Shortened Question:
What is the need for saying Inshallah?
Question:
Please explain the importance and the necessity of saying Inshallah.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Inshallah literally means if Allah Wills. Whatever we do depends upon the will of Allah Ta’ala. If Allah wills anything to happen, then it will happen. If Allah does not will it to happen then it cannot and will not happen.
As human beings we are weak in everything; in our strength, in our knowledge, in our understanding etc. Consequently, we make erroneous decisions. We make decisions based on what we would like the outcome to be, but due to our incompetence we fail to see what the consequences will be if we should achieve our goal.
We plan for the future without really knowing what lies ahead of us and whether our plans will be fulfilled. On the other hand Allah sees and knows everything.[1]
Allah says {إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ} [لقمان: 34] Verily with Allah lies the knowledge of the hour (the Day of Qiyamah). And He sends down the rain and He knows what is in the wombs. And no one knows what he will earn tomorrow and no one knows in which land he will die. Surely, Allah is All Knowing, All Aware. [2]
As human beings we have a lot of aspirations and we engage in long term planning. At times our plans outlive our life span. We want to achieve much more than is attainable in the short space of time that Allah gives us to live.
It is narrated from Abdullah in Mishkhat Al-Masabih:
Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi wa Salam drew a four sided diagram and drew a line from the centre out from it with many small lines across the middle line and he said this is man and this is his life span which encompasses him with many challenges in life.[3]
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In the diagram the protruding line beyond our life box represents our aspirations. They are more than our life span.
Whenever we make a commitment to do something in the future, we should focus on our limitations and sayانشاء اللهInshallah (If Allah Wills). Inshallah is an expression of our weaknesses and submission to the absolute power of Allah.
When a person says Inshallah he is re-affirming his Shahadah, because intrinsic in this phrase is the acknowledgement that Allah Subhana wa Ta’ala is Qadir (All Power and All Might is for Allah; Allah is capable of doing all things; Allah does whatever pleases Him, amongst other things.)
If one firmly believes that the future lies in the power of Allah but does not verbally say Inshallah that is not sufficient. The verbal proclamation of Inshallah is equally important.
The disbelievers of Makkah asked Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi wa Salam 3 questions to test the authenticity of his prophethood. Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi wa Salam said I’ll give you the answer tomorrow, hoping that Jibrail Alaihi Salam will come with revelation. Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi wa Salam did not say Inshallah. Allah did not send revelation for the next fifteen days. Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi wa Salam was grieved and this gave the Mushriks of Makkah the opportunity to ridicule him. Then Allah revealed the verse وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَلِكَ غَدًا (23) إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ (And do not say about anything, “ I am going to do this tomorrow,” unless you say “if Allah wills”)[4] (Mariful Quran Vol. 5; Pg. 605)
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Saeed Ahmed Golaub
Islamic Solutions
Jamaica
[1]{وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ} [البقرة: 233]
[2]{ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ} [لقمان: 34]
[3]:5268 -[1] (صَحِيح)
عَن عبد الله قَالَ: خَطَّ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خَطًّا مُرَبَّعًا وَخَطَّ خَطًّا فِي الْوَسَطِ خَارِجًا مِنْهُ وَخَطَّ خُطُطًا صِغَارًا إِلَى هَذَا الَّذِي فِي الْوَسَطِ مِنْ جَانِبِهِ الَّذِي فِي الْوَسَطِ وفقال: «هَذَا الْإِنْسَانُ وَهَذَا أَجَلُهُ مُحِيطٌ بِهِ وَهَذَا الَّذِي هُوَ خَارِجُ أَمَلِهِ وَهَذِهِ الْخُطُوطُ الصِّغَارُ الْأَعْرَاضُ فَإِنْ أَخْطَأَهُ هَذَا نَهَسَهُ هَذَا وَإِنْ أخطأه هَذَا نهسه هَذَا» . رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيّ مشكاة المصابيح (3 / 1450)
[4]{ وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَلِكَ غَدًا (23) إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ وَقُلْ عَسَى أَنْ يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَذَا رَشَدًا} [الكهف: 23، 24]