you often hear people referring to "allah." they usually form sentences such as, "may allah bless you," "if allah wills," "insha'allah," "may allah forgive you" and so on.

these are the statements that are used when one remembers allah, prays to him or exalts him.

for example, "may allah protect you" expresses the fact that allah has infinite power over you and every being—animate or inanimate—around you. it is allah who can save you, your mother, father and your friends from evil. for this reason, this phrase is often used when mentioning a natural disaster or similar unwelcome event. think for a moment: could your mother, father or anyone else you know prevent a natural disaster, for example, a flood? they certainly could not, because only allah makes such events happen to man and, similarly, only he can prevent them.

the word "insha'allah" means "if allah wills." therefore, when we say that we are going to do something or not going to do something, it is essential we say, "insha'allah." this is because only allah knows the future and thus creates it as he wills. nothing happens except what he wills.

when one of our friends, for instance, says, "i will certainly go to school tomorrow," he or she is making a mistake, because we cannot know what allah wills him or her to do in the future. maybe he or she will be sick and unable to go to school, or atrocious weather conditions may suspend classes.

for this reason we say "insha'allah" when expressing our intentions for the future, and thereby acknowledge that allah knows everything, that everything happens only by his will and that we can never know anything beyond what allah teaches us. this way, we show due respect to our lord, who possesses infinite might and knowledge.

in the verses of the qur'an, allah informs us that he wants us to say "insha'allah" (if allah wills):

never say about anything, "i am doing that tomorrow," without adding "if allah wills." remember your lord when you forget, and say, "hopefully my lord will guide me to something closer to right guidance than this."(surat al-kahf: 23-24)

you may not know a lot about these issues, but that is not really important. in order for you to come to know allah, all you need to do is to look around and think.

everywhere is full of beauty showing us the attributes of allah and his infinite might. think about a lovely white rabbit, the smiling faces of dolphins, the glorious colours of butterfly wings or the blue seas, green forests, various kinds of flowers and the other innumerable beauties in the world. it is allah who creates all of these. allah has created the entire universe you see—the world and the creatures in it—from nothing. therefore, looking at the beauty that he creates, you can see his infinite might.

it is a fact that our own existence is evidence of allah's existence. so let us first think about our existence and how allah has created us so perfectly.