Inshallah

In sha'Allah (/ɪnˈʃælə/; Arabic: إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ‎, ʾin šāʾa -llāh Arabic pronunciation: [ʔin ʃaː.ʔa‿ɫ.ɫaːh]), also spelled In shaa Allah, is an Arabic language expression meaning "if God wills" or "God willing".[1] The phrase is commonly used by Muslims and Arabic-speakers of other religions to refer to events that one hopes will happen in the future.[2][3] It expresses the belief that nothing happens unless God wills it and that his will supersedes all human will.[2] The phrase can take on an ironic context, implying that something will never happen and is left to God's hands, or can be used as a gentle way of declining invitations.[4]

For other uses, see Inshallah (disambiguation).
"Ojalá" redirects here. For the Ha*Ash song, see Ojalá (song).

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The term is mentioned in the Quran[Quran 37:102] which required the use of it when speaking on future events.[Quran 18:23–24][5]

Colloquially, and depending on the context, the word could mean certainly, no or maybe.

Other languages

Asturleonese, Galician, Spanish and Portuguese

The word "oxalá" in Asturleonese, Galician (more rarely in this language "ogallá") and Portuguese; also present in Spanish as "ojalá" all come from the Arabic لو شاء الله law šā’ l-lāh[6] [7] (using a different word for "if"), from the time of Muslim presence and rule on the Iberian Peninsula. It means "we hope" or "I hope".

Adyghe

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".

Persian

In Persian language the phrase is nearly the same, ان‌شاءالله, being pronounced formally as en shâ Allah, or colloquially as ishâllâ.

Turkish

In Turkish, the word İnşallah or inşaallah is used in its literal meaning, "If God wishes and grants", but is also used in ironic context.

Urdu

In Urdu, the word is used with the meaning "God willing", but almost never used in the ironic context above.

Maltese

A similar expression exists in Maltese: jekk Alla jrid (if God wills it).[8] 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.

Cypriot Greek

In Cypriot Greek the word ίσσαλα, ishalla is used with the meaning "hopefully".[9]

Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian

Bulgarian and Macedonian "Дай Боже/дај Боже" and Serbo-Croatian "ако Бог да, ako Bog da" 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 used by non theists. Also widely used in Ukraine and Russia.

Tagalog

In Tagalog, "sana" means "I hope" or "we hope". It is the synonym of the Tagalog word "nawa".

See also

References
  1. Clift, Rebecca; Helani, Fadi (June 2010). "Inshallah: Religious invocations in Arabic topic transition". Language in Society. 39 (3): 357–382. doi:10.1017/S0047404510000199. S2CID 146788629.
  2. John L. Esposito, ed. (2014). "Insha Allah". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001. ISBN 9780195125580.
  3. Anthony Shadid (11 January 2010). "Allah – The Word". The New York Times.
  4. Ismail, Aymann (30 September 2020). "The One-Word Mystery of the Presidential Debate That Roused Muslims (and Right-Wing Bloggers)". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  5. Abdur Rashid Siddiqui (10 December 2015). Qur'anic Keywords: A Reference Guide. Kube Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9780860376767.
  6. Asociación de academias de la lengua española (2021). "ojalá". Real Academia Española. Real Academia Española. Retrieved 22 May 2021. Del ár. hisp. law šá lláh 'si Dios quiere'.
  7. Dicionário Estraviz (2021). "oxalá". e-Estraviz. Dicionário Estraviz. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  8. Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie; Borg, Albert (15 April 2013). Maltese. Routledge. ISBN 9781136855283.
  9. Γιαγκουλλής, Κωνσταντίνος (2002). Θησαυρός Κυπριακής Διαλέκτου Ερμηνευτικός και ετυμολογικός - Από το 13ο αι. μέχρι σήμερα-Κωνσταντίνος. Λευκωσία. p. 113. ISBN 9963-555-41-1.
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