InsyaAllah

One day, i encountered something interesting in my international management class, 

We talked about culture in countries and how to deal with them. Differences can be a good thing and also can be a tough stuff to deal with.

We did compare and contrast between a society and the other. Of all, one thing really caught my attention and that is what i wanted to share right here. InsyaAllah.

Yes, insyaAllah, that is it. That is the thing i wanted to talk about. To those who are unfamiliar with that phase, it can be translated  as ' if God will' or 'God willing'.

Since i live here, i noticed one thing. Most american hate that phase. I might be wrong but based on my observation, i can tell how much they hate uncertainty. I grew up as a Muslim and in south east asia, i could say that what we meant by insyaAllah is actually different with what they thought.

In class, they question the ability to plan in that 'insyaAllah' society. They thought, when we leave everything to God, we don't need to plan. They said, why do they need to plan for something when things are all surrendered to destiny to happen or not. 

I say, according to their definition of god willing, that might be true. But to me and my society, the definition is the other way around. It is not giving up. When we say insyaAllah, It is a way to recognize that every thing cannot happen without His permission. 

In planning, we do plan ahead, the difference is just that we will say insyaAllah or if God will, simply because we believe anything can happen out of our control.

The main reason for Muslims to say insha’Allah is to recognise that an event in the future will happen only if God wills it. So when I say  “I’ll go to the dentist this morning before work, insha’Allah,” I am acknowledging that what I intend to do cannot be fully guaranteed. I concede to the presence of God in my daily life, and His ultimate control over the coordination and course of the minute and substantial happenings of my life.