خلق

Inherited from Proto-Semitic *ḫalaq-, cognate with Biblical Hebrew חָלַק (ḥɔláq, ḥālaq, “to divide”), Classical Syriac ܚܠܩ (ḥəlaq, “to divide, apportion”), Sabaean [script needed] (ḫlq, “compensation, portion, lot”), and Minaean [script needed] (ḫlq). Took on the senses of creation and formation prior to the advent of Islam, as indicated by passages like , where the term is already understood by non-Muslim interlocutors, likely influenced by ancient Near Eastern mythology, in which the world was created by dividing pre-existing matter.