The Qur’anic Root K L M
Speech that carries meaning and effect, leaving a mark in the listener, covenant, judgment, history, or reality
Important Forms of This Root
Speech that carries meaning and effect; and, in an older layer, a deep mark left upon something.
A meaningful unit of speech, judgment, promise, command, truth, or foundational principle; and its plural.
Heard or conveyed speech, especially in the expression kalām Allāh.
A form that indicates a more marked and direct act of speaking.
Foundational Meaning
The root ك ل م (k-l-m) fundamentally points to effective speech, penetrating utterance, conveying meaning through expression, and, in an older layer, placing a deep mark upon something. In Arabic, the connection between كلام (kalām), speech, and كَلْم (kalm), a wound or cleaving mark, shows that speech in this field is not merely sound or information. It is speech that leaves an effect in the listener, reality, history, covenant, judgment, or the human soul.
Important Forms of This Root
Important forms of this root in the Qur’an include كلمة (kalimah), كلمات (kalimāt), كلام (kalām), يكلم (yukallim), كلم (kallama), تكليم (taklīm), كلمته (kalimatuhu), بكلامي (bi-kalāmī), بكلماته (bi-kalimātihi), and تكلمهم (tukallimuhum). كلمة (kalimah) points to a meaningful unit of speech, judgment, promise, command, truth, or foundational principle. كلمات (kalimāt) is its plural, and in the Qur’an it can point to words, rulings, promises, command-signs, or divine truths. كلام (kalām) is closer to heard or conveyed speech. The verb كلم (kallama) and يكلم (yukallim) point to speaking with someone. تكليم (taklīm), in an emphatic structure, shows a more marked and direct act of speaking.
Central Meaning
The linguistic core of ك ل م (k-l-m) is speech that carries effect. At the ordinary level, كلام (kalām) is speech that transfers meaning from speaker to listener. But at the deeper level, real speech changes something: it opens understanding, forms a covenant, establishes a judgment, opens a path, or brings a reality into manifestation. From here we can understand that كلمة (kalimah) in the Qur’an is not always a simple word; sometimes it is a unit of command, guidance, creation, judgment, or truth.
Material Image of the Root
The material image of this root is an effect that remains upon a surface, like a mark left on skin or a cleft that moves something out of its previous state. From this same image, the meaning of penetrating speech becomes clear. Speech that leaves no effect in the human soul may have been uttered as sound, but at the level of meaning it may pass without effect. In the Qur’anic field, كلام (kalām) is speech that has the capacity to affect.
Classical Arabic Usage
In classical Arabic usage, ك ل م (k-l-m) is connected with speaking, and also with كَلْم (kalm) in the sense of a wound or cleaving mark. This connection should not make us read every Qur’anic use of كلام (kalām) as “wound.” In its clear usage, the Qur’an mostly uses the field of speech, command, expression, and meaningful effect. But the layer of effect within the root is important for understanding the depth of the word: كلام (kalām) is something that does not pass without effect. In the final version, if a reliable witness from pre-Islamic poetry or old Arabic usage is found, it can be added.
The Words Received by Adam
One of the earliest important uses of this root appears in the story of Adam:
فَتَلَقَّىٰ آدَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ
fa-talaqqā Ādamu min rabbihi kalimātin fa-tāba ʿalayh
Then Adam received words from his Lord, so He turned back toward him.
In this verse, كلمات (kalimāt) are not dry lexical items. Adam receives words; that is, something reaches him from his Lord that opens the way of return for him. These words affect Adam’s soul and prepare the ground for repentance and return. So كلمة (kalimah) here is speech that brings the human being from a state of fall and rupture back toward the path of return.
The Speech of The God and Its Distortion
The second field is the speech of The God and its distortion:
وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِن بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
wa-qad kāna farīqun minhum yasmaʿūna kalāma Allāhi thumma yuḥarrifūnahu min baʿdi mā ʿaqalūhu wa-hum yaʿlamūn
A group of them used to hear the speech of The God, then distort it after they had understood it, while they knew.
Here كلام الله (kalām Allāh) is speech that is heard and understood. The verse shows that the problem is not only failure to hear. Sometimes hearing is present, understanding is present, but the meaning is knowingly turned away from its place. Distorting speech means displacing the direction of its effect: the speech of The God came to clarify truth, but the human being tries to divert its effect.
Divine Taklīm with Moses
The third field is divine تكليم (taklīm) with Moses:
وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا
wa-kallama Allāhu Mūsā taklīmā
And The God spoke with Moses — a speaking.
This verse is structurally very important. The verbal noun تكليما (taklīmā) comes after the verb and emphasizes the actual occurrence of تكليم (taklīm). The verse does not enter into the quality of the speech of The God, but it establishes a marked and special تكليم (taklīm) for Moses. Therefore, in studying the root, we should step away from later theological debates about the modality of divine speech and remain with the Qur’anic indication: Moses encounters divine speech in a special station.
In Surah Al-Araf it also says:
وَلَمَّا جَاءَ مُوسَىٰ لِمِيقَاتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ
wa-lammā jāʾa Mūsā li-mīqātinā wa-kallamahu rabbuh
And when Moses came to Our appointed time, and his Lord spoke with him...
Here تكليم (taklīm) is joined with an appointed meeting. That is, this speech takes place in a special position, at a special time, and in a special encounter. Speech here is not merely the transfer of a message; it initiates a station and responsibility.
In another verse it says:
قَالَ يَا مُوسَىٰ إِنِّي اصْطَفَيْتُكَ عَلَى النَّاسِ بِرِسَالَاتِي وَبِكَلَامِي
qāla yā Mūsā innī iṣṭafaytuka ʿalā al-nāsi bi-risālātī wa-bi-kalāmī
He said: O Moses, I have selected you over the people with My messages and with My speech.
In this verse, كلام (kalām) comes beside رسالات (risālāt). The messages are sent missions and communications, while the speech points to The God’s special speech-relation with Moses. The two are close, but they are not identical.
The Endless Words of The God
The fourth field is the words of The God as inexhaustible truths and commands:
قُل لَّوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِّكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي
qul law kāna al-baḥru midādan li-kalimāti rabbī la-nafida al-baḥru qabla an tanfada kalimātu rabbī
Say: If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted.
In this verse, كلمات ربّي (kalimātu rabbī) are not merely a limited set of sentences. The expression comes close to the expanse of divine knowledge, command, judgment, signs, and truths. The words of The God do not run out; that is, what proceeds from divine command, knowledge, and will cannot be contained within the limited vessel of matter and writing.
The same meaning appears in Luqman:
وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلَامٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ مَّا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ
wa-law annamā fī al-arḍi min shajaratin aqlāmun wa-al-baḥru yamudduhu min baʿdihi sabʿatu abḥurin mā nafidat kalimātu Allāh
And if every tree on earth were pens, and the sea were extended after it by seven more seas, the words of The God would not be exhausted.
Here too كلمات الله (kalimāt Allāh) exceed the capacity of writing, counting, and human tools. With the image of pens and sea, the verse shows that the words of The God are not merely countable words; they are an expanse of divine command, knowledge, creation, and judgment.
The Unchangeability of The God’s Words
The fifth field is the unchangeability of the words of The God:
وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا لَّا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ
wa-tammat kalimatu rabbika ṣidqan wa-ʿadlan lā mubaddila li-kalimātih
And the word of your Lord was completed in truthfulness and justice; there is no changer of His words.
In this verse, the word of your Lord is joined with truthfulness and justice. This word is not merely an informative statement; it is a divine judgment, promise, way, or truth that has reached completion in truthfulness and justice. لا مبدل لكلماته (lā mubaddila li-kalimātih) means that the human being cannot remove the original words of The God from their place or change the structure of their truth. The human being may distort speech, but the words of The God, in their truth and realization, are not changeable.
In another verse it says:
وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ
wa-lā mubaddila li-kalimāti Allāh
And there is no changer of the words of The God.
This expression shows that the words of The God are not merely heard; they have effect and stability. When the word of The God stands as promise, judgment, way, or command, the will of a created being cannot nullify it.
The Word as a Fulfilled Judgment Concerning Groups
The sixth field is كلمة (kalimah) as a fulfilled judgment concerning groups:
كَذَٰلِكَ حَقَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ فَسَقُوا أَنَّهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
kadhālika ḥaqqat kalimatu rabbika ʿalā alladhīna fasaqū annahum lā yuʾminūn
Thus the word of your Lord became true upon those who committed fisq: that they do not believe.
Here كلمة (kalimah) points to a divine judgment or way that has been fulfilled concerning a group. In this context the word is not merely a verbal expression; it is a judgment and truth that affects destiny.
The Good Word and the Corrupt Word
The seventh field is كلمة طيبة (kalimah ṭayyibah) and كلمة خبيثة (kalimah khabīthah):
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ
a-lam tara kayfa ḍaraba Allāhu mathalan kalimatan ṭayyibatan ka-shajaratin ṭayyibatin aṣluhā thābitun wa-farʿuhā fī al-samāʾ
Have you not seen how The God struck a parable? A good word is like a good tree: its root is firm and its branch is in the sky.
In this verse, كلمة طيبة (kalimah ṭayyibah) is rooted, living, and fruitful speech. The word is not merely a pronunciation; it has structure: root, branch, fruit, and continuity. Because pure speech is connected to truth, it takes root in the soul and society.
In contrast it says:
وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ
wa-mathalu kalimatin khabīthatin ka-shajaratin khabīthatin ijtuththat min fawqi al-arḍi mā lahā min qarār
And the example of a corrupt word is like a corrupt tree, uprooted from above the earth; it has no settled place.
The corrupt word also has effect, but its effect is rootless and unsettled. These two verses show that a word in the Qur’an can build or destroy intellectual, faith-based, and social structures.
The Common and Equal Word
The eighth field is كلمة سواء (kalimah sawāʾ):
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَىٰ كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ
qul yā ahla al-kitābi taʿālaw ilā kalimatin sawāʾin baynanā wa-baynakum
Say: O People of the Book, come to a word equal between us and you.
In this verse, كلمة سواء (kalimah sawāʾ) is a common and just principle for dialogue. This word is not merely a phrase; it is a shared axis that can gather the People of the Book and the believers upon tawḥīd and not serving anything other than The God. So the word here has a social and dialogical role.
The Special Place of Jesus as the Word of The God
The ninth field is the special place of Jesus as the Word of The God:
إِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنْهُ اسْمُهُ الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ
idh qālati al-malāʾikatu yā Maryamu inna Allāha yubashshiruki bi-kalimatin minhu ismuhu al-Masīḥu ʿĪsā ibnu Maryam
When the angels said: O Mary, The God gives you glad tidings of a word from Him; his name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary.
In this verse, the glad tidings to Mary are glad tidings of “a word from The God,” and the verse itself explains that the name of this word is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. So in this context the word is not merely a command separate from Jesus; the Messiah himself, in a special station, is introduced as “a word from The God.”
The verse in An-Nisa clarifies the same station further:
إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ
innamā al-Masīḥu ʿĪsā ibnu Maryama rasūlu Allāhi wa-kalimatuhu alqāhā ilā Maryama wa-rūḥun minhu
The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, is only the Messenger of The God, and His word which He cast to Mary, and a spirit from Him.
In this verse, Jesus is both the Messenger of The God and the word of The God which was cast to Mary. This is the particular station of the Messiah. A word in the language of The God can have creative effect; that is, divine command does not merely report, but brings reality into being. In the coming-into-being of Jesus, this word was cast to Mary, and its result is the Messiah himself. Therefore the expression كلمته (kalimatuhu) concerning Jesus should not be reduced to a weak metaphor.
At the same time, this same verse clarifies the boundary. The Qur’an does not call Jesus God, and it does not call him the son of The God. Rather, it introduces him as the Messenger of The God, His word, and a spirit from Him. So the greatness of Jesus’ station in the Qur’an is preserved, but this station does not become his divinity. Jesus is the word of The God; he is not The God Himself.
The difference between Adam and Mary is also important. About Adam, the Qur’an says that he received words from his Lord. But about Mary, it says that The God cast His word to her, and that word is identified in the verse itself with the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. So كلمات (kalimāt) in the story of Adam are words of guidance and return; but كلمته (kalimatuhu) in the story of Mary shows the special station of the Messiah.
The Word Remaining in the Descendants
The tenth field is كلمة (kalimah) as a lasting word in descendants:
وَجَعَلَهَا كَلِمَةً بَاقِيَةً فِي عَقِبِهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
wa-jaʿalahā kalimatan bāqiyatan fī ʿaqibihi laʿallahum yarjiʿūn
And He made it a remaining word among his descendants, so that they might return.
In this verse, كلمة (kalimah) can be the monotheistic principle left among the descendants of Abraham: a word that preserves the way of return in history. كلمة باقية (kalimah bāqiyah) means a truth that continues through time and does not lose its effect.
Takallum as Created Speech
The eleventh field is تكلم (takallum) in the sense of a created being speaking:
وَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَخْرَجْنَا لَهُمْ دَابَّةً مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ تُكَلِّمُهُمْ
wa-idhā waqaʿa al-qawlu ʿalayhim akhrajnā lahum dābbatan mina al-arḍi tukallimuhum
And when the word falls upon them, We will bring out for them a creature from the earth that speaks to them.
In this verse, تكلمهم (tukallimuhum) points to speaking with them. The clear usage here is speech and communication. Although the layer of effect within the root remains present in the background, the meaning of speaking should not be set aside without reason.
Distinguishing the Uses of This Root
The uses of ك ل م (k-l-m) must be distinguished. The words of Adam in Al-Baqarah 2:37 are received words for return. كلام الله (kalām Allāh) in Al-Baqarah 2:75 is divine speech that is heard and then distorted. The تكليم (taklīm) of Moses is a special divine speaking. كلمات الله (kalimāt Allāh) in Al-Kahf and Luqman point to the inexhaustible expanse of divine command, knowledge, and truth. The word of The God in Al-Anam 6:115 is a judgment and truth completed in truthfulness and justice. The good word and the corrupt word are rooted or rootless structures of meaning. The equal word is a common principle of dialogue. كلمته (kalimatuhu) concerning Jesus shows the special station of the Messiah: a word from The God that was cast to Mary and became realized in the material world as the Messiah himself.
Structural Notes
Structurally, several combinations are important. كلم الله موسى تكليما (kallama Allāhu Mūsā taklīmā), with the emphatic verbal noun, establishes the occurrence of the speaking. كلام الله (kalām Allāh) in Al-Baqarah 2:75 is the object of hearing and then distortion; that is, speech is understood and then changed after understanding. كلمات ربي (kalimātu rabbī) and كلمات الله (kalimāt Allāh) in Al-Kahf and Luqman are measured against exhaustion; this means divine words exceed the limit of human writing tools. كلمة طيبة (kalimah ṭayyibah) and كلمة خبيثة (kalimah khabīthah) are explained through the parable of a tree. كلمة سواء (kalimah sawāʾ) comes with بيننا وبينكم (baynanā wa-baynakum); that is, a word that can become a shared axis between two groups. كلمته ألقاها إلى مريم (kalimatuhu alqāhā ilā Maryam) has a special structure: the word is cast to Mary, and that same word is identified with the Messiah.
Difference from Nearby Roots
ك ل م (k-l-m) differs from several nearby roots. ق و ل (q-w-l) points to saying and expressing speech, and is broader; every كلام (kalām) is قول (qawl), but not every قول (qawl) is necessarily penetrating and effective كلام (kalām). ن ط ق (n-ṭ-q) focuses on speaking through the faculty of articulation and the manifest appearance of speech; ك ل م (k-l-m) focuses more on the speech itself as a carrier of meaning and effect. ل ف ظ (l-f-ẓ) is closer to casting a word out of the mouth; speech is not merely the exit of sound, but meaningful effect. خ ط ب (kh-ṭ-b) is close to address, speech directed toward an addressee, and sometimes formal or weighty speech. و ح ي (w-ḥ-y) is hidden, swift, or cast communication; كلام (kalām) can be open, heard, or encounter-based. نبأ (nabaʾ) is significant and weighty news; speech can be news, but it is not always news. أمر (amr) is command or an affair/reality; a word may carry divine command, but it is not identical with it.
Forqan Translation Suggestions
For translation in Forqan, ك ل م (k-l-m) must be translated according to context. كلمة (kalimah) may be “word,” “speech,” “spoken principle,” “judgment,” “promise,” “command,” or “effective truth,” depending on the context. كلمات (kalimāt) in some verses is “words,” and in others “commands,” “truths,” “divine speech-units,” or “units of divine command.” كلام (kalām) is usually “speech” or “discourse.” كلم الله موسى تكليما (kallama Allāhu Mūsā taklīmā) is better rendered as “The God spoke with Moses — a speaking,” or “The God spoke with Moses in a special way,” without entering into the modality. كلمة طيبة (kalimah ṭayyibah) is “a good/pure word” or “a pure speech.” كلمة سواء (kalimah sawāʾ) is “a shared and equal word” or “a common principle.” كلمته (kalimatuhu) concerning Jesus is best kept as “His word,” and the explanation should clarify that this word was cast to Mary and became realized in the Messiah himself.
Linguistic Summary
Linguistic summary: the root ك ل م (k-l-m) points to speech that carries meaning and effect, and in an older layer to leaving an effect and placing a deep mark. Its material image is an effect that remains upon something, and its speech-image is a word that transfers meaning and affects the listener, history, covenant, creation, or judgment. In the Qur’an, this root extends from the words received by Adam to the speech of The God; from the تكليم (taklīm) of Moses to the endless words of The God; from the pure word and corrupt word to the common word; and from the lasting Abrahamic word to the special place of Jesus as the Word of The God. Its difference from قول (qawl) is that قول (qawl) is broader and more general, while ك ل م (k-l-m) focuses more on meaningful, penetrating, effective speech that can sometimes establish judgment or bring reality into manifestation.