sh-'-l

Description

The Arabic root شعل (sh-'-l) conveys the core meaning of igniting, flaring up, or blazing intensely, particularly in reference to fire or flame. In the Quranic context, it appears in the phrase describing hair becoming white or gray with age, where the whiteness is described as flaring or blazing across the head like fire spreading, creating a vivid metaphor for the conspicuous spread of gray hair as a sign of aging. This root emphasizes the intensity and rapid spreading quality of the phenomenon being described, whether literal fire or the figurative "fire" of white hair.