ركم

Core meaning

To heap up: to pile elements upon one another until they make a single mass.

Uses

1. يَرْكُمَهُۥ → "to make of it a whole heap" : the vile, placed part upon part, then massed into a single whole.

   • «وَيَجْعَلَ ٱلْخَبِيثَ بَعْضَهُۥ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ فَيَرْكُمَهُۥ جَمِيعًۭا» — "place the vile, part upon part, make of it a whole heap" (8:37)

2. رُكَام, مَّرْكُوم → "a mass", "a heap" : clouds gathered into a single mass.

   • «ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُۥ رُكَامًۭا» — "then makes them into a mass" (24:43)
   • «سَحَابٌۭ مَّرْكُومٌۭ» — "A heap of clouds" (52:44)

Evidence from the text

In 24:43 the word comes at the end of a sequence: God makes the clouds glide, joins them together, makes them into a mass, and the shower comes out of it. In 8:37 the same sequence applies to the vile: distinguished from the good, placed part upon part, heaped up, then put into Jahannam. In 52:44 those who disown take a piece of the sky tumbling for a mere heap of clouds.

Distinctions

• جمع — to gather: to bring together what is scattered, without the idea of piling into a mass
• الف — to join together: to unite elements with one another, before they form a mass (24:43)

See also

سحب (the clouds)