Mā shā' Allāh: what God has willed

A new baby is passed round the room. 'Mashallah, look at those eyes.' A cousin gets her exam results. 'Mashallah.' A neighbour's garden is in full bloom. 'Mashallah, it's beautiful.'

It is how many Muslims say 'wow', with a twist: it gives the credit for the good thing to God. On 24 May 1844 Samuel Morse sent the first long-distance telegraph message in America. He chose a line from the Bible with the same idea: 'What hath God wrought'.

In scripture

How people use it

To praise a child, a home, a success, a recovery: 'Mashallah, you've grown.'

To admire without envy. Saying it reminds the speaker, and the hearer, that good things are gifts, not trophies.

On cars, shop signs and wedding cards, often written in Arabic calligraphy.

Across faiths and languages: in Turkish, Urdu, Persian, Bosnian and Swahili, mashallah is everyday speech, and many non-Muslims in those countries say it too.

What neighbours say. Jews say Baruch HaShem, ‘blessed be the Name’, and when praising a child many add bli ayin hara in Hebrew or keyn eyn hore in Yiddish, ‘without the evil eye’. Christians say ‘God bless him’ or ‘praise God’. Sikhs say Waheguru, ‘Wondrous Lord’. In many Hindu and Punjabi homes, a small black dot of kajal goes on a baby’s cheek or behind the ear to ward off the evil eye. People say nazar na lage, ‘may no evil eye fall on you’.

How it is misheard

It is often confused with inshallah. A simple rule: inshallah is for the future ('if God wills'); mashallah is for what has already happened ('God has willed it').

Some people hear it as superstition because of its link to the evil eye. For most who say it, it is closer to gratitude: a way of saying 'this good thing is not mine to boast about'.

Say it

MAA-shaa al-LAAH

Two long 'aa' sounds, as in 'father', then Allāh. Often run together as 'ma-shal-lah'.

Do it together

Go deeper

• Psalm 118, ‘This is the LORD’s doing’ (Sefaria) · scripture
• Matthew 21 (Bible Gateway, WEB) · scripture