Islamic etiquette - 03 - Maa sha'Allah

Assalaamu alaikum [peace be to you],

Continuing our series of Islamic etiquette, today we see the expression 'Maa Sha'Allaah'.

ما شاء الله (Maa Sha'Allaah) is a phrase that we as Muslims use to express our appreciation, joy or praise for any event, or for a person, or just towards any wonderful thing that amaze us. So it is generally said upon hearing good news and/or seeing a wonderful thing.

It’s basically as if we’re saying "Wow!", "Great!" or "Cool!" But for Muslim it is always better to follow the teachings of the prophet of the God and his path by saying "Maa sha'Allaah (or Subhaanallaah -Glory be to the God-) when you feel mesmerized with something, as it serves as a reminder that all beauty or any accomplishments are achieved by the will of the God. This will somehow instil the essential Islamic doctrine of belief in destiny (Qadar).

That‘s why the literal English translation is "Allah has willed it (to happen)". Therefore it has the meaning of reflecting on the beauty of it and giving its credit to Allah as The Creator and The Controller of everything. This phrase is also used frequently by non-Muslims in the Arab World.


EXAMPLES:
To make it more clear, these are some examples of usage :
- If a child got excellent results in his exam, his mother would say “Ma sha'Allah! My son is so brilliant!”.
- When you see your friend wearing a gorgeous outfit, you say "Ma sha'Allah! Look at you! You are so pretty in this dress!"
- When you encounter a mom carrying her beautiful and adorable baby, you say “Your baby is so lovely, “Ma sha'Allah! ”
- Seeing an amazing view from the top of a mountain you say "Ma sha'Allah! Subhanallah! How beautiful is Allah’s creation! The scenery from here is awesome!"
- When visiting someone’s house, and you find it big and beautiful, you say “Ma sha'Allah! Your house is so cool!”
- When you see a person’s drawing is spectacular, you say “Ma sha'Allah!, this is magnificent! You are so talented!”
- When your brother call you to tell that his wife has delivered their baby, you would say “Ma sha'Allah! You’re now a father! ”


Note that this expression is always used for positive occasions.
Some people spell it "Mashallah". or "Masha Allah". but it is more corect to spell it "Ma sha Allah" or "Ma sha'Allah" because the original Arabic expression ما شاء الله is three words and not one or two.

In order to repel jealously and envy and always remind the Muslim of his God, Islam teaches that when a Muslim sees something good with his Muslim brother, he should say "Maa Sha'Allah" and add اللهم بارك عليه -Allaahumma Baarek Alayhi- which is translated as "Oh Allah, bless him" it's like a short prayer that the Muslim makes for his brother. keeping this habit helps prevent envy and its evil consequences.

I hope this was beneficial.


IN THE DRAWING:
The Arabic sentence "Maa Sha'Allah' is written in Diwani script.

More from this series:



If I am right, it is from the God. if I am wrong, it is from myself.