شهو
Attested forms : يَشْتَهُونَ 5 · ٱلشَّهَوَٰتِ 3 · شَهْوَةًۭ 2 · ٱشْتَهَتْ 1 · تَشْتَهِىٓ 1 · تَشْتَهِيهِ 1
Core meaning
To desire: the movement of appetite toward an object. The word does not judge; it is the object and the conduct that make desire a straying or a promise.
Uses
ٱشْتَهَىٰ, يَشْتَهُونَ, تَشْتَهِى → "to desire" : most often the promise: what the Self desires is given to it.
ٱلشَّهَوَٰت → "desires" ("passions" in 3:14) : in the plural, the desires one follows instead of the way; in 3:14, the very objects of desire.
شَهْوَةً → "out of desire" : desire turned away from its object.
- «إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةًۭ مِّن دُونِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ» — "You surely come to men out of desire, instead of women" (7:81)
Evidence from the text
The same verb serves the promise and the straying. In the Garden, what the Self desires is given (21:102, 41:31, 43:71), down to fruit and flesh "of what they desire" (52:22). Elsewhere, following desires means neglecting the Contact (19:59) and wanting to make others deviate (4:27); the people of Lut turn desire away from its object (7:81, 27:55); and on the last day, something comes between some people and what they desire (34:54).
In 3:14, the objects of desire are named, women, sons, gold and silver, horses, cattle, tilth, and their love is said to be embellished, without condemnation; what follows points toward a better good (3:15). The word says the movement; its worth depends on the object.
Distinctions
- هوى — passion: the inclination that makes one fall, whereas شهو is appetite itself
- رود — to want: the will that aims, whereas شهو is appetite
- زين — adornment: in 24:31 and 24:60, "that which, in them, arouses desire" names what adornment awakens; the word "desire" completes the phrase there and does not render شهو
See also
نفس (the Self, subject of desire)