inshah allah

"If God wills..." If I could sum up the events of the past week in one phrase, this would be it. "Inshah allah" is said constantly in Cairo, at the end of pretty much every sentence in the future tense. It is considered almost rude to ever take anything for granted, as only God can see what is coming in the future. The tough part is when you ask a Cairene a yes or no question and the answer is "inshah allah"; then there is some interpretation involved, and I have definitely not mastered it yet. Here are some of the top "Inshah allah" phrases I have heard in the past week:

"Your DSL line will be installed within the next 2-6 weeks, inshah allah."
"The technician will come to fix your air-conditioner, toilet, light fixtures, and water filter, inshah allah."
"The AUC busses will be leaving the new campus at 2:15 and 4:15, inshah allah."
"I will collect your homework tomorrow, inshah allah"
"See you tomorrow, inshah allah!"
"The add/drop office will be open tomorrow, inshah allah."
"The deadline to add and drop classes will be extended, inshah allah."
"The new campus dorms will be open in November, inshah allah."

For many of the Americans studying abroad at AUC, the liberal use of this phrase makes them feel very uneasy and uncertain about everything, as it seems that at least half the time things 'promised' don't work out as planned.

The Egyptians I know don't seem bothered by it in the least, as they have faith that in the end everything will work out as God wills, and there isn't much we can do to change things. Everything meant to happen will happen eventually, and for now we should all just learn to relax.