أَرَادَ intend in Arabic
أَرَادَ is how you say “intend” in Arabic.
Root ر و د r-w-d. verb (form IV). arāda.
Arabic
English
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Meaning of intend in Arabic
- to will, wish, desire the primary sense of أَرَادَ; the standard classical verb for wanting or intending something
- to love, care about, be concerned with
- to seek, seek after; to choose
Example sentence
وَلَوْ زَالَ رَيْنُ الْهَوَى عَنْ بَصَرِ بَصِيرَتِهِ لَرَأَى أَنَّهُ قَدْ شَقِيَ مِنْ حَيْثُ قَدَّرَ السَّعَادَةَ وَاغْتَمَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ ظَنَّ الْفَرَحَ وَأَلِمَ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَرَادَ اللَّذَّةَ
If the veil of desire were lifted from the eyes of his insight, he would see that he is miserable where he thought he was happy, grieved where he thought he was joyous, and in pain where he sought pleasure.
أَرَادَ he desired
Past-tense verb with 'he' built in; the prefixed shape marks the 'will, want' pattern — he had been after pleasure there.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
أَرَادَ is form IV of the root ر و د. Lane notes it was originally أَرْوَدَ, paralleling رَاوَدَ ('to press one's desire on someone by blandishment'), and its sense runs from plain willing or wishing to caring about a thing or actively seeking and choosing it. It is the ordinary Classical and Qur'anic verb for wanting, wishing, or intending something.
Words from the same root
- رَادَ form I: to go to and fro, wander; to seek after pasture or water
- الرِّيَادُ verbal noun: a going to and fro in search of pasture
- رَاوَدَ form III: to try to turn or entice someone by blandishment, to press one's desire on them
- أَرْوَدَ form IV: to proceed gently or leisurely; to deal mildly with someone, granting them respite
More example sentences
وَإِنَّمَا أَرَادَ تَحْقِيق تَوْحِيد الربوبية وتوحيد الإلهية
Rather, he intended to realize tawhid al-rububiyyah (unity of lordship) and tawhid al-uluhiyyah (unity of worship).
أَرَادَ he intended
Past-tense 'he intended', subject 'he' carried inside the form. It sets up an aim, so it expects a 'to do X' object to follow.
وإن زعم أنه يريد التوفيق بيد الأدلة الشرعية
Even if he claims he wants to reconcile with the religious evidence.
يُرِيدُ wants
Present 'wants, intends', subject 'he' inside — the predicate of 'anna...'.
أن يراد بها وجه الله،
That they are intended for the sake of Allah,
يُرَادَ it is intended
A passive verb — its inner vowels are shaped so the action is received, 'it is willed / intended', with no doer named. Arabic builds the passive by re-voweling the verb itself rather than adding a helper like English 'is', and the '-a' ending also reflects the subjunctive after 'an'.
فإن هؤلاء الثلاثة الذين يريدون الرياء والسمعة هم بإزاء الثلاثة الذين بعد النبيين من الصديقين والشهداء والصالحين،
For these three who seek show and reputation are the counterparts of the three who come after the prophets: the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous.
يُرِيدُونَ they seek
A present-tense verb with the plural '-una' ending carrying 'they' — the subject is in the verb. It describes the group's ongoing aim: wanting display and fame.
فعّال لما يُرِيد
He does what He wills.
يُرِيدُ He wills
A present-tense (form IV) verb 'wills / intends', subject 'He' inside, completing 'whatever He wills'. What His action is directed at.
فقاسوا فوجدوه أدنى إلى الأرض التي أراد،
They measured and found he was closer to the land he intended.
أَرَادَ he intended
A past verb 'intended / wanted', subject 'he' inside, completing the relative clause — 'which he had intended'. So even short of his goal, his sincere aim tipped the scales. The doer is sealed in the verb.
فمن أراد صلاح نفسه، فليجاهدها جهادًا طويلاً، وليصبر على مراغمتها
So whoever wants to reform himself, let him strive against it with a long struggle, and be patient in opposing it.
أَرَادَ he seeks
A past-tense verb meaning 'wants', with 'he' built in, forming the condition after 'whoever'. In a conditional like this the past form carries general, timeless force, 'whoever wants', not a single finished event.
فإذا أراد العبد أن يصلح قلبه، فليقطع هذه القواطع،
If the servant wants to repair his heart, let him cut these obstacles,
أَرَادَ he wants
A past-tense verb carrying its own 'he' subject inside it, so no separate pronoun is needed. Sitting right after 'if', its past shape reads as a general present, the kind of wanting that could happen at any time.
من أراد السلامة ما عرف التكليف
Whoever wants safety has not understood obligation.
أَرَادَ he wants
A past-tense verb, 'wants', carrying its own 'he' subject. As the condition after 'whoever' its past shape carries a general sense, the wanting of any such person at any time.
فمن أراد السلامة من التكليف، فقد أراد المستحيل
Whoever wishes to be free from obligation desires the impossible.
أَرَادَ he wishes
A past-tense verb, 'wants', carrying its own 'he' subject, serving as the condition after 'whoever'. Its past shape carries a general sense here.
فمن أراد السلامة من التكليف، فقد أراد المستحيل
Whoever wishes to be free from obligation desires the impossible.
أَرَادَ he desired
A past-tense verb, 'has wanted', carrying its own 'he' subject, delivering the verdict of the condition. The emphasis-particle just before it underlines that this is certainly so.
قال لأني سمعت الله يقول ولم يكن له كفوا أحد فأردت أن أكون أنا ذلك الكفؤ إذا كان موجودًا
He said: Because I heard Allah say, '[Nor is there to Him any equivalent],' so I wanted to be that equivalent if it existed.
فَأَرَدْتُ so I wanted
The fa- gives this a 'so/therefore' force. The verb is past tense with 'I' built in via the -tu ending, the first-person subject carried by the suffix.
فَيَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ مَا أَرَدْتُ بِكُمْ،
Allah, the Almighty, will say: That is what I intended for you,
أَرَدْتُ I intended
A past-tense verb with 'I' fused on as subject, 'I intended'. It states God's deliberate purpose inside the relative clause.
الْعَالِمُ إِذَا أَرَادَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَىٰ هَابَهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ
When a scholar seeks, by his knowledge, the Face of Allah Most High, everything fears him.
اراد seeks
A past-tense verb 'sought/intends', read here in a general, timeless sense inside the conditional. The 'when' frame lets a past-shaped verb express a recurring 'whenever he seeks'.
وَإِذَا أَرَادَ يَكْثُرَ بِهِ الْكُنُوزُ هَابَ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
And if he intended to increase his treasures by it, he feared everything.
اراد he intended
A past-tense verb 'intended', the volition that governs the purpose-verb after it. It sits inside the condition and sets up what he wished to do.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يُعَذِّبَ عَبْدًا بِمَالِهِ وَفِقِهِ عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ لِوَصِيَّةٍ جَائِرَةٍ
Indeed, when God intends to punish a servant because of his wealth and his understanding, He causes him, at his death, to make an unjust will.
أَرَادَ he intends
A past-tense verb 'intends', the volition that governs the complement after it. Inside the 'when' frame it reads as a general 'whenever He intends'.
بَعْدَ أَنْ يَخْرُجَ مَا أَرَادَتْ أُمِّي؟
Has what my mother wanted happened?
أَرَادَتْ she wanted
A past-tense verb with the -at ending marking the subject as feminine 'she', 'she wanted'. It sits inside the relative clause opened by 'what', so the whole runs 'that which she wanted'. Its subject, the mother, is spelled out by the noun that follows for clarity.
فَيَقُولُ مَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُهْدِيَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ هَدِيَّةً،
So he says, "Whoever wishes to send a gift to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,"
أَرَادَ he wishes
A past-tense verb with its 'he' subject built in, but used here in a timeless, rule-stating way after 'whoever'; the past shape stands for any case of wishing, not a finished event. It fills out the condition the rule depends on.
أَدْنَى إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الَّتِي أَرَادَ،
nearer to the ground that he intended,
أَرَادَ he intended
This is a past-tense verb, third-person masculine singular, with the subject 'he' inside it. It sits inside the relative clause opened by the previous word and supplies the action 'intended', so together they describe the land 'that he intended'.
إِنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُضْحِكَ
If he wanted to make them laugh
أَرَادَ he wanted
A past-tense verb, 'wanted', with its 'he' subject built in; under the conditional it reads as a general 'whenever he wanted'. It sets up an object that is itself a verb-clause introduced by the particle after it.
وَإِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَبْكِيَ
And if he wanted to make them weep.
أَرَادَ he wanted
A past-tense verb, 'wanted', with its 'he' subject built in; under the recurring conditional it reads as 'whenever he wished'. It takes a verb-clause as its object via the particle that follows.
إِنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَضْحَكَ
If he wanted to make people laugh
أَرَادَ he wanted
A past-tense verb, 'wanted', with its 'he' subject built in; under the conditional it reads as 'whenever he wished'. Its object is a verb-clause introduced by the particle after it.
وَإِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يُبْكِيَ أَبْكَى الصَّخْرَ الأَصَمَ
And when he wanted to make people weep, he made even the unresponsive rock weep.
أَرَادَ he wanted
A past-tense verb of wishing, 'wanted', with its 'he' subject built in; under the recurring conditional it reads as 'whenever he wished'. It takes a verb-clause object via the particle after it.
Common questions
- How do you say "intend" in Arabic?
- أَرَادَ (arāda) — the standard verb for to will, wish, or intend something.
- What does the root ر و د mean?
- At its core it carries the idea of moving to and fro in search of something, as in رَادَ (to wander seeking pasture); أَرَادَ extends this to willing or desiring something.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).