Inshallah (original) (raw)

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Arabic expression meaning "if God wills" or "God willing"

In sha' Allah[a][b], usually called the istiṯnāʾ,[c][1] is an Arabic-language expression meaning 'if God wills' or 'God willing'.[2] It is mentioned in the Quran,[3] which requires its use when mentioning future events.[4][5] It signifies that nothing, neither action nor thought, happens without God's permission.[1]

In an Islamic context, it expresses the belief that nothing happens unless God wills it, and that his will supersedes all human will;[6] however, more generally the phrase is commonly used by Muslims, Arab Christians and Arabic speakers of other religions to refer to events that one hopes will happen in the future, having the same meaning as the English word "hopefully".[6][7]

Though the Arabic phrase directly translates to 'God willing,' its meaning depends on the context. When used sincerely or in formal settings, it expresses the speaker’s hope for a specific outcome. However, in everyday speech, it is frequently used to suggest uncertainty, a lack of firm commitment, or as an open-ended response to requests or promises.[8][9]

This last usage became widespread even among non-Muslim, non-Arabic-speaking communities, many of whom might be unaware of its religious significance. Often employed to convey sarcasm or disbelief, it gained particular attention when Joe Biden employed it on two occasions: first, in response to Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All plan, and again during a presidential debate with Donald Trump. When Trump promised to release his tax returns, Biden sarcastically replied, "When? Inshallah?"[10][8]

• In Adyghe, the terms тхьэм ыIомэ (thəm yı'omə) and иншаллахь (inshallah) are widely used by Circassians, with the meaning "hopefully" or "if God wills".
• The Spanish word ojalá[11] and the words oxalá in Asturleonese and Galician (more rarely in this language ogallá), all come from the Arabic لو شاء الله (law šā' l-lāh)[12] from the time of Al-Andalus. It means "we hope", "I hope", "we wish", "I wish". The expression tomara – which some argue comes from "atamma 'Llah" in Arabic with the original meaning similar to "The God will is that" – is also used in Andalusian Spanish. The expression oxalá also exists in Portuguese with a similar meaning. Similar equivalents include se Deus quiser and Deus queira; the aforementioned tomara is also commonly used.[13]
• The Sardinian expressions Deus bollat or Deus chergiat, meaning "If God wills", used to be common and are still used by mainly elderly (religious) people.
• The Bulgarian and Macedonian дай Боже/дај Боже and Serbo-Croatian ако Бог да/даће Бог/дај Боже (ako Bog da/daće Bog/daj Bože) are the South Slav versions of the expression, calqued from Arabic, owing to Ottoman rule over the Balkans. They are used extensively in Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, even sometimes by non-theists.[_citation needed_] They are also widely used in Ukraine and Russia.
• In Cypriot Greek, the word ίσσαλα (ishalla) is used with the meaning "hopefully".[14]
• The (Belgian) Dutch expression "Als 't God belieft" (If God wills) used to be common and is still used by mainly elderly (religious) people.
• In Esperanto, Dio volu means "God willing".
• Finnish interjection: Jos Luoja suo, meaning "God willing", is used by some artists in popular music to express leaving life to chance/faith/luck.
• The term is used in the Indonesian and Malay languages with very similar meanings and spellings, i.e. insyaallah (Indonesian) and insya'Allah (Malay), and is used in the same manner, meaning "God willing". It is a very common expression in both languages.
• A similar expression exists in Maltese: jekk Alla jrid ("if God wills it").[15] Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic, the Arabic dialect that developed in Sicily and later in Malta between the end of the 9th century and the end of the 12th century.
• In Persian language the phrase is nearly the same, ان‌شاءالله, being pronounced formally as en shâ Allah, or colloquially as ishâllâ.
• In Polish, Daj Boże and Jak Bóg da are similar expressions to the South Slav versions. They mean "God, give" and "if God will give/allow".
• In Romanian, Să dea Dumnezeu! or Să dea Domnul! means the same.
• In Italian, the expressions Se Dio vuole and Dio volendo have the same meaning.
• In German, the expression So Gott will has the same meaning, however is becoming increasingly antiquated in the daily vernacular.
• In Russian, Дай Бог! (Day Bog) is a similar expression with the meaning "God, give!".
• In Tagalog, sana means "I hope" or "we hope". It is the synonym of the Tagalog word nawa.
• In Turkish, the word inşallah or inşaallah is similarly used to mean "If God wishes and grants", or more generally "hopefully", but is also used in an ironic context when the speaker does not put too much faith in something.
• In Urdu, the word is used with the meaning "God willing".
• In Hebrew the same term is used, borrowed from Arabic (אינשאללה). The original Hebrew term is בעזרת השם (with God's help).
• In Swahili, the term inshallah is used frequently by the Muslim population, while Christians might prefer the phrase Mungu akipenda, "if God wants".
• In Georgian, ღვთის ნებით (ghvtis nebit) is a similar expression, meaning "By God's will".
• Besiyata Dishmaya – Aramaic-language phrase meaning "with the help of Heaven"
• By the Grace of God
• Deo volente – Latin for 'God willing'
  • also Deus vult – Latin for 'God wills it'
• Predestination in Islam
• Phrases used in Islam:
  • Alhamdulillah – 'praise be to God'
  • Bismillah – 'In the name of God'
  • Dhikr – remembrance of God
    * Tasbih – form of dhikr
    * Tahlil – form of dhikr
  • Mashallah – 'God has willed it'
  • Shahada – Islamic statement of faith
  • Takbir – Arabic phrase ʾAllāhu ʾakbaru meaning 'God is the greatest'

1. ^ ; Arabic: إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ, romanized: ʾIn shāʾ Allāh, pronounced [ʔin ʃaː.ʔa‿ɫ.ɫaːh].

2. ^ Also spelled In shaa Allah, In sha Allah, Insya Allah, İn şa Allah, and Inchallah.

3. ^ 'formula of exception'; Arabic pronunciation: [istiθnaːʔ].

4. ^ a b Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J., eds. (1971). "IN S͟HAʾ ALLĀH". Encyclopaedia of Islam (in English and French). Vol. 3: H–Iram (2nd ed.). Leiden and London: Brill and Luzac & Co. p. 1196. ISBN 90 04 08118 6.

5. ^ Clift, Rebecca; Helani, Fadi (June 2010). "In Sha'Allah: Religious invocations in Arabic topic transition". Language in Society. 39 (3): 357–382. doi:10.1017/S0047404510000199. S2CID 146788629.

6. ^ 37:102

7. ^ 18:23-24

8. ^ Abdur Rashid Siddiqui (10 December 2015). Qur'anic Keywords: A Reference Guide. Kube Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9780860376767.

9. ^ a b John L. Esposito, ed. (2014). "In Sha Allah". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001. ISBN 9780195125580.

10. ^ Anthony Shadid (11 January 2010). "Allah – The Word". The New York Times.

11. ^ a b Biden’s ‘inshallah’ during US debate dubbed ‘historic’ on Twitter, Al Jazeera, 30 Sep 2020

12. ^ ‘When? Inshallah?’: Here’s The Arabic Word Biden Used During The Presidential Debate, Carlie Porterfield, Forbes, Sep 30, 2020

13. ^ Are Better Things Coming? Inshallah., Abdullah Shihipar, The New York Times, Jan. 25, 2022

14. ^ Uses of “Ojalá” in Spanish. "Ojalá in Spanish". Adros Verse Education. Retrieved 29 September 2023.

15. ^ Asociación de academias de la lengua española (2021). "ojalá". Real Academia Española. Retrieved 22 May 2021. Del ár. hisp. law šá lláh 'si Dios quiere'.

16. ^ Academia das Ciências de Lisboa. "tomar". Dicionário da Lingua Portuguesa. Retrieved 22 March 2024. para exprimir o desejo ou vontade do sujeito de que se realize a proposição contida na oração subordinada, completiva no modo conjuntivo ou infinitiva

17. ^ Γιαγκουλλής, Κωνσταντίνος (2002). Θησαυρός Κυπριακής Διαλέκτου Ερμηνευτικός και ετυμολογικός - Από το 13ο αι. μέχρι σήμερα-Κωνσταντίνος. Λευκωσία. p. 113. ISBN 9963-555-41-1.{{[cite book](/wiki/Template:Cite%5Fbook "Template:Cite book")}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

18. ^ Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie; Borg, Albert (15 April 2013). Maltese. Routledge. ISBN 9781136855283.

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