The "insha'Allah" conundrum
INsights 054, Friday 30th August 2024
The "insha'Allah" conundrum
INsights 054, Friday 30th August 2024
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Imagine you’re exchanging messages on WhatsApp with a good friend, a fellow believer, and you finish by arranging to meet them in person for dinner the following week.
You end the chat by saying:
"See you next Thursday at 7:30pm, insha’Allah."
Later that day, you call the restaurant where you’re planning to meet your friend, in order to make a booking. Susan, who’s dealing with bookings that day, confirms that the slot is available.
You thank her and you end the chat by saying:
"Great, see you then!"
The question is as follows: why did you say insha’Allah to your friend but fail to mention anything similar to Susan?
Typical response 1: “My friend is a Muslim but Susan isn’t!”
You don’t say insha’Allah to prove your identity to other believers.
The reason you say insha’Allah is to express your humble recognition of a very simple fact: unless your Lord wants something to happen, it will never happen. That’s it.
We aren’t instructed anywhere in revelation or prophetic advice to limit the usage of this phrase amongst ourselves, simply because it wouldn’t make any sense to do so.
It’s obviously not the case that God’s will is only critical to future events when we talk about them with those who share our faith.
He is the Lord of all people, the Governor of all affairs, the Determiner of all events.
So whether you’re telling your friend that you’ll see them next week or whether you tell the lady at the restaurant that you’ll be there next week, it makes no difference.
If you know in your heart that your plan relies on being divinely enabled, then let it be said to your friend, let it be said to Susan, let it be said to the world.
Typical response 2: “But if I said insha’Allah, Susan wouldn’t understand.”
That’s right, and of course there’s no need whatsoever to say it in Arabic.
It’s the substance of the phrase that matters.
Words are vehicles of meaning.
So say whatever you want that best transports the feeling of depending on God’s decree that you have in your heart, to the heart of the one with whom you are talking.
Neither insisting on using the Arabic with non-Arabic speakers nor avoiding any mention of the concept altogether can possibly be reasonable.
The exact phrase "insha’Allah" appears six times in revelation.
Five of these occurrences are contained in the words of previous people and prophets, peace be upon them, who didn’t speak Arabic.
So they didn’t actually say insha’Allah but they said words that could be translated as insha’Allah when rendered in Arabic.
Some people from the Children of Israel used the phrase, possibly sarcastically, when talking to Moses about sacrificing a cow (2:70).
Joseph used it when welcoming his family into Egypt (12:90).
Moses said it to Khidr when he promised him that he would be a patient companion (18:69). He also heard it from his future father-in-law when he was being offered to marry one of his daughters and work for him (28:27).
Ishmael said it to his father Abraham to express his commitment to patience once he agreed to be laid down for the sacrifice (37:102).
The sixth reference is when Muhammad himself, peace and blessings be upon him, heard it in a vision that came to him from God about entering Makkah for the purposes of minor pilgrimage (48:27).
So back to Susan.
Once she confirmed the booking, what would have been wrong with saying:
"Great, see you then, God willing!"
You would have given open expression to the feeling of dependence on your Lord.
Furthermore, saying it might have just sparked some curiosity or furthered a process in Susan to help her find and get closer to God too.
Regardless of the outcome, mentioning God to anyone at any time can never be a bad strategy.
In fact, it should be perfectly natural to us.
Typical response 3: “But it just feels weird to say it to Susan.”
Yes, it may well feel strange the first few times we start referring to the divine in our day-to-day interactions with those who may not believe like we do.
But if it does feel strange, the reason is simply because many of us have become far too accustomed to a very insular faith culture.
We feel comfortable referring to Allah amongst ourselves but He seems to disappear from our dialogue completely when we speak to colleagues, neighbours or others who either don’t recognise Him or approach Him differently.
When talking about future intentions or plans with them, it’s possible that we don’t even feel the need for God’s determination in quite the same way, which could unfortunately represent a minor form of hypocrisy.
Or, even if we do, we might just replace the habit of saying insha'Allah with a “hopefully” or a “maybe”, because they feel like safer words to use in the situation.
God-free references may well seem more convenient to us in increasingly secular societies.
But there’s absolutely no need, nor indeed any benefit, for us to display such double standards.
Why this matters at all
You can’t be an ambassador for God if you’re too shy even to refer to Him in a way people you interact with can understand.
Let us raise His mention at every opportunity.
That’s what true believers do when they are always connected to Him and remember their role in working towards a vision of society that stands on a foundation of faith.
We keep weaving His name into every aspect of the fabric of our personal and social lives until everyone around us becomes clothed in His remembrance.
So do your part and we’ll get there one day… God willing.
Until next time.
Peace.
Iqbal
~~~
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