Quranic root
سلم
s · l · m
The root centers on safety, soundness, and freedom from harm, and extends to peace, reconciliation, and willing submission.
From the basic idea of being safe and sound come meanings of securing or saving, making peace, submitting or entering into Islam, and related uses such as advance delivery and a ladder as a means of reaching a safe destination.
- Maqāyīs · row 2476
- Mufradāt · row 720
- 14
- Quran-attested forms
- 23
- Quran senses
- 140
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
- سَلَّمَVerb · Form II II · 6
- أَسْلَمَVerb · Form IV IV · 22
- إِسْلَامVerbal noun / Religious term · 8
- مُسْلِمActive participle · noun/adjective · 42
- مُسْتَسْلِمActive participle · Form X · 1
- مُسَلَّمPassive participle · Form II · 3
- سَالِمActive participle · 1
- سَلَامNoun · 42
- سَلَمNoun · 5
- سَلِيمAdjective / noun · 2
- سُلَّمNoun · 2
- سَلْمNoun · 2
- سِلْمNoun · 1
- تَسْلِيمVerbal noun · 3
سَلَّمَ
sallama
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form II
- Form
- II
- Quran occurrences
- 6 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.
to make safe, secure, or free from harm; to save or preserve
A transitive causative use, including God's saving or securing someone from danger.
- Lane · entry 41953
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 8:43word 16
“saved (you)”
to greet or salute someone with a prayer or declaration of peace
Used with عَلَى and related greeting constructions; the greeting invokes safety and freedom from harm.
- Lane · entry 41953
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 24:27word 11
“and you have greeted”
to deliver, hand over, or pay something to its recipient
Used with إِلَى or an expressed recipient; includes handing over property or a required payment.
- Lane · entry 41953
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:233word 53
“you pay”
to submit, assent, or yield without opposition
Used of accepting a command, decree, judgment, or established truth; this is distinct from physically handing something over.
- Lane · entry 41953
Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:65word 18
“and submit”
أَسْلَمَ
ʾaslama
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form IV
- Form
- IV
- Quran occurrences
- 22 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.
to submit or resign oneself to God; to become obedient and submissive
In religious usage, the verb can denote entering or professing Islam; in fuller usage it includes inward assent and obedient submission, with the object often understood or expressed with لِ.
- Lane · entry 41955
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
إِسْلَام
ʾislām
- Part of speech
- Verbal noun / Religious term
- Quran occurrences
- 8 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.
submission to God and adherence to the religion of Islam
As a legal or theological term, it may refer to outward profession and religious affiliation; in its fuller use it includes belief, obedient action, and resignation to God's decree.
- Lane · entry 41955
- Lane · entry 41981
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
مُسْلِم
muslim
- Part of speech
- Active participle · noun/adjective
- Quran occurrences
- 42 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.
one who submits to God; a Muslim, submissive or obedient to Him
The active participle functions adjectivally and substantivally, in masculine, feminine, singular, dual, and plural forms; it can describe religious identity or the state of submission itself.
- Lane · entry 41984
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:128word 3
“both submissive”
Quran 3:67word 10
“Muslim”
Quran 6:163word 8
“(of) the ones who surrender (to Him)”
Quran 33:35word 3
“and the Muslim women”
مُسْتَسْلِم
mustaslim
- Part of speech
- Active participle · Form X
- 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.
one who surrenders or is wholly submissive
The Form X active participle emphasizes entering or remaining in a state of surrender.
- Lane · entry 41959
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 37:26word 4
“(will) surrender”
مُسَلَّم
musallam
- Part of speech
- Passive participle · Form II
- Quran occurrences
- 3 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.
delivered or handed over as a required payment
In the compensation construction, the item or payment is something to be delivered to its rightful recipient.
- Lane · entry 41953
Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:92word 17
“(is to be) paid”
sound, intact, and free from visible blemish
Describes an object that has been made acceptable by being free of external defect; the Quranic example concerns an animal without markings or blemish.
- Mufradāt · row 720
- Lane · entry 41953
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:71word 13
“sound”
سَالِم
sālim
- Part of speech
- Active participle
- 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.
sound, safe, or free from defect
An active-participle adjective describing a state of soundness or freedom from harm.
- Lane · entry 41979
- Lane · entry 41973
Selected Quran examples
Quran 68:43word 11
“(were) sound”
سَلَام
salām
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 42 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.
safety, security, peace, or freedom from harm and defect
Includes peaceful safety, safe arrival, and the Quranic expressions دار السلام and سبل السلام. By extension, السَّلَام is a divine name or epithet denoting freedom from imperfection and the giver of safety.
- Lane · entry 41971
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 6:127word 3
“(of) [the] peace”
Quran 59:23word 10
“the Giver of Peace”
a salutation or greeting invoking peace and safety
Used in formulas such as سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ or سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ, and in the reciprocal greeting of visitors or believers.
- Lane · entry 41971
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:94word 15
“(a greeting of) peace”
a declaration of disengagement: no harm, conflict, or further involvement between the parties
In the construction وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا, the word is interpreted as withdrawing from altercation rather than offering the ordinary greeting.
- Lane · entry 41971
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 25:63word 12
“Peace”
سَلَم
salam
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 5 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.
peace, reconciliation, or a state of submission
Used as a noun or verbal noun for peaceable submission and the absence of resistance.
- Lane · entry 41962
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:90word 30
“[the] peace”
Quran 16:28word 7
“the submission”
exclusive submission or allegiance to one master or party
In the construction of a person belonging or submitting exclusively to one master, it contrasts with divided association among several masters.
- Lane · entry 41962
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 39:29word 9
“(belonging) exclusively”
سَلِيم
salīm
- Part of speech
- Adjective / noun
- Quran occurrences
- 2 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.
sound, whole, and free from inner corruption or defect
In بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ, the adjective describes a heart free from unbelief, spiritual corruption, or unsoundness.
- Lane · entry 41973
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 26:89word 6
“sound”
Quran 37:84word 5
“sound”
سُلَّم
sullam
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 2 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 ladder, stairway, or means of ascending
The noun may denote a physical ladder or stairway and, by extension, a means of reaching a higher place or goal.
- Lane · entry 41978
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 6:35word 14
“a ladder”
Quran 52:38word 3
“(is) a stairway”
سَلْم
salm
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 2 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.
peace or reconciliation
A noun for peace in contrast with war, including entering into a peaceful settlement.
- Lane · entry 41962
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 8:61word 3
“to peace”
Quran 47:35word 5
“peace”
سِلْم
silm
- 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.
peace, reconciliation, or submission
The word is used for peace in opposition to war and can also denote self-resignation or submission.
- Lane · entry 41962
- Mufradāt · row 720
Islam, understood as submission and obedience to God
In the Quranic construction ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ, the noun is interpreted as the religion or comprehensive state of submission.
- Lane · entry 41962
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:208word 6
“Islam”
تَسْلِيم
taslīm
- Part of speech
- Verbal noun
- Quran occurrences
- 3 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.
submission, assent, or complete yielding
The verbal noun denotes accepting a judgment or command without resistance, including complete submission in a legal or religious context.
- Lane · entry 41953
Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:65word 19
“(in full) submission”
Quran 33:22word 18
“and submission”
salutation or greeting
As the verbal noun of سَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِ, it denotes offering a greeting or salutational prayer for peace.
- Lane · entry 41953
- Mufradāt · row 720
Selected Quran examples
Quran 33:56word 13
“(with) greetings”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:71مُسَلَّمَةٌۭsound
- 2:112أَسْلَمَsubmits
- 2:128مُسْلِمَيْنِboth submissive
- 2:128مُّسْلِمَةًۭsubmissive
- 2:131أَسْلِمْ ۖSubmit (yourself)
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 54 Classical meanings
سَلِمَ
to be free or clear of participation, encumbrance, or claim; to belong exclusively to someone
A specialized use for a property or possession becoming free of another person's participation.
- Lane · entry 41952
سَلَمَ
to make someone captive
A rare transitive use.
- Lane · entry 41952
سَلَمَتْهُ الحَيَّةُ
for a serpent to bite someone
Rarely attested lexical use.
- Lane · entry 41952
سَلَمَ الجِلْدَ
to tan a hide with the leaves of the salām tree
A specialized craft use.
- Lane · entry 41952
سَلَمَ الدَّلْوَ
to finish making a leather bucket and make it firm or sound
A specialized use concerning manufacture of a leather bucket.
- Lane · entry 41952
سَلَّمَ
to abandon, forsake, or leave someone exposed to harm or destruction
Used of leaving a person or enemy without aid, or giving him over to a harmful fate.
- Lane · entry 41953
سَلَّمَ أَمْرَهُ
to entrust or commit one's case to God
A conventional construction with the matter or case as object.
- Lane · entry 41953
سَلَّمَ الدَّعْوَى
to acknowledge or concede the truth or justice of a claim
A legal or argumentative use derived from the idea of yielding something to another.
- Lane · entry 41953
أَسْلَمَ
to pay or deliver a price in advance
A commercial construction in which the commodity is to be delivered later according to description.
- Lane · entry 41955
أَسْلَمَ عَنْهُ
to leave or abandon an affair after having been engaged in it
A non-religious use with عَنْهُ or an understood object.
- Lane · entry 41955
تَسَلَّمَ مِنْهُ
to declare oneself free, clear, or quit of something or someone
A reflexive Form V use with مِنْهُ.
- Lane · entry 41956
تَسَلَّمَ
to take or receive something delivered
Used of receiving a thing that has been given or handed over.
- Lane · entry 41956
تَسَالَمَ
to make peace or reconcile with one another
A reciprocal Form VI construction.
- Lane · entry 41957
تَسَالَمَ
to agree or correspond with one another; figuratively, for statements or movements to be consistent
The figurative use is applied to two troops keeping pace or to assertions agreeing with one another.
- Lane · entry 41957
اِسْتَلَمَ
to become reconciled or at peace
A rare Form VIII use during or after displeasure.
- Lane · entry 41958
اِسْتَلَمَ
to touch, stroke, wipe, kiss, or reach the Black Stone
A ritual construction concerning contact with the Black Stone of the Kaaba, by hand or with a staff.
- Lane · entry 41958
اِسْتَلَمَ الزَّرْعُ
for a crop to put forth its ears
A specialized agricultural use.
- Lane · entry 41958
اِسْتَلَمَ الخُفُّ قَدَمَيْهِ
for a boot to soften or make the feet tender
A specialized use concerning footwear.
- Lane · entry 41958
اِسْتَسْلَمَ
to proceed along the middle or straight course of a road without missing it
A specialized directional use.
- Lane · entry 41959
تَمَسْلَمَ
to call or name oneself a Muslim
A rare lexicalized Form II of the special-form family.
- Lane · entry 41960
سَلْم
a leather bucket with one handle or loop
A specialized noun distinct from the peace noun.
- Lane · entry 41961
سَلَم
a sale in which the price is paid in advance for a described commodity delivered later
The commercial transaction also called advance payment or salam sale.
- Lane · entry 41963
سَلَم
the taking or state of a captive without resistance
Can describe bringing someone captive or submissive, including without a fight or while wounded.
- Lane · entry 41963
سَلِم
stones, especially hard stones; also a broad stone
A collective or plural-like noun with varying accounts of its singular.
- Lane · entry 41964
سَلِمَة
a woman soft or tender in the extremities
A descriptive noun for bodily softness.
- Lane · entry 41966
سَلِمَة
an old and weak she-camel
A specialized animal term.
- Lane · entry 41966
سَلْمَى
a plant that becomes green in the season of summer or spring
A botanical noun.
- Lane · entry 41967
أَبُو سَلْمَى
a gecko or related lizard
A regional zoological designation.
- Lane · entry 41967
السَّلْمَاء
the earth or ground in a proverbial expression
The reported reading is associated with a proverb and is distinct from the more common wording.
- Lane · entry 41968
سَلْمَانُ بَيْتِهِ
a household's intimate or special friend, one who mixes closely with it
An idiomatic expression based on the name Salmān.
- Lane · entry 41969
سَلْمَان
a kind of black beetle
A zoological noun, with several reported identifications.
- Lane · entry 41969
سَلَمَان
a plural or quasi-plural term for salām trees or stones
The interpretation varies with the reading and context of the transmitted expression.
- Lane · entry 41970
سَلَام
a kind of tree, or a single salām tree
A botanical use distinct from the abstract noun of safety.
- Lane · entry 41971
- Lane · entry 41974
سَلِيم
one bitten by a serpent; by extension, wounded or near death
The apparently positive form is explained as an auspicious name or as one left exposed to the poison within him.
- Lane · entry 41973
سَلِيم
the interior or specified part of a horse's hoof
A specialized equine anatomical term.
- Lane · entry 41973
سُلَامَى
a small bone, especially a phalanx or the small bones of the fingers, toes, hand, or foot
The noun has several anatomical applications to human and animal bones.
- Lane · entry 41975
سُلَامَى
the south or southerly wind
A rare lexical meaning.
- Lane · entry 41975
سَلَامَان
a kind of tree growing in soft or plain tracts
A botanical noun.
- Lane · entry 41976
نَمْلُ سُلَيْمَان
red ants
A conventional zoological expression, literally “the ants of Solomon.”
- Lane · entry 41977
السُّلَّم
a group of stars likened to a ladder
A figurative astronomical use.
- Lane · entry 41978
سُلَّم
a stirrup or means of mounting
An extension from the ladder as an aid to ascent.
- Lane · entry 41978
سُلَّم
a means or avenue leading to another thing
A figurative use based on reaching a destination by ascending a ladder.
- Lane · entry 41978
السُّلَّم
the name of a particular horse
A proper-name use.
- Lane · entry 41978
كَلِمَةٌ سَالِمَةُ العَيْنَيْنِ
a good, well-formed, or unobjectionable word or expression
A figurative description of a word or sentence.
- Lane · entry 41979
الأَسْلَم
the leaves of the doum palm
A botanical use unrelated to the comparative adjective.
- Lane · entry 41980
الإِسْلَام
the collective body of Muslims
A collective use in expressions such as أهل الإسلام.
- Lane · entry 41981
إِسْلَامِيّ
Islamic; pertaining or relating to Islam
An adjectival derivative of الإِسْلَام.
- Lane · entry 41982
إِسْلَامِيّ
a poet of the early Islamic-era class following the mukhadramūn and preceding the later muwalladūn
A technical classification in literary history.
- Lane · entry 41982
لَفْظٌ إِسْلَامِيّ
a word or phrase given a new technical sense through the promulgation of Islam
A term in discussions of religiously introduced usage.
- Lane · entry 41982
الأُسَيْلِم
a vein in the hand between the little finger and the adjacent finger
The term is attested only in the diminutive form.
- Lane · entry 41983
مُسَلَّم
touched or kissed, especially in reference to the Black Stone
A rare passive-participle use connected with the ritual verb اِسْتَلَمَ.
- Lane · entry 41985
- Lane · entry 41988
مَسْلُوم
a hide or skin tanned with salām-tree leaves
A specialized noun of craft and tanning.
- Lane · entry 41986
أَرْضٌ مَسْلُومَاء
land abounding in salām trees
A collective descriptive formation for a tract containing many such trees.
- Lane · entry 41987
مُسْتَلَمُ القَدَمَيْنِ
a man soft or tender in the feet
A specialized bodily description.
- Lane · entry 41988
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The QAC groups السَّلْم and السِّلْم separately by vocalization; the latter is presented as سِلْم while the former is presented as سَلْم, with the transmitted Quranic readings retained through their form-group accounting.
Some Lane Quran references use historical chapter-and-verse notation; no such citation has been converted into a modern verse location unless the corresponding QAC location is supplied.
The public headword مُسَلَّم is normalized from the Quranic feminine passive participle مُسَلَّمَة, while feminine and plural active-participle forms are grouped under مُسْلِم.