Near-synonyms 3: to want and to be able

To want

أراد / شاء

According to some linguists and commentators, these two terms are strict synonyms. Indeed, they very often appear in the Qur’an in identical or nearly identical contexts. Observe these two verses from Sura Al-Hajj:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ

God does what He wills. (22:14)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاء

God does what He wills. (22:18)

وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يُرِيدُ

And that God guides whom He wills (or whoever wills it). (22:16)

وَاللَّهُ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ

And God guides whom He wills (or whoever wills it). (24:46)

The two terms are also used for human will:

مِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ

Among you are some who want this world, and among you are some who want the Hereafter. (3:152)

وَقُلِ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ

Say: « The Truth comes from your Lord. Let whoever wills believe, and whoever wills disbelieve. » (18:29)

According to others, « أراد » expresses the divine « desire » or « wish », while « شاء » expresses the « action » upon all things (شيء). In other words, when God declares « أريد », it is a prescription; and when He declares « أشاء », it is a creative act.

يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ

God wants to make clear to you [the ways] and to guide you to the practices of those before you. (4:26)

إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا

O people of the House, God only wants to remove impurity from you and to purify you completely. (33:33)

Others hold that « أراد » designates a determined and firm choice, while « شاء » designates a mere « option » — which is almost the opposite, in the end. They rely, for example, on the following verses:

إِنّمَآ أَمْرُهُ إِذَآ أَرَادَ شَيْئاً أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ

His Command, when He wills a thing, is only to say to it « Be! » and it is. (36:82)

إِنْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ سُوَءاً أَوْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ رَحْمَةً

If He wills for you a harm, or if He wills for you a mercy. (33:17)

خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ السّمَاوَاتُ وَالأرْضُ إِلاّ مَا شَآءَ رَبّكَ

They will abide therein forever, as long as the heavens and the earth endure, unless your Lord wills otherwise. (11:107)

لَوْ أَرَادَ اللّهُ أَن يَتّخِذَ وَلَداً لاّصْطَفَىَ مِمّا يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ

Had God willed to take a child, He would have chosen from His creation what He willed. (39:4)

وَلاَ تَقْولَنّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنّي فَاعِلٌ ذَلِكَ غَداً إِلاّ أَن يَشَآءَ اللّهُ

And never say of anything: « I shall do that tomorrow », without adding: « If God wills! » (18:23-24)

That is to say: if it is among the options permitted by God. In this perspective, human choice falls under God’s « mashîʾa » and not His « irâda ».

Such extremely hazardous distinctions are often put at the service of theological stakes concerning predestination or human freedom. Linguistically, one cannot really associate one of the two terms with a « creative will » and the other with a « prescriptive will », and the terminological use they may have acquired afterwards changes nothing. One can affirm, however, that the verb أراد is sometimes associated with the prepositions لِـ and بِـ, and that in this case the expression « He wills for you » is understood as « He wishes for you ». Observe:

يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ

God wants ease for you, and He does not want hardship for you. (2:185)

تِلْكَ آيَاتُ اللَّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ وَمَا اللَّهُ يُرِيدُ ظُلْمًا لِلْعَالَمِينَ

These are the verses of God; We recite them to you in truth. And God wants no injustice to the worlds. (3:108)

مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَكِنْ يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

God does not want to impose any hardship on you, but He wants to purify you and to complete His favour upon you, that perhaps you may be thankful. (5:6)

Moreover, the verb أراد is often associated with the subjunctive particle أنْ, with a connotation of « wish ».

يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ

God wants to lighten [your burdens] for you. (4:28)

But beware: in some Qur’anic passages, this term clearly expresses a firm decision, or even what theologians call a « creative will »:

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ فَعَّالٌ لِمَا يُرِيدُ

Indeed, your Lord does eminently what He wills. (11:107)

The verb أراد sometimes also means « to tend / to lean towards something ». Here we find the link between will and « inclination », as in French.

فَوَجَدَا فِيهَا جِدَارًا يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَنْقَضَّ

Then they found there a wall about to collapse. (18:77)

The verb شاء is also used with أنْ (with respect to humans, in this instance, but one cannot draw any conclusion from it, it seems to me).

لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ

For whoever among you wills to follow the straight way. But you will not, unless God wills, the Lord of the worlds. (81:28-29)

قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِلَّا مَنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا

Say: « I ask of you no payment for it, except that whoever wills may take a way to his Lord. » (25:57)

On the other hand, the verb شاء is never associated with the prepositions لِـ and بِـ. It is only used in expressions such as ما يشاء / من يشاء / إن شاء / لو شاء / كيف يشاء. Observe:

وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَارُ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ

And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; the choice is not theirs. (28:68)

يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

He guides whom He wills to a straight path. (24:46)

These two terms can also be distinguished in terms of their respective roots. The verb أراد is related to the verb راد / يرود (Form I), which expresses notably « being in movement », « coming and going in quest of something (especially pasture) », but also « to lead (especially towards pasture) ». One may thus see in it movement and inclination towards something.

As for the verb شاء, it is of the same root as the word شَيْء (« thing »), of which it is even the maṣdar. This leads some theologians to say that every « thing » (شيء) in existence proceeds from a divine « will » (مشيئة).

To be able

طاق ــُـ / أطاق / استطاع / قدَر ــِـ

The term قدر means to have « the capacity » and « the power » to act. Its root also means « measure » (قَدْر). In this sense, it is what is to the « measure » of the individual.

The term استطاع more broadly means « to have the possibility » (whether by circumstances or by available means, etc.). It is built on the same root as the word أطاع (« to obey ») and, according to its derivation, properly means « to seek to subdue or constrain »: as if « domesticating » events and thus being « able » to act.

As for the term أطاق, it also means « to be able », but with a connotation of effort.

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي كَبَدٍ أَيَحْسَبُ أَنْ لَنْ يَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ

We have certainly created man in [a state of] toil. Does he think that no one will [ever] have power over him? (90:4-5)

وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا

And it is a duty owed to God by people — for whoever is able to find a way to it — to make the pilgrimage to the Sacred House. (3:97)

وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ

And for those who can fast only with hardship [but do not], a compensation: feeding a poor person. (2:184)

The other near-synonyms