This week’s Arabic Word of the Week focuses on a concept that, while intangible, exists inside everyone, motivating the result of any journey we take.
Niyya in Arabic translates to intention, but it also has more nuanced meaning and surprising influences on other Arabic words.
While it is a word in classical Arabic, it is also commonly used in colloquial Arabic across dialects to mean intention.
Niyya is a noun whose root is the Arabic verb nawa, which means to do something with intention or to work towards one's intention. Niyya and all words that are derived from it are from the three Arabic letters, noon, wow and yaa.
The full definition of niyya is to mean, to intend, to have a particular or a deliberate and focused purpose on a state of being or goal. It can also mean to have a plan, a strong will and design of action towards a particular result.
Niyya is first and foremost something that comes from within someone, a decision, desire and intention of the heart that is represented or takes from as a mental state behind a decision or action.
There are many phrases in Arabic that use the word niyya to describe characteristics and states of being. For example, ala niyyat refers to someone who is kind hearted and has no evil intentions. Housin al niyya means someone who is approaching a situation with good intentions, while sou’ al niyya is someone whose intentions are bad.
Niyya is sometimes used interchangeably with another Arabic word, qas'd, which is defined as to have purpose or to mean to do something. Yet they are different.
Niyya is more of an internal, mental state that is the reason behind particular decisions and actions. While qas'd is the aim or goal of an action. Niyya is focused on the internal intention and sometimes the planning of a particular action, and qas'd is the intended external outcome.
There are many other words derived from the word niyya, some of which are common in colloquial Arabic.
Al naawi can mean he who has intention or a person who has the same niyya and intention as you and is working with you towards that goal. For example, a colleague who wants to complete a project with you to a deadline or a friend who wants to travel with you to a certain place.
Intawa means when someone moves from one place to another. This can mean physically from one house to another or one city to another, or mentally a spiritually, from one thought or perspective to another.
Nawaat, or its plural nowa means the centre of anything. For example, the nawaat of an atom is a nucleus.Interestingly, another word, nawa, means something that is inside something else – not necessarily the centre of it, as nawat means. Nawa is also used colloquially to mean the word seed, for example the seed of any plant or fruit.
While the words derived from niyya all have different meanings, all are connected by one idea. It is an element that is inside something else, like the seed inside a fruit or the intention in our hearts.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
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