w-b-l

Description

The Arabic root و-ب-ل (w-b-l) carries the core meaning of heaviness and weightiness, which manifests in two primary Quranic applications: literally as heavy rain that burdens with its intensity, and metaphorically as the heavy, burdensome consequences of evil actions that weigh down upon wrongdoers. This semantic connection reflects the Quran's imagery where just as heavy rain can be either beneficial or destructive depending on context, the weighty outcomes of one's deeds become an unavoidable burden, particularly emphasizing the ruinous and oppressive nature of divine punishment or the destructive results of disbelief. The root thus links physical heaviness with moral and spiritual gravity, making abstract consequences tangible through the imagery of something weighty and inescapable.