Insha’Allah, No, Maybe So

Ranya responds with frustration after her mother answers “insha’Allah” to multiple asks; “You said insha’Allah, and that means no!” But her mother reassures her that the term means, instead, “God willing.” As Ranya asks further questions, her mom explains that the word has many connotations: “We say it when we want something to happen, but we don’t know if it will,” as well as “because sometimes things happen that we can’t control” and “to talk about our hopes and dreams.” After her mother agrees to stop using the phrase “when I really want to say no, or when I don’t have an answer,” Ranya again takes up the original asks. Mom does her best, but Ranya has the last word—insha’Allah—in the Roumanis’ warm, playful introduction to a term used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking people globally. Aserr’s digital and watercolor illustrations focus on domestic and neighborhood scenes that foreground the brown-skinned duo. An author’s note concludes. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3–7. (May)