
وَلَا الظِّلُّ وَلَا الْحَرُورُ
Nor are shade and scorching heat the same.
Zhill is set against harur, intense scorching heat. This contrast can function within the parabolic structure of the verses, but the base meaning remains shade versus scorching heat. Zhill should not be directly translated as “Garden,” nor harur as “Hell,” even if the image may point beyond itself.
The Lasting Shade of the Garden
أُكُلُهَا دَائِمٌ وَظِلُّهَا
Its fruit is lasting, and so is its shade.
By the structure of the sentence, permanence applies to both fruit and shade. This shade is unlike temporary worldly shade; it does not disappear or turn into harmful exposure.
وَنُدْخِلُهُمْ ظِلًّا ظَلِيلًا
And We will admit them into a deeply shaded shade.
ظليلاً intensifies or perfects the quality of shade. “A lasting shade,” “an encompassing shade,” or “a complete shade” can convey part of the meaning, but a fixed-temperature cooling system is not derived from the verse.
Extended Shade
وَظِلٍّ مَمْدُودٍ
And extended shade.
ممدود points to the extension and breadth of shade. It brings to mind comfort and the absence of the limitation of short, passing shade. The next verse mentions flowing water, but pairing shade and water does not introduce a technical cooling system; both are elements of blessing and rest.
Near Shades of the Garden
وَدَانِيَةً عَلَيْهِمْ ظِلَالُهَا وَذُلِّلَتْ قُطُوفُهَا تَذْلِيلًا
Its shades are near over them, and its clusters are made fully accessible.
The nearness of the shades gives an image of access, rest, and covering in the Garden. The verse does not explain atmospheric density or its physical structure.
Being in Shades and Springs
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي ظِلَالٍ وَعُيُونٍ
The mindful are in shades and springs.
هُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُمْ فِي ظِلَالٍ عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ مُتَّكِئُونَ
They and their spouses are in shades, reclining upon couches.
The preposition في expresses being within a shaded place or environment. From this preposition alone, one cannot infer that shade is a closed three-dimensional volume or isolated atmosphere. In Arabic and English, a person naturally stands “in shade.”
A Shade of Black Smoke
وَظِلٍّ مِنْ يَحْمُومٍ لَا بَارِدٍ وَلَا كَرِيمٍ
And a shade of black smoke, neither cool nor noble.
This verse shows that not every shade gives comfort. A covering of smoke may block light, but it lacks the coolness and dignity of desired shade. Therefore zhill should not be defined as secure sanctuary or protective refuge.
A Three-Branched Shade That Does Not Protect
انْطَلِقُوا إِلَىٰ ظِلٍّ ذِي ثَلَاثِ شُعَبٍ لَا ظَلِيلٍ وَلَا يُغْنِي مِنَ اللَّهَبِ
Go toward a shade of three branches: neither shaded nor able to spare from flame.
This zhill points to smoke or flame-like covering that has the form of shade but not the function of desired shade. لا ظليل negates effective, comforting shade. The phrase لا يغني من اللهب explicitly says that it does not protect from flame.
Coverings of Fire
لَهُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمِنْ تَحْتِهِمْ ظُلَلٌ
For them are coverings of Fire from above them, and from beneath them coverings.
ظلل here are layers or coverings, one above another. What is a roof and covering for one level may be beneath another. This again shows that zhillah and its plural are not only mercy or protection; the covering itself may be Fire and punishment.
Waves Like Canopies
وَإِذَا غَشِيَهُمْ مَوْجٌ كَالظُّلَلِ دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ
When a wave like canopies covers them, they call upon The God, making the deen sincere for Him.
High waves are likened to ظلل because they rise and stand over the people in the ship like roofs or coverings. The point of comparison is height and covering from above, not energy absorption or isolation.
The Mountain Like a Zhillah
وَإِذْ نَتَقْنَا الْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُ ظُلَّةٌ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ وَاقِعٌ بِهِمْ
When We raised the mountain above them as though it were a canopy, and they thought it would fall upon them.
The mountain is called ظلة because it stood over them like a roof or covering. Here zhillah is not refuge, but threat.
The Punishment of the Day of Zhillah
فَأَخَذَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ
Then the punishment of the Day of the Canopy seized them.
The verse itself does not explain the detailed nature of the zhillah. Tafsir and lexical sources connect it with a cloud under which they gathered, but the root article should not present narrative details as explicit Qur'anic wording. What is clear from the expression is the relation of punishment to a day of a particular covering or canopy.
Coming in Zhulal of Cloud
هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ
Are they waiting for anything except that The God should come to them in coverings of cloud, and the angels?
ظلل من الغمام points to layers or coverings of cloud. This is a sensitive and mutashabih verse, and it should not be interpreted as embodiment, spatial containment, or creature-like movement for The God. The root article can only say that zhulal are coverings or layers of cloud. The relation of the phrase to The God is an interpretive and transcendence-related matter beyond the lexical definition.
The Face Remaining Darkened
وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُمْ بِالْأُنْثَىٰ ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ
When one of them is given news of a female, his face remains darkened while he restrains his anger.
The same structure appears in Az-Zukhruf 43:17. ظل وجهه مسوداً means that his face remains in a state of darkness and distress. The verb ظل is defective: وجهه is its noun and مسوداً its predicate. There is no connection here with casting shade.
Continuing the Worship of Idols
قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ أَصْنَامًا فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا عَاكِفِينَ
They said: We worship idols, and we continue devoted to them.
نظل shows the continuation of their action. “We remain in their shade” would be wrong.
Remaining in Devotion to the Calf
وَانْظُرْ إِلَىٰ إِلَٰهِكَ الَّذِي ظَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفًا
Look at your god over which you remained devoted.
ظلت is the lightened form of ظللت and expresses continuing devotion and attachment. Grammatical and lexical sources explain the dropping of one of the two lams in this form.
Necks Remaining in Submission
إِنْ نَشَأْ نُنَزِّلْ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ آيَةً فَظَلَّتْ أَعْنَاقُهُمْ لَهَا خَاضِعِينَ
If We will, We send down upon them a sign from the sky, so their necks remain humbled before it.
The verb expresses the continuation of the state of humility. The predicate appears as the masculine plural خاضعين, which can fit the owners of the necks or the people themselves in meaning.
Ships Remaining Motionless
إِنْ يَشَأْ يُسْكِنِ الرِّيحَ فَيَظْلَلْنَ رَوَاكِدَ عَلَىٰ ظَهْرِهِ
If He wills, He stills the wind, and they remain motionless upon its surface.
يظللن رواكد expresses the continued stillness of the ships. This use shows that the verb ظل can also be used for objects.
10. Examination of Important Derivatives in the Qur'an
ظَلَّ as a defective verb
In many verses, ظل functions like a defective verb and takes a noun and predicate:
ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا
فَظَلَّتْ أَعْنَاقُهُمْ خَاضِعِينَ
فَيَظْلَلْنَ رَوَاكِدَ
The verb indicates continuation or remaining in the state expressed by the predicate. This form must be distinguished from ظِلّ, meaning shade. Written similarity and shared root should not lead to one translation for both.
ظَلَّلَ
It appears in two verses about Bani Isra'il:
وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ
وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الْغَمَامَ
This verb is transitive, and the cloud is what creates shade. The pronoun attached to على marks those above whom the cloud was placed.
ظِلّ and ظِلال
ظل is singular, and ظلال is one of its plurals. In the Qur'an, both occur for natural shade, the shades of the Garden, and shades of punishment. The plural does not necessarily mean several independent systems; it can express multiple shades, the spread of shaded regions, or variety of coverings.
ظَلِيل
In ظِلًّا ظَلِيلًا, an adjective from the same root follows the noun. This can intensify, complete, or stabilize the quality of shade. In لَا ظَلِيلٍ, effective and beneficial shade is denied from the shade of Hell.
ظُلَّة and ظُلَل
ظلة is singular and ظلل its plural. The main feature is something being overhead and covering the space beneath. In the Qur'an the word is used for mountain, cloud, wave, and layers of Fire. This variety prevents limiting its meaning to “protective canopy.”
11. Grammatical and Structural Notes
ظَلَّ with noun and predicate
As a defective verb, ظل continues the state of its noun across time:
ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا
Noun: وجهه. Predicate: مسوداً. Natural translation: “His face remained darkened and distressed.”
Dropping one of the two lams
In forms such as ظَلْتَ, the underlying form is ظللت, but one of the two lams is dropped for ease of pronunciation. This morphological change does not create a new meaning.
ظَلَّلَ with على
ظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ
على expresses the spatial relation between the cloud and those beneath it: the cloud casts shade over them. Political domination or physical pressure should not be extracted from على here.
في ظل and في ظلال
Structures such as في ظلال express being in a shaded place or environment. In natural language, في is used for place and surrounding; by itself it does not prove a closed structure or special physical volume.
ظِلًّا ظَلِيلًا
Here noun and adjective come from one root. This construction can emphasize and heighten the attribute, like “a fully shaded shade” or “an encompassing and lasting shade.” A literal repetition is not natural in English, so the strength of the description should be carried smoothly.
كَالظُّلَل
مَوْجٌ كَالظُّلَلِ
The particle of comparison ك likens waves to high coverings or canopies. The point of comparison is understood from their shape and their position above the ship.
12. ZHA L L (ZHILL) Compared with F Y A (FAY')
Both words can refer to shade, but lexical sources draw a tendency-level distinction between them.
ظل can refer to any region where direct sunlight does not reach.
فيء is more often used for the shade that returns after the sun has shifted, especially after its decline.
Thus every fay' is a kind of shade, but not every shade is necessarily called fay'. This boundary is not stated identically in all sources and should not be made too absolute.
In the Qur'an, the root ف ي أ appears in An-Nahl 16:48 with the movement of shadows:
يَتَفَيَّأُ ظِلَالُهُ
That is, its shadows return from one side to another.
13. ZHA L L (ZHILL) Compared with K N N (KINN)
The root ك ن ن is connected with hiddenness, taking refuge, and being inside a covered or protected place.
In An-Nahl 16:81, shades and mountain shelters are mentioned together:
جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِمَّا خَلَقَ ظِلَالًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ أَكْنَانًا
ظل covers from direct exposure. كنّ is a refuge or covered place in which a person is protected and hidden. Shade may leave the sides open, while kinn more strongly suggests being inside a protected place.
14. ZHA L L (ZHILL) Compared with S T R (SATARA)
The root س ت ر concerns covering something from sight or placing a cover over it.
Shade also results from the placement of an intervening body, but ظل is the effect or space produced in relation to exposure, not necessarily the act of hiding.
Something may be in shade from the sun while remaining fully visible to people. Therefore zhill is not identical with concealment or hiding.
15. ZHA L L (ZHULLAH) Compared with S Q F (SAQF)
سقف is the upper and fixed structure of a building.
ظلة is anything that stands overhead like a cover or canopy; it may be cloud, wave, mountain, or a covering of Fire, and it is not necessarily part of a fixed building.
Every roof may cast shade, but not every zhillah is an architectural roof. This matters in translation. For mountain or wave, “roof” may sound too architectural and fixed; “canopy,” “covering,” or “something like a roof” is more natural.
16. Translation Suggestions for Forqan
ظَلَّ / يَظَلُّ
- continued
- remained in that state
- kept doing that action
- stayed so
- became so and remained
For ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا: his face remained darkened and distressed. For فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا عَاكِفِينَ: we continue devoted before them.
ظَلَّلَ
- cast shade
- placed under shade
- spread shade over them
For وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ: We made the cloud cast shade over you.
ظِلّ
- shade
- shaded place
- covering of shade, only where context requires
Translations such as “radiation-regulating field” or “frequency shield” are not suitable.
ظِلال
- shades
- shaded spaces
ظَلِيل
- deeply shaded
- having encompassing shade
- lasting and restful shade, in Garden context
- protective shade only where the context supports that effect
For ظِلًّا ظَلِيلًا: an encompassing and lasting shade, or a complete and restful shade. It should not always be translated as “cooling.”
ظُلَّة
- canopy
- overhead covering
- something like a roof
- shade-casting cloud
- layer or covering
For the mountain: as though it were a canopy over them. For the wave: a wave like canopies. For Fire: coverings of Fire.
ظِلٍّ مَمْدُود
- extended shade
- shade stretched out
لَا ظَلِيلٍ
- not a restful shade
- not a real and beneficial shade
ظِلٍّ مِنْ يَحْمُومٍ
- a shade of black smoke
17. Conclusion
The root ظ ل ل in the Qur'an has two main fields: shade and covering, and the continuation of a state or action.
In the first field, ظل is shade or a space produced when something intervenes against direct exposure. ظلل casts shade, ظليل highlights strength or lastingness of shade, and ظلة is something that stands above like a covering or canopy.
In the second field, the verb ظَلَّ points to continuing or remaining in a state:
ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا
meaning that his face remained in a state of darkened distress.
Final proposed definition:
ZHA L L: shade and a covering produced against direct exposure; casting shade and covering from above; and, in the verb ظَلَّ, continuing or remaining in a state.
Shade in the Qur'an is not always positive. The shades of the Garden are lasting, extended, and restful, but the shade of Hell may be black smoke, not cool, and unable to protect from flame. ظلة may also be a shade-casting cloud, a threatening mountain, a high wave, or a covering of Fire.
Therefore protection is the result of some kinds of zhill, not the fixed meaning of the root. Coolness is also the natural effect of some shades, not the translation of the word itself.
The root approaches fay' in returning shade, kinn in refuge and coveredness, satr in covering, and saqf in a structure placed overhead; but none of these is its full equivalent.
Technical expressions such as frequency shield, radiation absorption, isolated atmosphere, data processing, and cooling system should not enter the base definition or translation. What the Qur'an says is clearer and more basic: a body casts shade over something; a being stands in shade; a covering appears overhead; or a state continues across time.