Why Is Our “Ishi (Will)” Taken Away from Us?：A Re-reading of Shāʾa (shāʾa / شاء) in Sūrat al-Takwīr

Abstract

This essay reconsiders the Arabic verb shāʾa (شاء), commonly encountered in the expression in shāʾ Allāh, through a close reading of the closing verses of Sūrat al-Takwīr. In everyday usage, in shāʾ Allāh is often reduced to a vague “hopefully,” a linguistic habit that risks hollowing out the notion of will itself. Against this background, the essay situates shāʾa in relation to other key concepts such as niyya (intention), nawā (to intend), and irāda (will or desire), while also reflecting on the modern translation history of “will” (Wille, will, 意思／意志).
By examining how shāʾa functions in Qurʾanic discourse — not merely as a wish, but as a decisive and enduring orientation that frames both divine and human willing — the essay argues that the loss of agency in contemporary contexts often stems from the hollowing of language rather than from theology itself. When shāʾa is emptied of meaning, it becomes a vessel into which desire, greed, command, and even authoritarian claims can be poured.
Rather than proposing a new doctrine of will, this essay emphasizes dhikr (remembrance) as an ongoing cognitive and ethical practice: a continual re-confirmation of the will embedded in shāʾa beyond immediate needs and desires. In a world increasingly fractured by inequality and polarization, reexamining how we speak of will — especially through expressions such as in shāʾ Allāh — may offer a modest but meaningful path toward restoring human agency and balance.

What Does In shāʾ Allāh Mean?

Have you ever heard the expression in shāʾ Allāh?
Even when Muslims are speaking Japanese, it often appears at the end of a conversation. For example:
“Then, let’s have a meal together again. In shāʾ Allāh.”
The meaning of the words themselves is simple enough: in means “if,” shāʾa means “willed,” and Allāh means “God.” Thus, the phrase literally means, “if God wills.”
In Japan, however, Muslims from South and Southeast Asia — Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and so on — are more numerous than those from Arabic-speaking countries. As a result, in shāʾ Allāh is often used less in its literal sense and more in the way Google Translate glosses it: “hopefully.” In other words, rather than expressing a firm intention to go out for a meal, it can function as a preemptive excuse — even if we do not end up going, that will simply mean that God did not will it.

Bi-idhn Allāh

This use of in shāʾ Allāh as “hopefully” is not limited to non-Arab Muslims. I myself, as a Japanese speaker, found that when I first began my research stay in Syria, I used in shāʾ Allāh frequently — almost as a kind of insurance — saying things like, “I will come again tomorrow. In shāʾ Allāh.” It was an unfamiliar place, and one never knew what might happen.
At some point, however, my repeated use of in shāʾ Allāh must have caused some confusion. A man who worked as both editor and producer of a university public-relations magazine — someone who had patiently answered my many questions about Aleppo, the University of Aleppo, and local customs and concerns — told me gently that when the likelihood of something is high, one should say bi-idhn Allāh (“by God’s permission”). Al-ḥamdu li-llāh.
In other words, even in Aleppo, in shāʾ Allāh often functions as “hopefully.” Based on my experience staying in ten different Arab countries, this usage does not feel particularly strange within everyday Arabic conversation.

What Is “Will”?

If it is not “God’s will” that moves human beings to act, then what does?
A well-known ḥadīth states, “Actions are only by intentions.” That is, human action presupposes niyya (نية). Whether in contracts or in marriage, everything depends on niyya. The formation of a contract through the mutual alignment of intentions is also a fundamental premise of Islamic contract law.[1]
The verb corresponding to niyya is nawā (نوى). It means “to intend,” a term that places greater emphasis on concreteness and realization than the more abstract notion of “will.”
The subtle difference in nuance between Arabic and Japanese here owes much to the fact that the Japanese words ishi (意思／意志) were coined as translations of the German Wille. This term itself originally functioned as an auxiliary verb — what in English would be will. Hence its basic meaning is “to do something from now on.” Free will, philosophical will, firm resolve, and even a last will and testament are all covered by the single word will. During the Meiji period, Japanese translators assigned either ishi or ishi (with different characters) depending on context.[2]

What Is Shāʾa?

In this way, nawā or niyya seem to have lost the very “core” of purposefulness. But has in shāʾ Allāh not become even more hollow — almost hopeless?
In fact, in the final two verses of Sūrat al-Takwīr, the verb shāʾa — the verb underlying in shāʾ Allāh — appears three times:

Al-Ṣābūnī comments on these verses as follows:[3]
“That is, for those among you who strongly desire to follow the truth, to stand upright upon God’s law, and to walk the path of the righteous.”
“And whatever you are able to do is only through the success granted by God and through His kindness. Seek God’s assistance toward the best path.”
In short, if one wishes to follow the path of the righteous in an upright manner, one must seek God’s assistance toward the best path. This is an orthodox commentary that enjoys broad acceptance today.

Re-reading the Revelation

Here, however, let us explore the possibility of an interpretation that keeps some distance from the sense of “hopefully.” Let us face the revelation as simply as possible and attempt a near-literal translation:
“It is for those among you who will (shāʾa) to be upright.”
“You cannot will (shāʾa) except that God, the Lord of all worlds, wills (shāʾa).”
If shāʾa is understood merely as a vague “wish” and becomes hollow, then all sorts of things can slip into that void. Even if niyya is taken as a minimum requirement, irāda (إرادة: desire or need), raghba (رغبة: craving or greed), takāthur (تكاثر: competitive accumulation of wealth), and even the various awāmir (أوامر: commands) that accompany them can all enter into this hollowed-out shāʾa.
What is more, each party may proudly insist that they themselves are walking the righteous path in an upright manner, declaring, “In shāʾ Allāh, we will be guided to Paradise.” From such gaps, even dictators who wield “God’s will” in one hand may emerge.

The Will of Shāʾa

With what, then, should this hollow be filled? Since the hole was opened in shāʾa, it is only fitting that shāʾa itself should fill it.
Today, shāʾa may appear hollowed out in a hopeless way, but when we trace it back, we see that it is, quite simply, a word that denotes “will.” It refers both to divine will and to human will. Unlike nawā, however, its scope is broader; it may be described as a strong and enduring will.[4]
In Islamic theology, irāda is counted among God’s attributes — God is “will itself and the One who wills.” Yet this is a will that compensates for lack. In human terms, it corresponds to the will to satisfy needs and desires.

The Necessity of Dhikr

What shāʾa implies, however, is a will that lies even deeper than that. It is not premised on deficiency, but rather on fullness — a strong will as something complete.
Yet precisely because it is too obvious and unchanging, human cognition struggles to respond to it. It recedes into the distant background, while we are swept along by immediate desires and needs. That is why revelation is addressed even to those who seem on the verge of losing their way, as a dhikr — a reminder — for all humanity.
Only when memory is continually renewed can something of the will embedded in shāʾa be shared, even if only a little.

Rather Than Agitating Extremes…

“Uprightness” is unreliable. It may not be so different from the Japanese phrases “see you” or “next time,” which are equally unreliable. In any case, these are all human words. It is troubling when those who claim to be upright compete with one another until the losers are completely taken over,[5] and it is horrifying even to imagine a head-on collision between rival claims of uprightness.
If we wish to avoid this, we must seek balance (tawāzun, توازن).

Are these not messages that we ought to recall precisely now?
Faced with a world being carved apart by inequality and division, how should we make decisions? Not only those to whom the words “will” and “intention” have been handed down in an empty form, but also those whose humanity has been stripped away through the monopoly of a strong and enduring will — both should reconsider their use of the phrase in shāʾ Allāh.
To confirm the will of shāʾa that lies behind the will of nawā — that, surely, may lead the world just a little closer to peace.
Allāhu aʿlam (God knows best).

Notes

[1] On the principle that agreement between parties forms the basis of Islamic contract law, see Q 4:29 (“except that it be trade by mutual consent among you”) and, for example, Atsushi Okuda, “The Theory of Consent in Islamic Contract Law and the Syrian Civil Code,” Hōgaku Shinpō 102 (11–12), 1996, pp. 263–299.
[2] For the fact that the Japanese terms ishi (意思／意志) translate the German Wille (auxiliary verb wollen), see the Japanese Wikipedia entry “意志.”
[3] Muḥammad ʿAlī al-Ṣābūnī, Ṣafwat al-Tafāsīr, Beirut, 2002, p. 1652.
[4] On the lexical meaning of shāʾa, see the entry “شاء” in al-Amānī, especially the discussion in al-Ghanī.
[5] On the logic of “winner-takes-all,” see my essay “The Dīn That Refuses to Take It All:Reflections on Aleppo’s Souq and Qur’an 82:9”

References

Atsushi Okuda, Introduction to Islamic Law: Lecture Notes (2017 Edition) (unpublished).

Special Thanks

ChatGPT-5.2

Title Image

View of Sagami Bay from Shōnan-daira (December 2023), photographed by the author.

Acknowledgements

This English version was prepared with the support of ChatGPT-5.2.
The author gratefully acknowledges its assistance in translation and linguistic clarification.

Original version in Japanese:

「なぜ「いし(will)」が奪われてしまうのか：タクウィール章における『シャーァ(shāʾa/شاء)』の再読