“Can I have ice cream?”, a young child asks. “Inshallah”, replies the mum.

“I got a 90 on my test!” exclaims Habiba. “Mashallah,” replies her friend. 

InshaAllah and MashaAllah. These are amongst the most used words in the Muslim world. But do we know what they really mean and what their purpose is? Read the below excerpt to find out:

“If one ascribes every favour to the beneficence of the Merciful Lord, it is not then possible to bow in submission before outward material causes, or rely on those who appear to possess means, nor to submit oneself even to personal whims, desire or caprice.

The phrase ‘Except if Allah wills’ [ان شاء الله] or ‘whatsoever Allah may will’ [ما شاء الله], might appear to be commonplace traditional idioms often repeated mechanically by force of habit in Islam, but these spoken confessions are very significant and meaningful disciplined expressions of submission to God’s right guidance. They cut at the very root of ignorant faith in one’s own capacity or material resources, every time they are spoken…

‘Except if God wills’ is therefore not an empty customary phrase repeated in daily conversation for fixing up a date or the making of paltry promises. It is really a repetitive drill casting its shadow on the collective life of the entire community! Thereby, it inculcates the habit to pin one’s faith in the ultimate and all embracing will of God, despite any and all strenuous effort one might make to achieve the objective…

Indeed, this is the guiding spirit of the Muslim society, as it draws inspiration from the unflinching conviction in God’s Dominion, and the realities beyond the ken of human perception. It also constitutes the line of demarcation between a ‘way of life’ based on true faith and prophetic guidance, and the ‘other way’ that arises from an outlook characterised as ‘worldly’.”

Excerpt from the book Faith vs Materialism: The Message of Surah al-Kahf by Sayed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi

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