Arabic vocabulary
How to say “willing” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
وقد يثاب الرجل على تعليمها بالنية إن شاء الله تعالى
A person may be rewarded for teaching it with the right intention, if Allah wills.
شَاءَ — willing. A past verb 'willed', with its subject coming right after. In the set phrase 'if God wills' it expresses dependence on divine will. The subject is named separately as the next word.
From: Intention in Islam →وفيه قول ثالث قال مقاتل إن شئت رددته من الكبر إلى الشباب ومن الشباب إلى الصبا إلى النطفة
And there is a third opinion by Muqatil, who said that if He wills, He can return him from old age to youth, from youth to childhood, and to the sperm-drop.
شِئْتَ — you will. This is a completed-action verb 'you wished', its 'you' subject carried inside through the ending. Inside the conditional frame its past shape reads as 'if you wish'; Arabic uses the past for the condition where English uses a present.
From: Ten Proofs of Resurrection →وينزل القطر إذا شاء فيبهت السماك والعوى،
And He sends down rain when He wills, bewildering the sailor and the orbits.
شَاءَ — He wills. A past-form verb with a built-in 'he' subject inside the 'when' clause; after this kind of time-particle the past shape carries a general, recurring sense. It states the willing as the condition, with the divine doer understood.
From: All Creation Praises Him →وَسَأُدْرِجُ لَكَ فِي هَذَا الْكِتَابِ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنْ أَخْبَارِهِمْ،
God willing, I will include in this book for you from their accounts,
شَاءَ — wills. A past-shaped verb carrying its 'he' subject within the form, here fixed in the conventional 'if God wills' expression. Though past in shape, inside this formula it reaches toward the future, conditioning what the speaker intends on the divine will.
From: Guidance for the Seeker →وَيَكْتُبُ مِنَ الْإِنْجِيلِ بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَكْتُبَ،
And he would write from the Gospel into Arabic whatever God willed him to write.
شَاءَ — he willed. A past verb carrying its own 'he' subject, here filled by the divine name that follows; the doer arrives after the verb in the usual Arabic order. It heads the 'whatever God willed' clause.
From: The Night of Revelation and Consolation →فَيَدَعُنِي مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَدَعَنِي
So He leaves me for as long as Allah wills to leave me.
شَاءَ — wills. A finished-action verb for a single doer, 'wills', used in a fixed devotional phrase about divine will; its subject, the divine name, follows immediately. The past shape here reads timelessly within the idiom. It supplies the willing that sets the length of the leaving.
From: Intercession on Judgment Day →فَيَدْعُنِي مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَدَعَنِي
And He will let me remain as long as Allah wills.
شَاءَ — wills. A finished-action verb whose subject is the divine name stated just after it; the willing is framed as a completed, decisive act. Within the 'as long as' clause it sets the measure of the duration, the leaving lasts exactly as far as this willing extends.
From: Intercession on Judgment Day →فَيَدْعُنِي مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَدَعَنِي
Then He will leave me as Allah wills.
شَاءَ — wills. A finished-action verb whose subject is the divine name right after it, framing the willing as a settled, decisive act. Inside the 'as long as' clause it measures the duration: the leaving lasts precisely as far as this willing reaches.
From: Intercession on Judgment Day →ثُمَّ قَالَ فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَقُولَ
Then the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said what God willed him to say.
شَاءَ — he willed. A past 'willed', its 'he' inside, waiting for the following name to say WHO willed. It is the verb inside 'what God willed', framing the saying as by God's will.
From: The Barley Loaf That Fed Eighty →وَخَافَ فَوْتَ الصَّلَاةِ أَوِ الْوَقْتِ لَمْ يَبْلُغْ عَدُوُّهُ مِنْهُ مَا شَاءَ
He feared missing the prayer or its appointed time, and his enemy did not attain from him what he wanted.
شَاءَ — he wanted. A completed-action verb 'he willed/wanted', forming the relative clause attached to the preceding 'what': 'what he wanted'. Its 'he' subject (the enemy) is carried inside the verb. The clause as a whole is the thing not attained.
From: Choosing Good Companions →﴿لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكْنَا وَلَا آبَاءُنَا وَلَا حُرِمْنَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ﴾
If God had willed, we would not have associated partners, nor would our fathers, nor would we have been deprived of anything.
شَاءَ — had willed. A past-tense verb, 'willed', supplying the condition inside the counterfactual. Arabic uses the past shape here even for a hypothetical, letting the 'if' before it color it as 'had willed'. Its subject, the divine name, follows in the usual verb-first order.
From: Patience Under Decree →وَقَالُوا ﴿أَنْ نُطْعِمَ مَن لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَأَطْعَمَهُ﴾
And they said, "Should we feed one whom, if God had willed, He would have fed?"
شَاءَ — had willed. A past-tense verb, 'willed', supplying the condition in the counterfactual. The past shape carries the hypothetical sense under the 'if' before it, 'had willed'. Its subject, the divine name, follows in the usual verb-first order.
From: Patience Under Decree →وَقَالُوا ﴿لَوْ شَاءَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ مَا عَبَدْنَاهُمْ﴾
And they said, "If the Most Merciful had willed, we would not have worshiped them."
شَاءَ — had willed. A past-tense verb, 'willed', supplying the counterfactual condition. The past shape carries the hypothetical under the 'if' before it, 'had willed'. Its subject, a divine name, follows in the usual verb-first order.
From: Patience Under Decree →فَيَنْقَادُونَ لَهُ حَيْثُ شَاءَ
and they submit to him wherever he wills
شَاءَ — he wills. This is a past-tense verb, third-person singular, whose subject 'he' is built in and points to the devil. It closes the 'wherever he wills' clause. Though past in form, it reads as a general 'wills' fitting the habitual scene.
From: On Reason and Temptation →OpenArabic teaches words like شَاءَ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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