Quranic root
قلم
q · l · m
The root centers on cutting, trimming, and shaping a hard material, especially by paring or sharpening it.
From trimming and sharpening came قَلَم for a writing reed prepared by cutting, and, by resemblance, for a lot-arrow used in casting lots. Related lexical branches name clippings, trimmed extremities, and figurative weakness; قُلَام is recorded as a divergent plant term.
- Maqāyīs · row 3851
- Mufradāt · row 1204
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 2
- Quran senses
- 4
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
قَلَم
qalam
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 4 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
A pen, especially a writing reed or other implement used for writing.
Includes the plural أَقْلَام; Quranic occurrences refer to writing instruments used generally or collectively.
- Lane · entry 21111
- Mufradāt · row 1204
Selected Quran examples
A lot-arrow or casting stick used for drawing lots.
In the construction إِذْ يُلْقُونَ أَقْلَامَهُمْ, the plural denotes arrows or sticks cast to determine a selection, rather than writing pens.
- Mufradāt · row 1204
- Maqāyīs · row 3851
Selected Quran examples
Quran 3:44word 12
“their pens”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 3:44أَقْلَـٰمَهُمْtheir pens
- 31:27أَقْلَـٰمٌۭ(were) pens
- 68:1وَٱلْقَلَمِBy the pen
- 96:4بِٱلْقَلَمِby the pen
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 7 Classical meanings
قَلَمَ؛ قَلَّمَ
To cut, trim, pare, or smooth a hard thing by cutting or sharpening it.
The reported applications include trimming a nail; the doubled form قَلَّمَ is also used for this action.
- Maqāyīs · row 3851
- Mufradāt · row 1204
قِلْم
A thing that has been clipped or cut down.
A result noun or descriptor for something subjected to trimming.
- Mufradāt · row 1204
قُلَامَة
A clipping cut from a nail during trimming.
Refers to the piece that falls away when the nail is clipped.
- Maqāyīs · row 3851
- Mufradāt · row 1204
مَقْلُومُ الأَظْفَارِ
A weak or powerless person, literally described as having clipped nails.
A figurative idiomatic expression for weakness.
- Maqāyīs · row 3851
مِقْلَم؛ مَقَالِمُ الرُّمْح
The tip of a camel’s qinb; also the knobs or joints of a spear.
Specialized anatomical and spear terminology associated with a clipped or shaped extremity.
- Maqāyīs · row 3851
قُلَام
A plant.
Recorded as a lexical branch divergent from the root’s main cutting-and-shaping sense.
- Maqāyīs · row 3851
إِقْلِيم
One of the seven regions or climes into which the inhabited world was divided in an ancient geographical scheme.
A technical geographical term in the seven-region model attributed to astronomers.
- Mufradāt · row 1204
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
A reported theological association of the pen with a primordial or divine writing instrument is not treated as a separate lexical sense; it concerns the referent and theology rather than the noun’s basic meaning.