At-Takwir 81:28 - Linguistic Miracle

For whoever wants, among you, to become upright

We need to first look at the first Mustaqīm because it is a rich word. At its root, it means for something to become straight and upright with no blemish. It came to be used to mean rectification or correction because when you make something straight and upright like a straight rod, you remove all the curves, turns and crookedness from it.

Secondly, the word شاء is translated as “want or will” and it is different from أراد which is also taken to mean the same thing. شاء - the word used in this verse - was used for something solid and tangible. The word شيء which means a physical object comes

from the same root. It implies a strong, made up mind. It is different from desiring or wanting something because these are weaker thoughts. When someone has firmly made up his mind, and has truly decided within himself to do something, شاء is used.

The Qurʾān is only calling for people to correct themselves and become upright, nothing else. Is this what a devil does? The devil seeks to lead you to filth, not purity as the Qurʾān does.

For someone who recognizes the fact that he needs to be morally upright and good, he will find strong and impactful guidance in the Qurʾān. One does not have to be a Muslim to have this desire. People left and right come to terms with the fact that they cannot just waste life away. That money is not everything nor does it fulfill them. They realize that they need to have a good purpose in life and to live a morally upright life. Such people will find the truth in the Qurʾān and be guided. The Qurʾān is there to guide such people.

When people reject the Qurʾān, they do so more often than not because of a defect inside their own selves, not in the Qurʾān. They lack the will and the desire to become righteous, to sort their lives and to be guided. They lack the thirst for truth and knowledge. The Qurʾān here, is simply calling these people, who reject the Qurʾān, to look within themselves, not outside. This is why the question “So where are you going” was interjected in between. Look at yourselves, look at where you are going

in life, look at the state of your souls, when you reject the Qurʾān. A spoiled seed will not germinate no matter how much you water it. A corrupt heart and soul will not accept the Qurʾān no matter how many times it comes across it.