different between mashallah vs mahallah

English

Etymology

From Arabic ??? ????? ??????? (m? š??a ll?h).

Interjection

mashallah

1. (Islam) Expressing the speaker's gratitude for a blessing or their recognition of divine intervention in its occurrence. God willed it.
   • 2019, Maggie Paxson, The Plateau, Penguin (?ISBN), page 308:

     Mashallah, I hear Akhmad say. Mashallah. I ask him what it means. “Mashallah, it's to be thankful. Something wonderful.” It means, literally, “God wills it.” And yet it seems, there's a kind of joy inside the word, too. Some large, cosmic gratitude.

2. (Islam) Expressing the speaker's wish for a fortune to be maintained, especially against the evil eye; used in congratulation.

   Coordinate term: knock on wood

   • 2014, Na'ima B. Robert, She Wore Red Trainers: A Muslim Love Story, Kube Publishing Ltd (?ISBN)

     'Mashallah, fine set of boys you've got here, sir,' he smiled, shaking us all by the hand, and giving Jamal a mock punch on the shoulder. 'Y'all new to the masjid?' ' Yes, we are,' Dad answered him. 'It's our first time here as a family.'

3. An indication of excitement, surprise or astonishment. Wow!

Related terms

• Allah
• inshallah

Translations

Anagrams

• mahallahs

English

Alternative forms

• mahalla
• mahallya
• mohalla
• muhalla

Etymology

Borrowed from Urdu ????? (mahalla), Hindi ??????? (muhall?), from Persian ????? (mahalle), from Arabic ????????? (ma?alla).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /m??hal?/

Noun

mahallah (plural mahallahs)

1. (chiefly South Asia) A subdivision or neighborhood.
   • 1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins 2013, page 483:

     ‘His Majesty signed the search warrant. We are combing the third muhalla now.’