What is bariqal? Meaning of bariqal basar in Qur’an 75:7
“Bariqal basar” is a joined transliteration of the Arabic phrase bariqa al-baṣar (بَرِقَ الْبَصَرُ), rather than a standalone Arabic word. In the phrase fa-idhā bariqa al-baṣar, it means “when the sight is dazzled” or “when the eye is stunned” [Qur’an 75:7]. Fa-idhā means “then, when”; bariqa is the verb; and al-baṣar is sight or vision. When recited together, bariqa al- can sound like “bariqal,” which explains the common spelling.
The verb comes from the Arabic root b-r-q (ب ر ق), shared with barq, lightning. The Qur’an uses lightning to describe sight almost being snatched away [Qur’an 2:20] and its flash nearly taking the eyes [Qur’an 24:43]. Bariqa al-baṣar describes vision stunned and unable to settle before what it sees.
The surrounding verses make the setting explicit: the moon is darkened, the sun and moon are brought together, and the human being asks, “Where is the escape?” [Qur’an 75:8–10]. A related image appears in Qur’an 14:42, where eyes stare fixed in terror. Reciters transmit two vowellings of the word: bariqa, a gaze dazzled or frozen in dread, and baraqa, the eye flashing or opening wide. The readings leave closely related images within the same overwhelming scene.
📖 Source: Qur’an 2:20; 14:42; 24:43; 75:7–10
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