I am sure all of you heard the word “In sha Allah” before, especially if you’ve been to an Arabic country. Nothing strange so far!
This word means “God willing“, and it’s maybe the most common reply I get every day on Cairo’s streets. For example, it makes completely sense for me if I ask “How’s the weather going to be tomorrow?” and I get a “Sunny, In sha Allah” as an answer. Fair enough.
But I came across some very unusual way to use this expression. And I was a little bit like… what the heck? (I’ll try to explain better with the use of Giulia-emoticons! :D )
- A friend of mine went to the Mogamma (a government building in Cairo) to get a visa. She paid the stamps and after a while asked “Will I get my change?” “In sha Allah”. WTH?
- After work I needed a taxi to reach the metro station. I stopped a black cab (without meter, so you need to haggle) and told him “5 pounds, ok?” “In sha Allah”. I got on the taxi and hoped for the best. In the end I paid 5, as “agreed”!
- Today I was looking for a building in Downtown. I found the place but not the entrance, so I asked a man “Is this building n°22?” “In sha Allah”. Man, I could possibly understand the first 2 but… not this one!!! (Anyway yes, it turned out to be n°22).
So in the end it looks like it means “yes”… but with just a little bit of suspence!
8 Comments
Funny Stuff. I like the way you spell suspence too instead os suspense. I think suspnese should have a C in it. I will start using this new spelling, Inshallah :)
ooops, wrong spelling then! I’ll improve my English… inshallah :)
ja ja LOVE it. How do you pronounce it? I wanna start using that here at home in response to everything…
You pronounce it as you read it!
Just look for “inshAllah” on Youtube and you’ll probably get some songs or stuff to listen to the pronunciation.
Now I will really expect you to answer “InshAllah” on your tweets sometimes :p
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Yousra Ramadan and Giulia, Giulia. Giulia said: Just for fun: Weird uses of the word "Inshallah". Don't miss the Giulia-emoticons! =) http://fb.me/MHDPBcwW […]
oh girl. How funny!!! :) it reminds me of Indian’s head waving. Not yes, not no…… :) Love it. This is a kind of thing you can only learn ‘there’ right? :)
Juno, I’m not sure if this word is used only in Arabic countries or in all the Muslim countries in the world – I was trying to figure out but didn’t get any satisfactory answer for now!
Anyway it’s really unique and I love its sound :)
hhaa interesting post. It’s almost like the Italian food post you had earlier. Different meaning in different way. I would be a bit confused too.