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Ali Bin Shahid's avatar

While the provided interpretation of حنيف as 'pure or upright one' captures one dimension of the term, it misses crucial semantic layers that enrich our understanding of this verse.

The root ح-ن-ف fundamentally means 'to incline away from one path toward another.' This inclination is what defines the ḥanīf - not necessarily purity, but devotion through conscious turning.

In religious contexts, this inclination is toward monotheism, away from falsehood. But in poetry, particularly when wine is involved, ḥanīf can represent someone who has secluded themselves from worldly concerns for the sake of a singular devotion.

So when we read 'قد جيب فوقهنّ حنيف,' we're seeing these vessels opened by someone who has devoted themselves exclusively to this task - whether a heavenly being preparing paradise's vessels or an earthly wine server who has forsaken all else for this pleasure.

The Quranic echoes of 'أباريق' in surah Insan, support this dual reading, allowing the verse to operate simultaneously in paradisiacal and worldly realms. The interpretation of ḥanīf merely as 'pure' misses this rich duality that the poet likely intended.

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