Home Quran Quran roots ش م ل
12 times in the Quran · 3 word forms · rank 534
The Quran root ش م ل sh-m-l
Words built from the root ش م ل ([sh-m-l]) appear 12 times in the Quran. The most common is شِمال, “left”, which comes 8 times. Learn the root once and you can recognise every word made from it.
Words from this root
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Times | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| شِمال | shimaal | left · left hand | 8 | |
| اشْتَمَلَتْ | ashtamalat | contains | 2 | |
| شَمائِل | shamaa’il | left | 2 |
Examples from the Quran
وَتَرَى الشَّمْسَ إِذَا طَلَعَت تَّزَاوَرُ عَن كَهْفِهِمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ وَإِذَا غَرَبَت تَّقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَهُمْ فِي فَجْوَةٍ مِّنْهُ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا ١٧
الشِّمَالِ l-shimāli · the left
And [had you been present], you would see the sun when it rose, inclining away from their cave on the right, and when it set, passing away from them on the left, while they were [lying] within an open space thereof. That was from the signs of Allāh. He whom Allāh guides is the [rightly] guided, but he whom He sends astray - never will you find for him a protecting guide. (Surah Al-Kahf, 18:17)
وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَكَلْبُهُم بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِالْوَصِيدِ لَوِ اطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًا ١٨
الشِّمَالِ l-shimāli · the left
And you would think them awake, while they were asleep. And We turned them to the right and to the left, while their dog stretched his forelegs at the entrance. If you had looked at them, you would have turned from them in flight and been filled by them with terror. (Surah Al-Kahf, 18:18)
ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ مِّنَ الضَّأْنِ اثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ الْمَعْزِ اثْنَيْنِ قُلْ آلذَّكَرَيْنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ أَمَّا اشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَرْحَامُ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ نَبِّئُونِي بِعِلْمٍ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ١٤٣
اشْتَمَلَتْ ish'tamalat · contains
[They are] eight mates - of the sheep, two and of the goats, two. Say, "Is it the two males He has forbidden or the two females or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Inform me with knowledge, if you should be truthful." (Surah Al-An'am, 6:143)
ثُمَّ لَآتِيَنَّهُم مِّن بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَن شَمَائِلِهِمْ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ ١٧
شَمَائِلِهِمْ shamāilihim · their left
Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You]." (Surah Al-A'raf, 7:17)
Surahs where it comes most
- Surah Al-Kahf · 2×
- Surah Al-Waqi'ah · 2×
- Surah Al-An'am · 2×
- Surah Saba · 1×
- Surah Qaf · 1×
- Surah Al-Haqqah · 1×
Each meaning is taken from the word-by-word translation of the verses, so a word can show two meanings from different contexts. Root and base-word data come from the Quranic Arabic Corpus.