Tuesday 20 March 2012

I’ll Remember, Insha’Allah

The other day I scheduled a long-overdue appointment for a dental cleaning. I had called a few days in advance and arranged for an early-morning slot so that I could arrive in the office before the workload got too heavy. Leaving my apartment about 35 minutes before the appointment, I imagined I left enough time to arrive on schedule.

That is, until I got into a small car accident less than 10 minutes later.

As I waited to turn right at an intersection not far from my apartment, the car behind me abruptly drove into the rear of my small hatchback, suddenly jolting me forward and setting back my initial plans.

I pulled over to the curb just beyond the intersection to assess the damage and the profusely apologetic young woman in the car behind me called the police so that we could file a traffic accident report. Once I knew officers were on the way, I called the dentist to reschedule the appointment for another day. My plans for the morning were swiftly unwritten and rather than visit the dentist, I took the police report to my insurance office to file a claim instead.

As the morning rush of traffic hurried passed, I thanked God quietly that the accident hadn’t been more serious. As I did so, I realised that not once the night before and earlier that morning had I said insha’Allah, the Arabic phrase meaning ‘God Willing’ or ‘If God so Wills’, when discussing my ill-fated plan to visit the dentist that morning.

The main reason for Muslims to say insha’Allah is to recognise that an event in the future will happen only if God wills it. So when I say  “I’ll go to the dentist this morning before work, insha’Allah,” I am acknowledging that what I intend to do cannot be fully guaranteed. I concede to the presence of God in my daily life, and His ultimate control over the coordination and course of the minute and substantial happenings of my life.

It is quite easy to forget to say insha’Allah in our everyday lives, partly because the phrase has strayed so far from its intended meaning in popular usage. Insha’Allah has in many cases become a slang way of avoiding commitment to anything. Especially when a person is too cowardly to say ‘no’, s/he will instead say insha’Allah in order to brush aside the reality: that they do not intend to do a thing, but can’t be bothered to be upfront about it.


In many modern contexts, Muslims and non-Muslims frown upon the use of insha’Allah because it carries with it the meaning that what someone is promising or intending is not reliable, always leaving the door open for escape.

This is quite paradoxical for me because growing up, I was taught that when I say insha’Allah, I am obligated before God to follow through with my word, save for some unforeseen circumstance beyond my control. By saying the phrase, I am giving my word that I will do what I say, unless God makes the event impossible to fulfil due to some unexpected event, such as the accident I was in the other morning.

Two meanings for this phrase, poles apart in their implications, have thus transpired. One very beautifully encapsulates Islam, a state of mind where a person lives in submission to God and respects the time and commitments s/he makes. The other, void of consciousness of God, gives a person a false sense of absolute control over their lives. It is easy to overlook how fragile the progress of our lives actually is. As an ocean has an unstoppable current guiding the movement of things beyond our daily comprehension, it would be egotistical to think that one single person has control over a force that guides the flow of their lives.  

Facing the latter meaning in my daily life has led me to, in many cases, refrain from saying insha’Allah, even though I use it with the former intention. Having my schedule shaken up from time to time is always a good reminder of the importance of remembering to say the phrase, regardless.

In the banality of our daily routines, we often get the sense that we have control over the events of our days; that we can do and have anything we want. But the reality is we can never know what the future holds for us. All of our plans, ambitions and goals, indeed every step we take, are at God’s will.

“Never say of anything, ‘I shall certainly do this tomorrow,’ without adding, ‘if God so wills.’ Remember your Lord whenever you forget and say, ‘I trust my Lord will guide me to that which is even nearer to the right path than this.’”
(Quran, 18:23-4)







9 comments:

  1. Ma Shaa Allah. You have a very interesting way of expressing and explaining some aspects of the western-eastern cultural interface. You are approach is clear, unique and enjoyable. It reminds me of the writing of the Egyptian writer Mostafa Lutfy El-Manfalouty. I used to read a lot of his work when I was young. I particularly liked his unbelievable translation work which made an interesting link between Egypt and Europe. There was also an agreement among many in describing his work as an easy style to read and understand, but almost impossible to mimic. I think yours can be placed in that category. Many thanks for this excellent art and bridge between cultures. Best wishes
    Note (I did not know about that until recently): It is interesting to know that he did not know English or French. Actually someone did the translation in a ‘rough’ way for him. Then he wrote it into marvelous work of literature.

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  2. Thank you very much for pointing out this writer to me, I will look up some of his work! Very flattered:) I hope one day to be able to write more, longer stories, insha'Allah. Greatly appreciate your input and thanks for visiting my blog! Salam, Daliah

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  3. Wonderful Article! Keep it up! I also heard that the correct way to write it in english is 'In Sha Allah'. If Allah Wills (Three words).

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  4. I am overwhelmed to go through this piece of yours. I will Insha Allah follow all your posts. Allah Bless you

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    1. Thank you so much, I just read this message. Sorry for the long delay and bless you for connecting here. I do still write blogs, but my new page is https://daliahm.wordpress.com/

      and

      https://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingtradition/author/dmerzaban/

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  5. Wonderful article. I would like to ask if I can translate it into Finnish language and use it on my dawah website?

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    1. Hi there, thank you for reading! Of course, please go ahead and translate. I don't update this blog page anymore -- you can follow my blogs on https://daliahm.wordpress.com/ and https://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingtradition/author/dmerzaban/ .. bless you <3

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