Willing or Unwilling?

Insha'Allah (God willing) is, in my opinion, akin to the vagaries and nuances of definition in much the same way as the word 'snow' might mean to the Inuit. 

In the one corner, we have the truly devout who appear to bend to the will of Allah in all matters.  These folk seem to have a special place in life - taking whatever comes their way with a grace and acceptance that speaks eloquently of their inner peace and serenity.  Some are poor, with meagre possessions and minimal needs.  I see them at the vegetable and fish markets where they start their day at 3 or 4 am with the arrival of the day's fresh produce.  They lug heavy loads to their various stalls, lay out their goods with a careful hand, and then wait hopefully and patiently in the blazing sun, or the odouriferous interior of the fish market, for the odd customer who will choose their stall.  One man I go to all the time looks to be a wizened, wrinkled, thin, old man who has been doing this all the years of his adult life.  I buy two tomatoes, a few apples and some onions.  Without weighing them, he states firmly: "7 riyals, shukran".  I give him ten and he firmly presses the change into my palm.  When I offer up the paltry 3 riyals as a tip, he steps back, shaking his head and waving 'no' with his hands. "You come back, Insha'Allah", he states. His honesty and piety are without question - a man of principle with a steadfast belief in the order of the world.  Choice and control don't seem to be part of his world view.

Alongside him, in the corner on his left, are the gamblers.  These guys want to sell you something that has dubious quality or indifferent utility.  "This is latest, madam...very good quality, madam.  Buy one, I give you good price...Insha'Allah".  Also included in this corner are the charmers; who just don't want to say no to you or don't want to give you any bad news.  This reminds me of our dance with the local communications company: "You will have your landline and internet connection in one week madam, Insha'Allah".  And for the next 28 days, every meeting with an official, every phone call fielded by customer service ended with the same words: "Tomorrow, madam, Insha'Allah".  Insha'Allah - the personification of Lady Luck.  This group try to calm troubled waters by smoothing over things - rather than a blunt no, it is left in the hands of God.

To his right, in the third corner, are the ever-hopeful.  Those optimistic souls who expect their world to change for the better, regardless of any input from themselves.  Any minute now, things will be different, you know.  They trot down blind alleys, dead-ends, and cul-de-sacs, and then sit there exhorting Allah to be willing, and thereby make it all better.  They wait, with fixed smiling faces, oblivious to the chaos that surrounds them, and ignorant of the fact that hard work, problem-solving and action on their part are all necessary components of changing one's journey into the future.  An example of this group is the local ministry of transportation - urban planning, and road building have taken a back seat - no wait, they aren't even on the bus yet.  Construction in the gazillions of square feet, bringing with it a million strong ex-pat workers and then give us a road system that was built for a village chugging along at a sedate pace in the mid 1950's. (Ok, I exaggerate just a tad) Newspapers constantly report on those new contracts and roads in progress, Insha-Allah ...but where are they except in someone's imagination right now?  Their optimism flies in the face of reality.

Directly opposite the pious man stands a small group with a large impact.  These are the avoiders and the blamers, the shruggers and the inconsiderate.  This crowd promises you whatever they think you want to hear, whatever they think will make you go away, and have no intention of following through.  They manage to fend off taking responsibility for outcomes, or consequences; bulldozing through the ordered gardens of ethics, honesty and decency leaving devastation in their wake.  They act with impunity, wriggling out of taking any responsibility for consequences.  The attitude speaks: "It's not my fault if things go wrong, or don't happen".  "Insha'Allah" ... and in this case God was unwilling - so what can we do?  It's a conversation stopper - where do you go from there!?

I have come to like the phrase actually as it sprinkles that little dash of reality on your daily journey - you may think you are in control, but there are forces at work that may ripple with a splash, or a deluge into your world as you presently know it.  Control is an ephemeral quantity - change is an inevitable constant.  

Insha-Allah - better than confession.