Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is it offensive to say inshallah?

396 replies

Loulou599 · 08/10/2023 12:35

I think it's a really beautiful sound and is more wistful than saying touch wood or god willing, but would it be offensive (if you're not muslim)?

OP posts:
MamaToABeautifulBoy · 08/10/2023 14:11

Canisaysomething · 08/10/2023 13:11

There’s something very Allan Partridge about using a foreign word totally out of context just because you like the sound of it.

Alan Partridge? Cannot recall any scene where AP uses a foreign word out of context.

More Del Boy than Partridge.

theduchessofspork · 08/10/2023 14:10

It’s an Arabic phrase, not a Muslim one

It literally means God Willing, but is used very generally in conversation to mean with any luck / hopefully and is also used as a placater when something isn’t likely to happen in the timeframe the other person wants it to

I can’t see any issues with using it - we borrow a lot of phrases from different languages and you hear English phrases used in non-English speaking countries all the time

It’s fine

Flingafling · 08/10/2023 14:09

What a conveniently timed and topical subject for a thread OP 🙄

catlovingdoctor · 08/10/2023 14:08

I say it a fair bit to my Muslim friends and they find it amusing; even a bit endearing!

Iinventedmckenzie · 08/10/2023 14:08

Potofteaplease · 08/10/2023 14:05

But Bon Appetit is a far nicer way to start a meal with friends, than the rather American “enjoy”

Show quote history

To you that may be true. Doesn't make it true for me

Emotionalsupportviper · 08/10/2023 14:07

Of course it is offensive.

Even you politely asking is offensive.

Everything is offensive these days.

Including this post, I imagine.

BlueYonder57 · 08/10/2023 14:07

LargeMeateor · 08/10/2023 12:39

It definitely would be odd as it is a religious saying.
It is a beautiful word but surely the meaning would be lost anyway as you aren't a Muslim, I don't believe it should be said because it sounds nice.

As for offensive I'm not sure as I'm not a Muslim so couldn't assume how someone might perceive it.

It is no more a "religious saying" than "God willing" (which is what it means in Arabic) or "Bless you" or any of the other phrases routinely used in English by people who may or may not have faith. I can't see any of those things being offensive. I know plenty of people of Asian heritage who say it but wouldn't be practicing Muslims.

NarrowGate · 08/10/2023 14:06

Are you a West Londoner? Everyone here, whether Muslim or otherwise, seems to have adopted ‘Inshallah’ in lieu of ‘God willing’, because the latter term doesn’t quite convey the same sense of reflection, resignation, and humility in the face of the great unknown. We have all sorts of linguistic borrowing in English, and if they don’t offend native speakers and are more precise, why shouldn’t they be used?

Potofteaplease · 08/10/2023 14:05

Iinventedmckenzie · 08/10/2023 13:33

I find it really cringey when people who don't really speak French or know the language use random French words like "bon app" 🤢. It's a bit 80s jelly Cooper novel.

(I'm a French speaker and did live in France so don't dislike the language before anyone thinks that. It's purely the oh-so-playful soixante neufs and the like which make me cringe. I'm aware this is probably a me problem)

But Bon Appetit is a far nicer way to start a meal with friends, than the rather American “enjoy”

Valerianandfoxglovesoup · 08/10/2023 13:59

In the middle east everyone uses it as a caveat to the fact they probably won't bother doing what they promised.

WhatapityWapiti · 08/10/2023 13:58

Canisaysomething · 08/10/2023 13:11

There’s something very Allan Partridge about using a foreign word totally out of context just because you like the sound of it.

Mange tout Rodney!

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 08/10/2023 13:58

Don't go around just dropping random words from other languages into your everyday conversation if you don't actually speak the language. It's weird.

The English language is chock full of foreign words and new words are added to the Oxford English dictionary all the time. Languages are not static.

Gwenhwyfar · 08/10/2023 13:58

"As someone else said, is she using other languages?"

Of course she does. We all use expressions from other languages. That's how languages work, which you must know as a language teacher.

Purplefriends · 08/10/2023 13:57

Pollyputhekettleon · 08/10/2023 13:41

Ah, I had a feeling you were being disingenuous alright!

Show quote history

I agree that was a disingenuous answer.

Iinventedmckenzie · 08/10/2023 13:57

I lived in Paris for a bit and definitely heard things like "oh my god". That didn't bother me, but I'm not native French, so you might be on to something about it being someone whose first language is the same as your own doing it!

It isn't a major problem or anything. I don't get angry if I hear it.

I worked in restaurants for a long time and never said it (in the UK anyway). I think I said "enjoy" or "enjoy your meal".

caringcarer · 08/10/2023 13:56

My Foster son belongs to a cricket club that has a lot of Muslim players. They have a WhatsApp group which I am on too as I often give a lift to a few players. I see this phrase come up a lot and I've seen my Foster son puts it too sometimes and no one seems offended.

RiderofRohan · 08/10/2023 13:56

I was raised Muslim and don't find it offensive. It's a phrase of hope (and also sometimes tongue in cheek. Like mum asks dad to do something he doesn't fancy doing and he says insha'Allah. Meaning if God doesn't will it, it probably won't happen).

I would actually love it to become more mainstream as it really gets the sentiment across.

Cherrysoup · 08/10/2023 13:56

Gwenhwyfar · 08/10/2023 13:38

There may have been a time when kosher was less mainstream?
It's not odd to use inshallah imo so it probably depends where you live.

Show quote history

Or your culture. I'd find it a bit odd if someone I knew who wasn't Arabic speaking suddenly started using it. As someone else said, is she using other languages? As language teachers, my department all swap between the languages we speak as natives/in our teaching when speaking to each other but I wouldn't use a language we don't teach/speak, although I use the occasional word to students I know speak a different language at home eg thanks, hi etc.

quantumbutterfly · 08/10/2023 13:53

bon chance

tenterden · 08/10/2023 13:53

Viviennemary · 08/10/2023 13:50

Bit pointless unless it's to folk who know what it means.

I’m not sure I know many people who don’t know what it means, but yes, I wouldn’t use it in that case.

Same as I wouldn’t use certain Latin phrases when talking to certain people.

We all adjust our vocabulary according to who we’re speaking to (a young child, a priest, our boss, our best mate)

Original poster
Loulou599 · 08/10/2023 13:52

@Iinventedmckenzie
I'm French and I don't find it weird in the slightest, I've lived in the UK a long time and it makes sense: enjoy your food is so basic and almost animal like. Bon appétit is somehow more beautiful, and that's how I feel about inshallah too.
BTW in France a lot of people say things like let's go or on y go, or "oh my god" and I do get the cringe in reverse, so maybe its a "one of your own doing it" thing. Recently in Paris I heard a young bobo woman talking about "mon baby" which is just.....shudders

OP posts:
merryhouse · 08/10/2023 13:52

"bon appetit", surely?

Iinventedmckenzie · 08/10/2023 13:52

🤷‍♀️ @Gwenhwyfar sorry to hear you think that, but I'll live! Bon voyage 👋

quantumbutterfly · 08/10/2023 13:50

OldLadyChinaCup · 08/10/2023 12:49

Plus, the 3 Abrahamic faiths all believe in the same god anyway.

true.

Gwenhwyfar · 08/10/2023 13:50

"I wouldn't throw a fit and say it was unacceptable if someone said it to me though. I'd maybe think it a bit strange though, but that's life."

So you wouldn't accept that bon voyage is an accepted expression in English?
Are you some kind of English purist? I don't think your attitude is normal.