Inshallah (/ɪnˈʃɑːlə/;
Arabic: إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ,
romanized: ʾIn shāʾ AllāhArabic pronunciation:[ʔinʃaː.ʔa‿ɫ.ɫaːh]), also spelled In shaa Allah, In sha Allah, Insya Allah, and İn şa Allah, is an
Arabic-language expression meaning "if God wills" or "God willing".[1] Its use is encouraged in
James4:13–15 and mentioned in the
Quran[2] which required the use of it when speaking on future events.[3][4] In an Islamic context, it expresses the belief that nothing happens unless God wills it, and that his will supersedes all human will;[5] 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".[5][6]
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.[7]
Other languages
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[8] 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)[9] from the time of
Muslim presence and rule on the Iberian Peninsula. It means "we hope", "I hope", "we wish", "I wish". The expression tomara – which 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, but has become an archaism. The common equivalents in modern use are se Deus quiser and Deus queira; the aforementioned tomara is also commonly used.[10]
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").[12] 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
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).
^Uses of “Ojalá” in Spanish.
"Ojalá in Spanish". Adros Verse Education. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
^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'.
^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
^Γιαγκουλλής, Κωνσταντίνος (2002). Θησαυρός Κυπριακής Διαλέκτου Ερμηνευτικός και ετυμολογικός - Από το 13ο αι. μέχρι σήμερα-Κωνσταντίνος. Λευκωσία. p. 113.
ISBN9963-555-41-1.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)