| Chapter 1: | Discourse on Motivation and Children |
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mentioned that ‘ir
da exists on the basis of love and hate’.26 Hence, arda-l-shay’ also means ‘he loved it and looked after it’ (a
abbahu wa ‘uniya bihi), of which its noun (ism) would be r
d.27 This is as per the Hadith, ‘Indeed, the devil makes the offspring of Adam love and desire every want (rda)’. It is said that rda is a noun of irda and its meaning is murd (intention) and ma
lab (objective).28 The expression aradtuhu bi kulli rda (literally, ‘I wanted it with every desire’) means aradtuhu bi kulli naw‘in min anw‘i-l-irda (literally, ‘I wanted it with every type of want’).29 S
bawayh (142/760–180/796) mentioned that the expression urdu li an taf‘ala (literally, ‘I wish that you do’) means irdat li dhlik (literally, ‘my wish for that’).30
Irda can also take the meaning of qa
d (intent).31 Furthermore, irda is strictly a characteristic of rational beings. The Qur'anic verse fa wajada fh jidran yurdu an yanqu
a fa aqmahu (literally, ‘they both found a wall that wanted to collapse and he set it up straight’)32 is metaphorical; hence, the manner in which the wall appeared to almost collapse made it seem like it wanted to.33
Al-Jurj
n (d. 816/1413) defined irda as ‘an inclination that follows the belief in some potential benefit’.34 It is also said that irda is ‘the soul's desire (nuz
‘) and inclination (mayl) towards a particular act; the desire connotes longing (ishtiyq) and the inclination denotes love (maabba). Irda has also been called the force that drives desire and action.35 Al-Junayd (215/830–297/910) stated, ‘Irda is that a person believes in something, is then resolved upon it, and then wants it; it occurs after a sincere intention [niyya]’.36 In addition, irda connotes choice (ikhtiyr) and desire (raghba).37
Hence, from both linguistic and psychological perspectives, irda encompasses the meanings of mash’a, murd, malab, ikhtiyr, raghba, ir, ibtigh’, niyya, ghya, qad, nuz‘, mayl, haw, maabba, ‘azm, ishtiyq (or shawq), and himma.38 In support of this view, al-Ghazzl once wrote:
da and qad are expressions that share the same meaning. It is a state of the heart and is governed by knowledge and