if by this one means that one expression was used before the other, there is no evidence for this in most cases. If, however, one means that one has conceptual priority over the other, because one is simple and the other composite, then the verb is derived from the verbal noun.

Minor derivation involves two expressions sharing the same letters in the same order; intermediate derivation involves their sharing the same letters, but not their order; and major derivation involves their sharing some identical letters, while the remaining letters agree in their class rather than their identity—for example, both being guttural letters. Thus, hazara, ʿazzara, and azara all convey strength and firmness. They also share with rā’, zāy, and hā’ the feature that the three are guttural letters.

Accordingly, if it is said that al-Samad means musmat (solid, without a cavity), and that it is derived from it in this sense, this is correct, since dāl is closely related to tā’. For samt means silence: refraining from speech and keeping the mouth closed.

Abū ʿUbayd said: “Musmat means something without a cavity. Asmattuhu means ‘I made it solid.’ A bāb musmat is a door that has been completely shut.”

A musmat horse is one of a single color, with no other color mixed into it. This is also the sense of Ibn ʿAbbās’s statement: “Only pure silk has been forbidden.”

Thus, musmad and musmat correspond through major derivation. The dāl has not changed from a tā’; rather, dāl is stronger, and musmad expresses its meaning more fully than musmat. The stronger the letter, the stronger its meaning, for the language of the Lord displays the utmost precision and harmony. This is why samt means refraining from speech despite