"Islam" Denotes "Peace" - Arabic 101

Submitted by Azmat Zuberi (Canada), Aug 13, 2006 at 13:57

Salaam (Peace) be upon you,

Thank you dhimmi no more for your reflections and for showing some apptitude in the Arabic language its is grammar. i would like to correct some of your claims and assumptions that you have made.

ONE: by root word i clearly meant triliteral roots that form the majority of Arabic words. you know Arabic language as i take it and you would also know that there are many triliteral roots that form the bases for other words. ex) "ka-ta-ba" OR "kaaf-ta-ba" - three letters that simply signify the trilieral root. when i wrote "sa-la-ma" one with general Arabic knowledge would know that i meant the exact same thing as "seen-laam-mim" - its the same triliteral word (or letters if you want to be overly picky) only with the fatha one each of the letters.

TWO: again, you assumed i consulted a Mullah (or a Mashiukh) but i tend to forgive you because you simply do not no me. "sa-la-ma" is the same trilieral root as "seen-laam-mim" only with the fatha on the letters as i have mentioned. true, 'sa-la-ma" would also mean "he secured, he escaped, he was safe" etc, but the flow of understanding is still the same meaning that the letters with their fatha only signify that a root word tracing its triliteral root is the same thing except with a fancy way of doing it.

THREE: because some words have a similar root can and sometimes do mean that they have a similar meaning! your knowledge of Arabic is there for you to know that "kafir" (disbeliever) has a connected meaning to "kafr" (village) by its implication that both the words not only come from the triliteral of "ka-fa-ra" or "kaaf-fa-ra" (as you would like it) which means: (he) covered, (he) hid, (he) buried with full knowledge, etc. but that the "kafr" for village has the connected meaning of "being far, being isolated, being small and desolate" that is denoted from meanings of being "covered, being hidden, being remote" from the root "kaaf-fa-ra". Reference: EW Lane's Lexicon, "kaaf-fa-ra".

FOUR: Arabic is the most wise and complete language in terms of meanings and eloquence. you may have been born an Arab but to know of the wisdom behind why and how words are connected is a different matter. you pointed out that "sullamun" means steps/ladder and you didn't know how this word with the root SLM was connected with "salam" (peace) also from root SLM. well this is derived from the meaning that: when one ascends higher to another place he has become secure from the below, or because he has ascended to a place that he wanted to go and that he has attained peace. (Ar-Raghib: Ref. Lane's, under "seen-laam-mim".

so not only to i humbly propose that Islam and Salaam and Sullamun are all derived from SLM with the root meaning of Peace, Security, and Safety but i know this from studying the Arabic language with definite references to lughaat (dictionaries and lexicons) as shown above.

waSalaam,

Azmat Ayaz Zuberi

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