The Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
إِذَا رَأَى أَحَدُكُمْ مِنْ أَخِيهِ مَا يُعْجِبُهُ ، فَلْيَدْعُ
“Whenever one of you sees something with his brother that amazes him, ask Allah to bless him.”
Mashallah Meaning in English :
The word Masha Allah literally means what Allah (SWT) has willed, but the usage of it is mainly when someone sees something beautiful or good, or sees someone experience something good. It is a way of praising good with a sense of Dua for a blessing in it attached to it.
From The Quran:
وَلَوْلَا إِذْ دَخَلْتَ جَنَّتَكَ قُلْتَ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ ۚ إِن تَرَنِ أَنَا أَقَلَّ مِنكَ مَالًا وَوَلَدًا
And why did you, when you entered your garden, not say, ‘What Allah willed [has occurred]; there is no power except in Allah ‘? Although you see me less than you in wealth and children. — Qur’an 18:39
This ayah is from Surah Kahf where Allah describes the story of two men. Both of these men had a garden. But one of these two had a better garden than the other, that left him arrogant. He forgot that every good is from Allah and he started boasting about how much good he possessed.
At this time, his companion said he must not be arrogant and must say ‘mashallah hu laquwata illah billah’ meaning what Allah has willed and no one except Him possesses the power to make this good happen. At the end of the story we see that the garden of the proudish man gets destroyed.
From The Hadith:
It was reported from Abu Umaamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf that his father told him that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out and they traveled with him towards Makkah until they reached Shi’b al-Khazzaar in al-Juhfah. Sahl ibn Hunayf washed himself, and he was a white man with a handsome body and skin. ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah, the brother of Bani ‘Udayy ibn Ka’b, looked at him when he was washing, and said, “I have never seen anything like this, not even the skin of a virgin in seclusion!” (this was a metaphor for the intense whiteness of his skin). Then Sahl suffered a seizure (an epileptic fit, in which he fell to the ground). He was brought to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and it was said, “O Messenger of Allaah, do you know what has happened to Sahl? By Allah, he cannot raise his head and he will not wake up.” He said, “Do you accuse anyone with regard to him?” They said, “‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah looked at him.” So the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called ‘Aamir and spoke angrily with him, saying, “Would any of you like to kill his brother? If you see something that you like, why do you not pray for blessing for it?” Then he said to him (‘Aamir), “Do ghusl for him.” So he washed his face, hands, elbows, the soles of his feet and inside his izaar (lower garment) from a vessel, then that water was poured over him (Sahl) – a man poured it over his head and back from behind, tilting the vessel. This was done to him, then Sahl went on with the people and there was nothing wrong with him.
(Al-Musnad, 3/486. Al-Haythami said: the men of Ahmad are the men of Saheeh. Al-Majma’, 5/107).
With this hadith, we come to know how important it is to say Masha Allah when we praise the beauty of the creation. If ignored we might end up harming it or even destroying it.
How Arabs use the word Masha Allah:
The one word you would hear most perhaps besides Inshallah in the Arab world is mashallah. Arabs use it very often in their regular speech. They say mashallah for almost everything from seeing a beautiful kid, or an intelligent one, or a beautiful piece of furniture or décor or someone beautiful someone wealthy to something abundant. It’s always present in their speech.
Related: You can also consider knowing the meaning of Alhamdulillah.
Why they use it:
One main reason is that they strongly believe ‘Mashallah’ guards the owner of this good stuff against the evil eye. Another reason is that it is a Dua and praise which says every good is as per Allah’s will and in the end his property. In the Arab world, this hadith holds a strong value, hence they stick to it for safety. As per the hadith, the word Masha Allah can guard people against the evil eye and jealousy.
What if You Fail to Say Mashallah:
Well, you never want to do that. Arabs expect you to say this word every single time you praise a thing or someone failing to do so will mean you are either are jealous of it or you can cause an evil eye.
Both of these are unacceptable so don’t get anxious if you are repeatedly asked by some or the other Arab to say this word. It’s just their strong believe that Mashallah is a shield against the evil eye.
