Quranic root
صمد
ṣ · m · d
The root expresses two attested ideas: directing oneself toward a relied-upon object or person, and firmness or solidity.
The first branch yields seeking, recourse, and the designation of a lord upon whom affairs depend; the second yields hard or elevated terrain and solid things. Quran-focused interpretation of الصمد combines divine recourse with freedom from bodily need.
- Maqāyīs · row 2835
- Mufradāt · row 848
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 2
- Quran senses
- 1
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
الصَّمَدُ
ālṣṣamadu
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
The sovereign Lord to whom all turn in their needs and upon whom affairs ultimately depend.
A divine designation in the Quran, expressing recourse, reliance, and ultimate lordship rather than merely physical direction.
- Mufradāt · row 848
- Lane · entry 26557
Selected Quran examples
Quran 112:2word 2
“the Eternal, the Absolute”
The non-hollow, non-nourished divine One, independent of bodily needs.
A Quranic theological interpretation that contrasts God with beings subject to nourishment and bodily functions; it is distinct from the material sense “solid, not hollow.”
- Mufradāt · row 848
- Lane · entry 26557
Selected Quran examples
Quran 112:2word 2
“the Eternal, the Absolute”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 112:2ٱلصَّمَدُthe Eternal, the Absolute
Broader Classical Arabic meanings
Recorded for this root in the Classical lexicons beyond its Quran usage. These are secondary to the Quran senses above.
Show 25 Classical meanings
صَمَدَ
To direct oneself toward, seek, pursue, or have recourse to a person or thing; to aim at it.
Used with constructions such as صمد إليه, صمد له, and صمد الأمر; it can also describe facing or pointing directly toward a target.
- Lane · entry 26551
صَمَدَ
To strike or beat someone with a staff or stick.
A specialized construction with a person as object and a staff or stick as the instrument.
- Lane · entry 26551
صَمَدَ
To set up or erect a thing.
A transitive construction distinct from the directional sense.
- Lane · entry 26551
صَمَدَ
Of the sun, to scorch a person’s face.
Used in the expression صمدت الشمس وجهه.
- Lane · entry 26551
صَمَدَ
To put a stopper or cover into or over the mouth of a flask or bottle.
A transitive use referring to sealing a vessel with a صِمَاد.
- Lane · entry 26551
صَمَّدَ
To tend or repair repeatedly or frequently; said of several people, to tend or repair someone or something.
Form II intensifies or distributes the tending action relative to the Form I use.
- Lane · entry 26552
صَمَّدَ
To wind a piece of cloth or a kerchief around the head.
A construction involving a صِمَاد, a head cloth or kerchief.
- Lane · entry 26552
صَامَدَ
To contend with someone in combat.
Form III denotes mutual engagement in fighting.
- Lane · entry 26553
أَصْمَدَ
To rest or lay an affair upon someone; to entrust it to him.
Used with an affair as the object and a person as the one upon whom responsibility is placed.
- Lane · entry 26554
صَمْدٌ
Elevated, rugged, hard, or firm ground, including a low rugged part of a mountain that produces trees.
A terrain term covering several closely related kinds of firm or rugged land.
- Lane · entry 26556
صَمَدٌ
A lord, chief, or person to whom one resorts in exigencies; one whose authority is obeyed and upon whom affairs depend.
May describe a human chief or other relied-upon person, apart from the specifically Quranic divine designation.
- Lane · entry 26557
صَمَدٌ
A being who continues forever or remains after creatures perish; in a related theological description, the creator of all things on whom nothing depends.
A classical theological characterization of the term, kept distinct here from the Quran-attested senses.
- Lane · entry 26557
صَمَدٌ
Solid and not hollow.
Applied to material things in this sense; the cited lexical discussion explicitly excludes applying this usage to God.
- Lane · entry 26557
صَمَدٌ
High or elevated; figuratively, a man above whom there is no superior.
The elevated and pre-eminent applications belong to the same adjectival branch.
- Lane · entry 26557
صَمَدٌ
A man who neither thirsts nor hungers in war.
A specialized description of endurance in warfare.
- Lane · entry 26557
صَمَدٌ
A people having no trade, occupation, or means of livelihood.
A collective description of people lacking an occupation or livelihood.
- Lane · entry 26557
صَمْدَةٌ
A rock firmly embedded in the earth, level with or somewhat above its surface.
Refers to an exposed, firmly fixed rock rather than loose stone.
- Lane · entry 26558
صَمْدَةٌ
A she-camel that has been covered but has not conceived.
A specialized animal term.
- Lane · entry 26558
صِمَادٌ
A stopper or skin cover for the mouth of a flask or bottle.
The noun denotes the vessel’s stopper or covering.
- Lane · entry 26561
صِمَادٌ
A cloth or kerchief wound around the head, beneath or instead of a turban.
A clothing term distinct from the stopper sense of صِمَادٌ.
- Lane · entry 26561
صَمُودٌ
A named idol worshipped by the tribe of ʿĀd.
A proper cultic designation in the cited lexical tradition.
- Lane · entry 26562
مُصَمَّدٌ
Applied to a house or tent that has been repaired repeatedly or by many persons.
A passive-participial description of a repeatedly repaired structure.
- Lane · entry 26564
مُصَمَّدٌ
A hard thing lacking softness or fragility.
An adjectival application to a hard or unyielding object.
- Lane · entry 26564
مِصْمَادٌ
A she-camel that endures cold, drought, or barren land while continuing to yield milk.
A specialized animal term emphasizing endurance and continued milk production.
- Lane · entry 26565
مُصَوْمِدٌ
Thick or rough, and high, overtopping, or prominent.
An adjectival description combining substantial form with elevation or prominence.
- Lane · entry 26566
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic interpretation “non-hollow” is a theological explanation of الصمد and should not be conflated with the separately attested material adjective “solid, not hollow.”