Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • As God wills: an exclamation used by Persians, Turks, and Arabs to express wonder or admiration.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • One thing I absolutely don't miss is these idiot scholars on TV rolling their eyes to heaven and allowing the dumbest shit to roll off their tongues for hours at a time while you have to sit there going 'mashallah' because saying 'This guy is a total wanker' is unacceptable even though it is true.

    ScienceBlogs Channel : Life Science 2009

  • As a faithful, feminist Muslim, I say 'mashallah' for this riveting novel. "

    Book Chase 2008

  • “Bismillah, mashallah, barikallah,” said I; which means, “My good friend, what I have seen is not worth the trouble of relation, and fills my bosom with the darkest forebodings.”

    Burlesques 2006

  • October 19th, 2009 at 2: 53 pm PDT we arabs usually say ‘mashallah’ if we something mind blowing and this really deserves a mashallah reply desiree

    Apple Q4 Results: Another Big Quarter, More Macs And iPhones Sold Than Ever Before MG Siegler 2005

  • Doctor, mashallah! you have a good taste -- the moon face, the stag eye, the cypress waist, everything is here.

    The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan James Morier

  • “Bismillah, mashallah, barikallah,” said I; which means, “My good friend, what I have seen is not worth the trouble of relation, and fills my bosom with the darkest forebodings.”

    The Tremendous Adventures of Major Gahagan 1838

  • "Bismillah, mashallah, barikallah," said I; which means, "My good friend, what I have seen is not worth the trouble of relation, and fills my bosom with the darkest forebodings."

    Burlesques William Makepeace Thackeray 1837

  • Inshallah when you all go you will be blessed enough to see the shrine yourself and the inside too because it was so big ... and so beautiful .. mind blowing mashallah

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • Inshallah when you all go you will be blessed enough to see the shrine yourself and the inside too because it was so big ... and so beautiful .. mind blowing mashallah

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • Inshallah when you all go you will be blessed enough to see the shrine yourself and the inside too because it was so big ... and so beautiful .. mind blowing mashallah

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

Comments

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  • not at all, as it turns out, lit. "look, God!"

    April 15, 2009

  • 'Tisn't. It's "what God wills": Arabic mâshâ'allâh from "what" + shâ'a "he wants" + Allâh "God", with elision of the initial vowel of Allâh.

    April 15, 2009

  • duly noted

    April 15, 2009

  • I've been having a bit of a think about this tense in the bath. Shâ'a is perfective: it would normally be translated by an English past, as in 'John wanted a bicycle' (and either did or didn't get one). The imperfective is yashâ', normally "wants", as in 'John wants a bicycle' (and might or might not be getting one for Christmas). The divine will, however, at least in the more orthodox branches of Islam, presumably has the property that what God wills, God definitely gets, so the perfective shâ'a is appropriate with present or aorist meaning.

    April 15, 2009

  • qroqqa found God in the bath.

    April 15, 2009