What does « Slippery / Smooth » mean in the Quran?

Discover the meaning of the word Slippery / Smooth (زلق) in the Quran, with 2 verses in which it appears, and a detailed explanation from Al-Raghib al-Asfahani's Mufradat fi gharib al-Qur'an.

زلق

Slippery / Smooth

Root: ز - ل - ق

Creed (aqida) 2 verses

Updated on 29 May 2026 at 7:00 AM

📖 1 min read

Definition of Slippery / Smooth

Az-zalaq and az-zalal are close in meaning.

The Almighty says: 'slippery ground' (Al-Kahf 40), meaning where one cannot settle, without vegetation. 'They would almost make you slip with their glances' (Al-Qalam 51), meaning cause you to slip and fall, an expression for intense envy and the evil eye that afflicts the envied one.

Slippery / Smooth in the Quran (2)

Meccan: 2 Medinan: 0

Distribution of verses by surah

Al-Kahf 1

Al-Qalam 1

Surah Al-Kahf : 40 Meccan

﴿فَعَسَىٰ رَبِّىٓ أَن يُؤْتِيَنِ خَيْرًا مِّن جَنَّتِكَ وَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهَا حُسْبَانًا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَتُصْبِحَ صَعِيدًا زَلَقًا﴾

It may be that my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden and will send upon it a calamity from the sky, and it will become a smooth, dusty ground,

Surah Al-Qalam : 51 Meccan

﴿وَإِن يَكَادُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَٰرِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱلذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُۥ لَمَجْنُونٌ﴾

And indeed, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes when they hear the message, and they say, "Indeed, he is mad."