اجج

Core meaning

The bitterness of water that cannot be drunk, always set against sweet water.

Uses

1. أُجَاج → "bitter" : the quality of salt water, opposed to sweet, fresh water.

   • «وَهَٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌۭ» — "and that one salty, bitter" (25:53)
   • «لَوْ نَشَآءُ جَعَلْنَٰهُ أُجَاجًۭا» — "If We willed, We could make it bitter" (56:70)

Evidence from the text

In 25:53 and 35:12, the same formula sets the two seas against each other: one "sweet, fresh", the other "salty, bitter". The word never appears without its opposite.

In 56:70, the opposition becomes a threat: the water one drinks could be made bitter. The sweetness of water is not a given; it is a favour that can be withdrawn, hence the question that follows: "So why are you not grateful?" (56:70).

Distinctions

• ملح — salt, the saltiness of water, whereas أُجَاج names the bitterness that makes it undrinkable

See also

عذب (the sweetness of water) · فرت (fresh water)