q-l-d

Description

The Arabic root ق-ل-د (q-l-d) carries the core meaning of hanging something around the neck, whether literal ornaments like garlands and necklaces or metaphorical items like keys worn for safekeeping. In the Quranic context, this root appears in references to pre-Islamic practices where sacrificial animals were garlanded as markers of sacred status, and in the metaphor of possessing "keys" (maqalid) to the heavens and earth, suggesting control or stewardship that one carries or bears responsibility for. The semantic connection lies in the concept of something suspended, entrusted, or attached to one's person, whether as decoration, identification, or authority.