Being in the Middle East, you hear it all the time: Inshallah this, Inshallah that. We look into the catchphrases of the Arab world and examine what they really mean.
Inshallah
You must have heard it once in your life if not multiple times daily. Inshallah literally means 'If Allah wills it', or generalized to 'God-willing', but really it is a term of fatalism, which you can't really express in English, and it will be used to express an event in the future. This means that you could hear it peppered throughout conversations on a daily basis, since the future could mean in few minutes as well as tomorrow as well as next year. Let me give you an example: "I will see you tomorrow, Inshallah". Or "We will work together, Inshallah".
However, be aware, the term is not always used in this way, and in many instances when there is not a hope in hell of something happening, it is thrown in for good measure. "We will sign the contract tomorrow, Inshallah" or "Inshallah, you will get a pay rise", implying that Allah does not want it so you don't get it. It can even cover uncertainty - "Inshallah, the engineer will come tomorrow between 4 and 6". That means you do not know if he will come before 4, after 6, at the allocated time or even at all! And if there is a pause between the end of the sentence and the Inshallah, it means either that the person is not so sure any more or really can't be bothered. Bukhra means tomorrow - combine it with Inshallah, and you have "Inshallah, Bukhra" the severe form of Spanish termed 'manana effect'. It ain't gonna happen. Also beware of "Maafi Mushkil," literally "No problem". The problem is that it is a problem.
The whole awareness of God (Allah) is exhibited in many Arabic expressions. Al Hamdulillah is the common response to "How are you?" - "Al Hamdulillah", praise be to Allah, is used even where Arabic is not the local language. And when someone says "Mashallah", literally "What God wills" or equivalent to "Praise the Lord!", it is often heard as an expression of delight. For example, it might be appropriate to use if your boss had said that you were to get a pay rise "Next year, Inshallah", and you finally did receive it but after five.
The non-Muslims in this part of the world have caught on, and you will often hear it from them, when resigned to the inevitable. Inshallah will be followed by the smile - all tongue in cheek, and in good spirits. Unfortunately, in the current climate, any reference to Inshallah will probably alert the CIA, US Government sniffers and the like to websites due to its association of what terrorists have planned. For the record, that is not us. Shisha types are the equivalent of hippies. We spread love and happiness and all that. Finally, the litmus confirmation that someone is a newbie to the Middle East is if they ask you where Shallah is - you know that they have a lot of learning to do.