Inshallah

In sha'Allah (/ɪnˈʃælə/; Arabic: إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ, romanized: ʾIn shāʾ Allāh Arabic pronunciation: [ʔin ʃaː.ʔa‿ɫ.ɫaːh]), also spelled In shaa Allah, InshAllah, Insya Allah and İnşAllah is an Arabic language expression meaning "if God wills" or "God willing".^[1] It was mentioned in the Quran^[2] which required the use of it when speaking on future events.^[3]^[4] 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.^[5]^[6] It express the belief that nothing happens unless God wills it and that his will supersedes all human will.^[5]

Other languages

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".

Asturleonese, Galician, Spanish and Portuguese

The word oxalá in Asturleonese, Galician (more rarely in this language ogallá) and Portuguese. In Spanish, the word is ojalá. They all come from the Arabic لو شاء الله (law šā' l-lāh^[7]^[8] (using a different word for "if"), from the time of Muslim presence and rule on the Iberian Peninsula. It means "we hope", "I hope", "we wish", "I wish".

Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian

The Bulgarian and Macedonian Дай Боже/дај Боже and Serbo-Croatian ако Бог да ([ako Bog da] Error: {{Transliteration}}: unrecognized language / script code: sr-Cyrl (help)) 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. They are also widely used in Ukraine and Russia.

Cypriot Greek

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

Esperanto

In Esperanto, dio volu means "God willing".

Finnish

Finnish interjection: Jos Luoja suo, meaning "God willing", is used by some artists in popular music to express leaving life to chance/faith/luck.

Indonesian and Malay

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.

Maltese

A similar expression exists in Maltese: jekk Alla jrid ("if God wills it").^[10] 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.

Persian

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

Polish

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".

Tagalog

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

Turkish

In Turkish, the word inşallah or inşaallah is used in its literal meaning, "If God wishes and grants", but is also used in an ironic context when the speaker does not put too much faith in something.

Urdu

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

Russian

In Russian, Дай Бог! (dai bog) is a similar expression with the meaning "God Willing".

Romanian

In Romanian, Să dea Dumnezeu! or Să dea Domnul! means the same.

References

^ Clift, Rebecca; Helani, Fadi (June 2010). "Insha'allah: Religious invocations in Arabic topic transition". Language in Society. 39 (3): 357–382. doi:10.1017/S0047404510000199. S2CID 146788629.
^ ^{[Quran 37:102]}
^ ^{[Quran 18:23-24]}
^ Abdur Rashid Siddiqui (10 December 2015). Qur'anic Keywords: A Reference Guide. Kube Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9780860376767.
^ ^a ^b 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.
^ Anthony Shadid (11 January 2010). "Allah – The Word". The New York Times.
^ 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'.
^ Dicionário Estraviz (2021). "oxalá". e-Estraviz. Dicionário Estraviz. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
^ 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}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie; Borg, Albert (15 April 2013). Maltese. Routledge. ISBN 9781136855283.

External links

[1] Clift, Rebecca; Helani, Fadi (June 2010). "Insha'allah: Religious invocations in Arabic topic transition". Language in Society. 39 (3): 357–382. doi:10.1017/S0047404510000199. S2CID 146788629.

[2] {[Quran 37:102]}

[3] {[Quran 18:23-24]}

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

[ODI-5] 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.

[6] Anthony Shadid (11 January 2010). "Allah – The Word". The New York Times.

[7] 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'.

[8] Dicionário Estraviz (2021). "oxalá". e-Estraviz. Dicionário Estraviz. Retrieved 2 October 2021.

[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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[10] Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie; Borg, Albert (15 April 2013). Maltese. Routledge. ISBN 9781136855283.

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