We clothed

###G In 7th-century classical Arabic, the word لَحْم (laḥm)—used in the accusative as لَحْمًا (laḥman) in Surah Al-Mu’minun (23:14)—derives from the root ل-ح-م (L-Ḥ-M).

The root fundamentally denotes intertwining, tight coherence, mending, compacting, or joining pieces together so firmly that they become a unified whole.

According to major classical Arabic dictionaries (Lisān al-‘Arab, Al-Ṣiḥāḥ, Al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ, and Asās al-Balāghah), the word carries several interrelated physical and conceptual meanings:

1. Muscle, Flesh, and Soft Somatic Tissue The primary physical definition of laḥm is flesh—specifically the red, contractile muscle tissue of humans and animals.

Classical lexicographers defined laḥm in bodily anatomy as the soft, fibrous substance covering the bones (al-muntashir ‘alā al-‘iẓām).

It is distinct from shaḥm (شَحْم, fat/adipose tissue), ‘aṣab (عَصَب, tendons/nerves), and jild (جِلْد, skin). In early Arabic butcher terminology and culinary distinctions, laḥm specifically referred to lean muscle meat.

2. The Weft / Crosswise Strands in Weaving (Laḥmat al-Thawb) The root provides fundamental terminology for textile production, which was central to Arabian daily life:

In weaving, the warp (the lengthwise, tensioned foundational threads) is called سَدَى (sadā).

The weft (the transverse, crosswise threads woven through, packing between the warp to create a dense fabric) is called لُحْمَة (luḥmah) or لَحْمَة (laḥmah).

Through this weaving metaphor, laḥm conveys a dense, woven mass that fills out and conceals a foundational framework.

3. Solder, Cohesion, and Seamless Fusion Verbs derived from this root describe cementing or sealing parts together:

لَحَمَ (laḥama): To join two things together tightly, to solder metal, or to weld pieces into a single unit.

الْتَحَمَ الْجُرْحُ (iltaḥama al-jurḥ): "The wound healed / knit together"—meaning the severed edges of flesh bridged, adhered, and sealed without gap.

Applied to tissue, laḥm reflects something that is cohesive, supple, and capable of binding firmly over a core.

4. Dense Battle / Hand-to-Hand Clash (Al-Malḥamah) Because the root implies tight compression, bodies packed together, and fierce engagement:

A fierce, massive pitched battle in early Arabic is called a مَلْحَمَة (malḥamah).

The name comes either from the sheer quantity of slaughter/flesh involved, or from the combatants becoming densely entangled and locked together (iltiḥām).

5. Kinsfolk / Lineage Closeness (Luḥmah) Metaphorically, the word describes tight, unbroken familial integration:

The bonds of kinship and shared lineage are described as luḥmat al-nasab—a relationship tightly interwoven like the threads of a cloth.

Context in 23:14: Fa-kasawnā al-‘iẓāma laḥmā When coupled with the verb كَسَا (kasā, "to clothe, garment, or sheath"), laḥman operates simultaneously on its literal anatomical level and its root imagery:

Anatomically: The contractile muscle tissue and bulk flesh that wraps over the hard skeletal frame.

Morphologically: A cohesive, woven-like layer that tightly adheres to, solders onto, and envelops the previously established structural scaffolding (al-‘iẓām).

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