سلل

Core meaning

To draw gently out of a whole: the extract taken from a matter, and the one who slips away from a group unseen.

Uses

1. سُلَٰلَة → "an extract" : a part drawn out of its source.

   • «مِن سُلَٰلَةٍۢ مِّن طِينٍۢ» — "from an extract of clay" (23:12)
   • «مِن سُلَٰلَةٍۢ مِّن مَّآءٍۢ مَّهِينٍۢ» — "from an extract of a despised water" (32:8)

2. يَتَسَلَّلُونَ → "to slip away furtively" : to leave a group by withdrawing without a sound.

   • «ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَسَلَّلُونَ مِنكُمْ لِوَاذًۭا» — "those among you who slip away furtively" (24:63)

Evidence from the text

The human being is created "from an extract of clay" (23:12), his progeny from a despised water (32:8): each time, a part taken out of its source. In 24:63, the same movement is that of men leaving the assembly while covering for one another: they draw themselves out of the group as the extract out of the matter.

Distinctions

• خرج — to go out, to bring out: the outward movement, without the idea of a discreet taking

See also

طين (clay)