Inshallah!

Strictly speaking, it means “it will happen in God's time.” Well, I hear it all the time especially when I want something to happen on or before deadline. Instead of feeling good at the word, it is making me feel insecure and nervous. A lot of Muslims use them loosely and when something does not happen on the appointed date and hour, they say it was not God’s will to happen.

I remember the first time I had to exit Dubai, go to Kish (an island of Iran), and wait there til my new visa gets through. I was told that processing of visa especially for a first-time exiter takes less than a day but it can go up to three days, max.

I was booked to fly out at 8 am on a Sunday. I can only get a return flight when I have a new visa. So, when the PRO, the guy who prepares and facilitates the processing of visa, told me, “You’ll get your visa on Monday, inshallah!” I just had to vehemently reply, “No inshallah! I get my visa on Monday. Not inshallah, Monday!”

I heard different sorts of icky stories about Kish enough to send bad shivers down my spine. Beds are full of bed bugs, it’s a must for women to wear abayas (the women’s black over-all that practically covers all of the skin except for the eyes), no decent food to eat at…nothing exciting at all. It doesn’t help either that I had to go there during Ramadan when every Muslim is fasting ergo no restaurant is open during the day.

So, hearing “inshallah” was like hearing good luck from a dead crow. Who knows, they didn’t get their ass to move to make sure they meet the timeline. Come on, if we are in a western environment, excuses are not allowed. You must have a very valid reason why you failed to deliver on time. Most circumstances can be controlled. But some hide behind religion to justify their weakness, their irresponsibility, and their negligence. What they don’t realize is they are contradicting the teachings of their own religion thereby, making them hypocrites.