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Arabic expression meaning "if God wills" or "God willing" From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In sha' Allah[a][b], usually called the Istit̲h̲nāʾ,[1] is an Arabic-language expression meaning 'if God wills' or 'God willing'.[2] It is mentioned in the Quran[3] which requires its use when mentioning future events.[4][5] It signifies that nothing, neither action nor thought, happens without God's permission.[6]
In an Islamic context, it expresses the belief that nothing happens unless God wills it, and that his will supersedes all human will;[7] 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".[7][8]
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.[9]
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