Difference B/w Insha Allah & In Sha Allah

[AbuAhmad]

Written by: Abu al-Fadl Muhammad Nau'man Shiraz al-Qadiri al-'Iraqi
Friday, 21st of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1432H [Friday, November 18th, 2011]
Translated into English by: Najibullah Qadiri

THE CORRECT WAY OF WRITING IN SHA' ALLAH


QUERY: What do the noble scholars state with regards to the following
issue? Is writing in sha' Allah (ان شاء الله) on the pattern of insha'
Allah (انشاء الله) correct? Does the meaning change due to the
difference of writing in these two patterns? Kindly explain the matter
and gain reward. ʿAbdullah Qadiri, Karachi.

REPLY: The phrase in sha' Allah is based upon three words and all the
three words have their own individual positions in the science of nahw
[syntax].

1. In is shartiyah [conditional].
2. Sha' is fi'l madhi m'aruf [active past tense verb]
3. Allah is ismu jalalah [the Exalted Name] and the doer of the action
sha', according to grammatical analysis.

These three words are written separately. The conditional word in was
not written jointly along with the verb, anywhere in the Arab or Ajam.
They have been written separately in the Qur'an, hadith and Arabic
literature contained in the books of the past fourteen centuries. But
nowadays, the error of writing the conditional in jointly with the
verb sha' has become widespread in the Arab and non-Arab lands. This
error, contained in certain Arabic websites and careless writing ways,
is spreading rapidly in non-Arab lands, especially India and Pakistan.
The correct way of writing it is in sha' Allah (ان شاء الله) only.
Writing it as insha' Allah (انشاء الله) is absolutely incorrect. It is
necessary for every Muslim to abstain from writing in this manner
because the meaning that occurs due to this way of writing is kufr
[infidelity].

Qur'anic Verses:


1. وَإِنَّا إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه لَمُہْتَدُونَ – al-Baqarah, 70
>2.  وَقَالَ ادْخُلُوا مِصْرَ إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه آَمِنِینَ –Yusuf, 99
>3. قَالَ سَتَجِدُنِی إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه صَابِرًا وَلَا أَعْصِی لَکَ أَمْرًا – al-Kahf, 69
>4. سَتَجِدُنِی إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه مِنَ الصَّالِحِینَ – al-QaSaS, 27
>5. سَتَجِدُنِی إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه مِنَ الصَّابِرِینَ – al-Safat, 102
>6. لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه آَمِنِینَ – al-Fath, 27
>
It is evident from the above-mentioned Qur'anic verses that the
conditional in has been written separately from the past tense verb
sha'.

The way in which in sha' Allah has been written in the Prophetic narrations:


1. فَقَالَ لَه رَسُولُ اللَّہِ صَلَّی اللَّه عَلَیْہِ وَسَلَّمَ
سَأَفْعَلُ إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه – Sahih Bukhari, #407
>2. لِکُلِّ نَبِیٍّ دَعْوَۃٌ یَدْعُوہَا فَأَنَا أُرِیدُ إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه أَنْ أَخْتَبِئَ دَعْوَتِی شَفَاعَۃً لِأُمَّتِی یَوْمَ الْقِیَامَۃِ – Sahih Muslim, #295
>3. إِنَّہَا لَرُؤْیَا حَقٌّ إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه – Sunan Abi Dawud, #421
>4. أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّہِ صَلَّی اللَّه عَلَیْہِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَی یَمِینٍ فَقَالَ إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه فَلَا حِنْثَ عَلَیْہِ – Tirmidhi, #1451
>5. أنَّ رسُولَ اللَّہِ صَلَّی اللَّه عَلَیْہِ وَسَلَّمَ خَرَجَ إِلَی الْمَقْبُرَۃِ فَقَالَ السَّلَامُ عَلَیْکُمْ دَارَ قَوْمٍ مُؤْمِنِینَ وَإِنَّا إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه بِکُمْ لَاحِقُونَ – Sunan Nasa'i, #150
>6. اجْتَمَعَ عِیدَانِ فِی یَوْمِکُمْ ہَذَا فَمَنْ شَاء َ أَجْزَأَه مِنْ الْجُمُعَۃِ وَإِنَّا مُجَمِّعُونَ إِنْ شَاء َ اللَّه –Sunan Ibn Majah, #1301
>


Clarification of the meaning of insha' Allah (انشاء الله):

When in is written jointly with sha', it becomes insha' which is a
root word in the category of actions and its meaning is 'to create',
'to invent'. Its past and present continuous tense forms are insha'
(انشأ and yunshi' ینشیٔ) respectively. Its meaning is 'to create or
invent something, the like of which never existed before'. Allah
states:


1. وَهوَ الَّذِی أَنْشَأَ لَکُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ
وَالْأَفْئِدَۃَ قَلِیلًا مَا تَشْکُرُونَ – al-Mu'minun, 78
>2. قُلْ سِیرُوا فِی الْأَرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا کَیْفَ بَدَأَ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ اللَّه یُنْشِئُ النَّشْأَۃَ الْآَخِرَۃَ إِنَّ اللَّہَ عَلَی کُلِّ شَیْء ٍ قَدِیرٌ – al-Ankabut, 20
>3. إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهنَّ إِنْشَاء ً – al-Waqi'ah, 35
>
In the above-mentioned verses, insha' is the masdar [root word]
belonging to the category of actions. Insha' is active past tense and
yunshi' is present continuous tense form, the meaning of which is 'to
create'. Now consider the third verse. The root word insha' is present
in it. The forms of the root word insha' and the one written in insha'
Allah are one and the same. When the conditional in is written jointly
with the verb sha', its meaning will contain kufr.

انشاء الله ای كاننا نقول اننا اوجدنا الله... العیاذ بالله
Meaning, 'we created Allah' or 'we invented Allah'. We seek refuge in
Allah from this (meaning)!

The meaning of in sha' is 'the Divine Will', whereas, insha' means 'to
create' or 'to invent'. Writing in jointly with sha' gives such
extremely abominable meanings. Thus, it is necessary for all the
Muslims to abstain from this way of writing. Wherever they see this
written, they should rectify it immediately. It is our fair perception
that not even the thought of the vile meanings ever crosses any
Muslim's mind. But, while writing, in sha' should be written instead
of insha', i.e., the way in which it is written in the Qur'an and
hadith texts, so that every trace of thenefarious meaning is
eliminated. We do not want to begin a nahwi [syntaxial] explanation
here, otherwise the discussion will become lengthy. A new discussion
can be started to explain the relationship between the root word
insha' as mudaf [possessed] and the Lofty Name (Allah) as mudaf ilayh
[possessor], but there is no scope for it here (to keep the discussion
simple). Our aim is to
explain to the common people. We request the scholars and students of
knowledge that they make the laymen aware of this matter.



Insha' as mudaf [possessed] and the Lofty Name (Allah) as mudaf ilayh
[possessor]:

It is mentioned in Tafsir Tabari:

إن عجبتم من إنشاء الله إیاكم

In another place:

إنّ فی إنشاء الله السحاب

In these two statements, the word insha' is present and the meaning of
the word in both these statements is, 'to create'. In the above
statements, the root word insha' is the mudaf [possessed], and the
doer, i.e., Lofty Name (Allah) is the mudaf ilayh [possessor]. The
meanings are, “Allah's creation of you” and “Allah's creation of the
clouds”. The purpose of mentioning this is, even if insha' is
considered as mudaf [possessed], the purpose of saying in sha' Allah
will be nullified. Because, when we say in sha' Allah,we hand over the
results of our deeds to the Divine Will of Allah and seek help from
Him. But, when we write insha' Allah in the form of mudaf and mudaf
ilayh, the meaning becomes “creation by Allah”, which is not our
intended meaning. Whenever we make an intention for a good deed, we
say in sha' Allah – this is from the Islamic etiquettes and a sunnah
(tradition of the Prophet – may Allah bless and greet him). We hand
over
our intention to the Divine Will of Allah. Here, our purpose is not
to mention Allah as the Creator and the Originator.

Mufti Sayyid Shuja'at Ali Qadiri [may Allah have mercy upon him] has
authored a book by the name 'Insha-ul-Arabiyyah'. The meaning of the
title is, 'building eloquence in the Arabic language'. If we write
this word insha' (used here) with the Lofty Name (Allah), it will not
fulfill our purpose. The meaning will drift from 'the Divine Will'
(the intended meaning) to 'create' and 'invent'.



It is mentioned in Qasidatul Burdah,

الحمد لله المنشی الخلق من عدم

In this verse, the word al-munshi indicates the name of the doer, the
meaning of which is 'to create'. The translation of the verse is:

All praises are due to Allah, who brought forth the creation from nonexistence.

munshi means 'creator', 'the One who brings forth from nonexistence'.
The difference between writing nasha' and insha' is similar to that
between writing in sha' Allah and insha' Allah. After all the above
explanation, we presume that the Sunni masses have understood that the
correct way of writing is in sha' Allah and that has to be followed
from now on. Also bear in mind that one should abstain from words
which have aberrations in them, especially when it pertains to the
Divine Glory and the Prophetic Magnificence. Immense caution has to be
exercised therein. Finally, I would advise that while sending messages
through SMS or email, one should always write in sha' Allah (ان شاء
الله). If it is being written in English, do not write insha Allah,
inshaallah or inshaALLAH. Instead, write in sha Allah, in shaa Allah
or in sha' Allah.