56:36
QURANHIVE

A focused reading of أَبْكَارًا in 56:36

In this verse segment, they were made Abkaaran, a plural term that points to women who are new, untouched, and not previously touched before.

فَجَعَلْنَاهُنَّ أَبْكَارًا

“So, we made them Abkaaran (previously untouched)”

Core meaning

The direct statement of the verse

أَبْكَارًا describes women who are new, virgins, and have not been touched before. The translation given is: “So, we made them Abkaaran (previously untouched)”.

The word signals firstness, newness, and prior untouchedness.

Word study

Plural and root sense

أَبْكَار is the plural of بِكْر. The underlying sense is tied to what is first, initial, or not yet used before.

أَبْكَار

Abkaar
Plural form highlighted in the verse.

بِكْر

Bikr
The singular form from which the plural is derived.

Language points and insights

How the meaning of firstness is built

1
First-born child The first born to parents is called بِكْر, showing the idea of what comes first.
2
Untilled land used for the first time Land that has not been farmed yet and is to be used for the first time is also described with the same term, extending the meaning to something not yet used.
3
Early morning بُكْرَة refers to the first part of the next day, meaning early morning, again reinforcing beginning and firstness.
Across these examples, the word family is anchored in two linked ideas: the beginning of something and something not yet used before.

Conclusion from the language

From lexical pattern to the verse meaning

Based on those language examples, the term describes a person who has yet to be married and had intimate relations with another. Therefore, in this verse, أَبْكَار refers to new women who are virgins and have not been touched before.

In this verse, the focus remains on that meaning alone.
Ayah 36