The concept that everything runs based on the will of God was something very new to me when I came to the UAE. A very popular phrase here is "Insha'Allah- meaning, if Allah wills it. This on its own is not a bad thing. I think it's nice when people have strong faith. However, in UAE (and Gulf countries) Insha'Allah is used willy nilly as "maybe" or as "yeah...probably not..." Today I was in a meeting with my Principal and we asked her when parent-teacher meetings were going to be. They had already been cancelled once with no explanation. It would be important to know this information not only to prepare for it, but also for those who have children and need to arrange babysitting, or for those who just have other damn things to do from 4-6pm (like me!) So her answer was, "Next Wednesday, or Thursday....Insha'Allah" as she looked up to the ceiling of her office. Like......really? You can't just set a date, inform parents and teachers and run the night? I do understand that certain circumstances or "acts of God" if you want to call them that, could interfere with a plan, but for the most part it's usually worth it to plan it and then apologize if a meteor hits the school or something and it has to be cancelled.
I also ran into this issue when I was teaching my students verb tense grammar rules. You are able to identify one of the tenses by checking that an event will definitely happen or that there is a definite plan for the future, with evidence. When I told my students this rule and gave them some examples, they came back at me with one version or another of Insha'Allah. "But Miss how do you KNOW that the girl will meet with her friend tomorrow. Maybe she will die. Only God knows!" Besides being fairly morbid and also a depressing way to look at things, I just can't imagine living my life never making a plan because something might happen.
I feel that Insha'Allah is overly and incorrectly used in UAE (and Gulf) because a friend of mine who is also Muslim has stated that when she says Insha'Allah, she ACTUALLY means that the situation is God willing. She doesn't use it that often, yet people from the Gulf use it instead of 'Yes' or 'No' in daily conversation. Some things are left to God, or fate, or chance (whatever you feel depending on your views) and I accept that, but I also think that much of your life is controlled by choice and action. This concept seems entirely foreign here.
I also ran into this issue when I was teaching my students verb tense grammar rules. You are able to identify one of the tenses by checking that an event will definitely happen or that there is a definite plan for the future, with evidence. When I told my students this rule and gave them some examples, they came back at me with one version or another of Insha'Allah. "But Miss how do you KNOW that the girl will meet with her friend tomorrow. Maybe she will die. Only God knows!" Besides being fairly morbid and also a depressing way to look at things, I just can't imagine living my life never making a plan because something might happen.
I feel that Insha'Allah is overly and incorrectly used in UAE (and Gulf) because a friend of mine who is also Muslim has stated that when she says Insha'Allah, she ACTUALLY means that the situation is God willing. She doesn't use it that often, yet people from the Gulf use it instead of 'Yes' or 'No' in daily conversation. Some things are left to God, or fate, or chance (whatever you feel depending on your views) and I accept that, but I also think that much of your life is controlled by choice and action. This concept seems entirely foreign here.
