# steadfastness



## linguist786

What is the word for _steadfastness_ in Arabic?
I can't seem to find it in dictionaries.

I was actually checking to see whether it was the same word as in Urdu -إستخامت (istikhaamat) إستقامت (istiqaamat).

If it exists in Arabic, it would be إستخامة (istikhaama) إستقامة (istiqaama) with the taa marbuTaa - but question is, does it exist?

And if it does, does it mean the same thing?
If not, then what _does_ it mean?


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## ayed

*-وفاء-إخلاص-ثبات-استقامة*
*IkhlaSun - Thabatun - Istiqamatun-Wafa'un*


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## linguist786

Aaah.. it's with a qaaf! 

I blame the silly people in my area who pronounce it with a khaa 

So it _does_ exist, and it means the same thing?


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## cherine

Yes Mohammed, it exists  but we write it with a hamzat waSl  استقامة as for the meaning, it can mean integrity, rectitude, honesty... (look in Hans Wehr, there are THREE page for the words derived from the root ق-و-م ) 

As for steadfastness, I found : ثبات - إخلاص chossing between them depends on context.


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## linguist786

Ah OK. That's great!  

We use the word "ikhlaas" to mean _sincerity_ (of one's intention). (ie - we should do things for the pleasure of Allah - that's ikhlaas)

I don't actually have Hans Wehr hehe, but I think I'm gonna buy it now


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## elroy

"Steadfastness" could also be رسوخ - but it really depends on the context! 

Nevertheless, I realize you're only/mostly interested in whether the Arabic word استقامة means the same thing.  I would say that it does not; as Cherine said it means "rectitude," integrity," etc.

By the way, إخلاص means "loyalty" in Arabic as well (in fact, it wouldn't occur to me as a translation of "steadfastness"  ).


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## Josh_

I think whether or not to translate إخلاص as loyalty or steadfastness (and by extension مخلص as loyal or steadfast) is just a matter of style.  To me, steadfast is more dramatic.


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## elroy

But I don't consider "loyalty" and "steadfastness" synonyms.


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## Abu Bishr

Hi Guys

"Istiqaamah" is the maSdar of "istaqaama - yastiqiimu - istaqim - mustaqiim - mustaqaam" (the latter form not used). Actual examples of their use:

"Siraat Mustaqiim" (Straight Path)

"Fastaqim kamaa umirta wa man taaba ma'aka wa laa tatghaw" (Surah Hud) [So stand firm and straight as you are commanded (by Allah) and those who turn in repentance with you and transgress not]

Also, in a famous Prophetic saying: "Qul Aamantu billah, thumma istaqim" [Say: I believe in Allah, then remain firm (on the straight way)]

So, in my view "istiqaamah" means to "stand firm and straight" especially in the face of adversity & aggression. Thus, it is the same as being "steadfast" as being steadfast is to be firm and unwavering. I mean, to keep on a straight path (literally speaking) requires one to be firm, focused and steadfast lest he should stray, swerve or deviate from it.

Even though "istiqaamah" does not mean "loyal" it nevertless implies it, because to remain or stand firm on something implies being loyal to it, even though the two do not mean the same thing.


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## linguist786

elroy said:


> By the way, إخلاص means "loyalty" in Arabic as well (in fact, it wouldn't occur to me as a translation of "steadfastness"  ).


How about translating it as "sincerity" (of one's intentions)? Lets take a sentence or two:

_He prayed just to show people how pious he was. There was no sincerity in his intentions._

How would you express that in Arabic?



Abu Bishr said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> "Istiqaamah" is the maSdar of "istaqaama - yastiqiimu - istaqim - mustaqiim - mustaqaam" (the latter form not used). Actual examples of their use:
> 
> "Siraat Mustaqiim" (Straight Path)
> 
> "Fastaqim kamaa umirta wa man taaba ma'aka wa laa tatghaw" (Surah Hud) [So stand firm and straight as you are commanded (by Allah) and those who turn in repentance with you and transgress not]
> 
> Also, in a famous Prophetic saying: "Qul Aamantu billah, thumma istaqim" [Say: I believe in Allah, then remain firm (on the straight way)]
> 
> So, in my view "istiqaamah" means to "stand firm and straight" especially in the face of adversity & aggression. Thus, it is the same as being "steadfast" as being steadfast is to be firm and unwavering. I mean, to keep on a straight path (literally speaking) requires one to be firm, focused and steadfast lest he should stray, swerve or deviate from it.
> 
> Even though "istiqaamah" does not mean "loyal" it nevertless implies it, because to remain or stand firm on something implies being loyal to it, even though the two do not mean the same thing.


As ever, I love your explanations. They make everything so clear!


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## elroy

Abu Bishr said:


> So, in my view "istiqaamah" means to "stand firm and straight" especially in the face of adversity & aggression.


  This is not how I understand the word! 





> Thus, it is the same as being "steadfast" as being steadfast is to be firm and unwavering. I mean, to keep on a straight path (literally speaking) requires one to be firm, focused and steadfast lest he should stray, swerve or deviate from it.


 No, that is not how I understand the word.  استقامة has to do with _going_ in the right/proper direction (usually figuratively), whereas "steadfastness" has to do with _remaining_ firm in the same position.  You could be steadfast (ثابت) in your love for your wife, but this says nothing about whether you are مستقيم.


> Even though "istiqaamah" does not mean "loyal" it nevertless implies it, because to remain or stand firm on something implies being loyal to it, even though the two do not mean the same thing.


 Now _that_ is a stretch!   Seriously, there are many qualities that imply or suggest or even include other qualities, but it still wouldn't occur to me to give one as a definition of the other when translating.  To me, "steadfastness" = ثبات، رسوخ and "loyalty" = إخلاص, and they are two independent qualities. 


linguist786 said:


> _He prayed just to show people how pious he was. There was no sincerity in his intentions._
> 
> How would you express that in Arabic?


 أخذ يصلي فقط ليري الآخرين أنه متدين.  لم تكن نواياه صافية.

In other words, I would not use استقامة to translate "sincerity."


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## abusaf

> http://forum.wordreference.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif _He prayed just to show people how pious he was. There was no sincerity in his intentions_


I would say:

صلى رياءً ولم يُخلص النية 
_._


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## cherine

abusaf said:


> I would say: صلى رياءً ولم يُخلص النية _._


 Excellent. Simply excellent 
Yes, in such sentence, we'd translate "to have sincere intentions" as يُخْلِص النية .

Now...


			
				[B said:
			
		

> Abu Bishr[/B]]http://forum.wordreference.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif
> So, in my view "istiqaamah" means to "stand firm and straight" especially in the face of adversity & aggression.





			
				Elroy said:
			
		

> This is not how I understand the word!


 
I agree with Elroy.
I don't know why, Abu Bishr, you chose to translate ثم استقم as "stand firm and straight". I always understand this as "follow the right path", like سِرْ في الطريق المستقيم do the good things avoid the bad things... (sorry if I can't translate it in proper words, but I'm trying to give the meaning as I understand it).

One more note : إخلاص in the sufi context has a different meaning, but it would be even harder to try to explain it. Yet, whoever is interested, can search for the available resources about Sufism online.


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## Abu Bishr

Hi Guys

"Ikhlaas" comes from the word "khulaasah" which is the pure essence that is left over after something has been stripped from all the dross. In other words, it means "unmixed" or "unadulterated" i.e. pure and free from foreign substances. Thus, when a person is sincere in his love for someone then it means that his love is purely and wholly for that person and not mixed with love for someone-else. The word "ikhlaas" is also applied to service and worship of God. So when someone performs a particular act of worship like fasting for the sake of God, and then at the same time tries to show people and somehow let them know that one is fasting so that they may think of one as being pious, then the purpose of one's fasting is mixed and adulterated. In other words, one's intention for fasting is not pure i.e. not purely and solelyfor God's sake but it includes people as well.

This is also why Surah Ikhlaas in the Quran is called such because it is all abouit keeping one's worship purely and solely for a Single God, as opposed to spreading it over idols as well.

In conclusion, "ikhlaas al-niyyah" is keeping one's intention (for performing an act of worship) pure for the One for whom the act is intended. So if I announce to everybody that I have fasted voluntarily today, or I've given so much in charity, then I've made my intention or particular act of worship impure. Thus, even though "ikhlaas" implies loyalty (which is the act of remaining faithful and loyal to something), I won't say that it means "loyalty".

Ps. As for your responses to my explanation on "istiqaamah", I'm not going to respond to them as I think my explanation is abundantly clear and is borne out by the contexts in which it is used. By the way "istiqaamah" is an attribute or spiritual station dealt with at length in the Sufi literature, and I suggest that you consult some of this literature. However, if you insist on me forwarding more evidence for my explanations, then I'll do so, otherwise I'll just leave it at that.


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## elroy

Abu Bishr said:


> Thus, even though "ikhlaas" implies loyalty (which is the act of remaining faithful and loyal to something), I won't say that it means "loyalty".


 Your analysis ignores a very important element - *how the word is actually used*. You have explained the etymology of the word, but nowadays no one thinks about unadulterated substances when they hear the word إخلاص. They think about loyalty, because in MSA (special religious contexts notwithstanding), that's what the word _means_ (not implies). 


> Ps. As for your responses to my explanation on "istiqaamah", I'm not going to respond to them as I think my explanation is abundantly clear and is borne out by the contexts in which it is used.


 In all of the contexts you presented, I would translate it with something along the lines of "walk along the path of uprightness."


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## linguist786

I thought I would share something from a book I (finally!) received today. (The Dictionary of the Holy Quran: Arabic words-English meanings, by Abdul M. Omar, ISBN: 0963206796).

The word استقامة comes from:

قاَم - to stand, stand fast or firm, stand still, stand up, rise, stop, be lively (in walk), appear in broad light (truth), come back to life, rise agaisnt, persevere in, rise for honouring, sustain, rise for prayer

From it, we get:

قَوَمَ - to maintain, erect, set up, set aright, rectify, make accurate, awake.
اقام (aqaama) - to perform (prayer), establish, raise (the dead), make one to stand up, continue, keep to, remain in (a place), straighten a thing
استقام (istiqaam) - to get up, rise, be upright, be in good state, be straight forward, return to.
......

There are actually so many more, but I won't bother mentioning them. It basically gives every word used in the Qur'aan with the root of قام including all the forms of the verbs!


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## cherine

Hello guys,
I think what makes the disagreement is that each one is speaking of a different context. While Elroy speaks of MSA in general, most of us explains the word in its religious context.
I guess this is a further confirmation of the necessity of context 

So, I think we can agree that while the word means steadfastness in the Islamic religious context, it means loyality in the context of every-day life.


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