the Companions and the Successors, and also having been reported as traced back to the Prophet, is clearly indicated by the wording itself in the eloquent Arabic in which the Quran was revealed. This meaning does not, however, conflict with any of the other meanings the Companions and Successors gave for this name, for the name encompasses them all.

In familiar Arabic usage, “hollow” is contrasted with samad (solid), just as it is contrasted with musmat (solid), as in the saying of Yahyā ibn Abī Kathīr: “Human beings are hollow, whereas angels are solid.” Establishing this linguistic usage does not require assuming that the letter dāl has replaced tā’, although the meaning would be appropriate on that assumption. Rather, dāl and tā’ are two letters with closely related points of articulation, and there is a corresponding closeness in meaning. This is a case of major derivation, in which two words share most of their letters, while their remaining letters are closely related