Arabic root

م-ل-ك

Mim-Lam-Kaf

4 words from this root family

About this root

Mim-Lam-Kaf (م-ل-ك) has 4 words in the Fahm dictionary: malak (angel), malik (king / sovereign), malāʾikah (angels (plural)), malakūt (dominion / sovereignty / kingdom (celestial)).

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 206 times in 191 verses, across 63 of the 114 suras. The first is in 1:4. The form مَلَكٌ (angel) accounts for 88 of them.

Themes: Quranic

Words from this root

Word	Meaning	Type	In the Quran	Taught in
مَلَكٌ malak	angel	noun, A2	88×	Guidance and Knowledge
مَلِكٌ malik	king / sovereign	noun, A2	15×	Good and Evil
مَلَائِكَةٌ malāʾikah	angels (plural)	noun, B1		Community and Society
مَلَكُوتٌ malakūt	dominion / sovereignty / kingdom (celestial)	noun, B2	4×	Advanced Quranic & Islamic Terminology

“In the Quran” counts every occurrence of that dictionary form, in any of its senses.

In the Quran

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.

Quran 2:30

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَعَلَ فِيكُمْ أَنۢبِيَآءَ وَجَعَلَكُم مُّلُوكًا وَءَاتَىٰكُم مَّا لَمْ يُؤْتِ أَحَدًا مِّنَ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

And (remember) when Moses said unto his people: O my people! Remember Allah's favour unto you, how He placed among you prophets, and He made you kings, and gave you that (which) He gave not to any (other) of (His) creatures.

Quran 5:20

وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُرِىٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ مَلَكُوتَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلِيَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُوقِنِينَ

Thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he might be of those possessing certainty:

Quran 6:75

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani 1.1), CC BY 3.0, tanzil.net. English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, via Project Gutenberg. Counts and verse choice: Quranic Arabic Corpus morphology data (corpus.quran.com).

Word cards with examples

A2noun

مَلَكٌ

malak

angel

Example

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا

al-ḥamdu lillāhi fāṭiri as-samāwāti wal-arḍi jāʿili al-malāʾikati rusulan

Praise be to Allah, Creator of the heavens and earth, who made the angels messengers (35:1)

Root: م-ل-ك Quranic

Grammar

Masculine noun. Plural: مَلَائِكَةٌ (malāʾikah). Belief in angels is one of the six articles of Islamic faith. Major angels: Jibrīl, Mīkāʾīl, Isrāfīl, ʿAzrāʾīl.

Culture

Angels in Islam are created from light, have no free will, and constantly worship God. Jibrīl (Gabriel) brought the Quran to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

A2noun

مَلِكٌ

malik

king / sovereign

Example

فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ

fataʿālā Allāhu al-maliku al-ḥaqq

So exalted is Allah, the True King (20:114)

Root: م-ل-ك Quranic

Grammar

Masculine noun (فَعِل pattern). Distinguished from مَلَك (malak = angel) by voweling. Also: مَالِكٌ (owner/possessor), مُلْكٌ (dominion), مَمْلَكَةٌ (kingdom).

Culture

Al-Malik (The King/Sovereign) is one of God's Beautiful Names. All earthly sovereignty is seen as delegated, while true kingship belongs only to God.

B1noun

مَلَائِكَةٌ

malāʾikah

angels (plural)

Example

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ

al-ḥamdu lillāhi fāṭiri as-samāwāti wal-arḍi jāʿili al-malāʾikati rusulan ulī ajniḥaḥ

Praise be to Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, who made the angels messengers having wings (35:1)

Root: م-ل-ك Quranic

Grammar

Broken plural of مَلَكٌ (angel). This is a non-standard plural form. Used with the definite article in most Quranic occurrences: الْمَلَائِكَةُ.

Culture

Angels have various roles: Jibrīl (revelation), Mīkāʾīl (provision), Isrāfīl (the trumpet), the angel of death, recording angels, and guardians of Paradise and Hellfire.

B2noun

مَلَكُوتٌ

malakūt

dominion / sovereignty / kingdom (celestial)

Example

أَوَلَمْ يَنْظُرُوا فِي مَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

awalam yanẓurū fī malakūti as-samāwāti wal-arḍ

Do they not look into the realm of the heavens and the earth? (7:185)

Root: م-ل-ك Quranic

Grammar

Masculine noun (faʿalūt pattern, indicating grandeur). From the root م-ل-ك (to own/rule). Distinguished from مُلْكٌ (earthly kingdom) - مَلَكُوت is the celestial/spiritual realm.

Culture

Malakūt represents the unseen spiritual dimension of God's creation - contemplating it leads to deeper faith and awe.