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Shin-Lamedh-Mem is atriconsonantalroot of manySemitic words (many of which are used as names).[1] The root meaning translates to "whole, safe, intact, unharmed, to go free, without blemish". Its earliest known form is in the name ofShalim, the ancient god of dusk ofUgarit. Derived from this are meanings of "to be safe, secure, at peace", hence "well-being, health" and passively "to be secured, pacified, submitted".
Arabicsalām (سَلاَم), Maltesesliem, Hebrewšālōm (שָׁלוֹם),Ge'ezsälam (ሰላም),Syriacšlama (pronounced Shlama, or Shlomo in the Western Syriac dialect) (ܫܠܡܐ) are cognateSemitic terms for 'peace', deriving from aProto-Semitic*šalām-.
Given names related to the same root includeSolomon (Süleyman),Absalom,Selim,Salem,Salim, Salma, Salmah, Salman, Selimah, Shelimah, Salome, Szlama (Polish) etc.
Arabic (and by extension Maltese), Hebrew, Ge'ez, andAramaic have cognate expressions meaning 'peace be upon you' used as a greeting:
In theAmarna letters, a few of the 382 letters discuss the exchange of "peace gifts",greeting-gifts (Shulmani) between thePharaoh and the other ruler involving the letter.[2] Examples areZita (Hittite prince), andTushratta ofMitanni. Also,Kadashman-Enlil ofBabylon, (Karduniaš of the letters).
Šalām (shalamu) is also used in letter introductions to express the authors' health. An example letter EA19, from Tushratta to Pharaoh, states:
The Arabic wordsalām is used in a variety of expressions and contexts in Arabic andIslamic speech and writing. "Al-Salām" is one of the 99names of God in Islam, and also a male given name in conjunction withʻabd. ʻAbd al-Salām translates to 'Slave of [the embodiment of] Peace', i.e. ofAllah.[5]
InMaltese:
The wordإسلامʾislām is averbal noun derived froms-l-m, meaning "submission" (i.e. entrusting one's wholeness to a higher force), which may be interpreted ashumility. "One who submits" is signified by the participleمسلم,Muslim (fem.مسلمة,muslimah).[6]
The word is given a number of meanings in theQur'an. In some verses (āyāt), the quality of Islam as an internal conviction is stressed: "Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam."[7] Other verses connectislām anddīn (usually translated as "religion"): "Today, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your religion."[8] Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith.[9]
TheKoine GreekNew Testament text useseirēnē (εἰρήνη) for 'peace',[10] which perhaps[citation needed] representsJesus saying 'šlama'; this Greek form became the northern feminine nameIrene. In theEpistles, it often occurs alongside the usual Greek greetingchairein (χαίρειν) in the phrase 'grace and peace'. However, comparison of the GreekSeptuagint and HebrewMasoreticOld Testament texts shows some instances whereshalom was translated instead assoteria (σωτηρία, meaning 'salvation').[11]
InHebrew:
InAramaic: