وَمَا يَسْتَوِى ٱلْبَحْرَانِ هَٰذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ سَآئِغٌ شَرَابُهُۥ وَهَٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ
"The two seas are not equal: one is sweet, it cuts thirst, its drink goes down easily; the other is salt and bitter."
أُجَاج — it was treated in al-Wāqiʿa at 56/70 (law nashāʾu jaʿalnāhu ujājā); I rely on that treatment. There this word was a state that could have been and has not been; here it is mentioned as a reality that actually exists.
| Place | Ujāj |
|---|---|
| al-Wāqiʿa 56/70 | It could have been — sweet water made bitter |
| Fāṭir 35/12 | It is — the two seas existing side by side |
Read together, the two verses show that the supposition in al-Wāqiʿa is not a remote possibility. I record this as my own reading.
سَآئِغ — root س-و-غ: to go down the throat easily. The word describes the drinkability of water by way of ease of swallowing — that is, not a chemical description but a bodily experience.
وَمِن كُلٍّ تَأْكُلُونَ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا وَتَسْتَخْرِجُونَ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا — "from both of them you eat fresh meat, and you bring out ornaments to wear."
Worth recording: the two seas are not equal, yet from both of them benefit is drawn. Having stated the inequality, the verse mentions the shared benefit.