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SPOILER Annette Benning's Word - Inshallah - WHY????

posted 18 years ago by jackisback
19 replies | jump to latest

I have no *beep* clue why she said Inshallah (God willing) as her last word. Denzel is saying the Lord's Prayer, but the last thing he said in the prayer was "For thine is the kingdom". For thine is the kingdom inshallah? It doesn't make sense. Either that or she was responding to what he said right before that "deliver us from evil." Either that or she was a Muslim herself, but instead of saying what Muslims normally say before (like maybe the Shahadah or "Allahu Ackbar") she just said "inshallah"? I didn't get it. Maybe the movie producers just wanted to throw in a cool Arabic Islamic word at the end of her life/the movie.

[–] EdwardsMovieKit 18 years ago

Maybe it's just because her character knew arabic too well and she felt intertwined with the langauge and the culture, by the way, 'Insha'allah' isn't something only Muslims say in Islamic countries, in my Islamic country it's a word so common that even my Christian neighbour said it to me. But he didn't mean like he's given up on his God and embraced Islam and accepted Muslim's God. Afterall, what's the difference, Allah is a name for God, the creator of this world in Arabic. It's also correct to say simply God in your prayers when you direct Him in Islam, it's all the same...

Just what I think.

[–] jackisback 18 years ago

yeah, i knew some Christians said that, but also that expression on Denzel's face after she said it was an expression of total shock, yknow?

[–] EdwardsMovieKit 18 years ago

Yeah, you actually have a really good point there! I just borrowed the DVD to my friend, so once I get it back I'll look again to make sure. ;)

[–] Boser 17 years ago

And why did Denzel's character say the "For thine is the Kingdom" line, when they said just a few minutes before that he was Catholic? Oh, now I remember...because Hollywood doesn't know islam or Christianity.

[–] ourangelbabies 17 years ago

Re: Denzel's saying "For Thine is the Kingdom"

During our Catholic Mass, we say the Lord's Prayer and after the end of it, the Priest says a short prayer, and then the people respond with "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen."

So it is part of Catholic rites.

I say Insh'allah and Asalaam Alaikoom/Alaikoom Asalaam sometimes. I think those are very beautiful phrases; I learned them while serving in the UAE for a short while a decade ago.

I don't know about Benning's utterance. Her character didn't strike me as particularly religious or as a believer in any God/Allah/Yeshua whatever.

[–] tbeller80 17 years ago

She didn't seem particularly religious, but she probably had a cultural connection with the Arabs she worked with. "Inshallah" roughly means "by God's will." I hear Iraqis say it all the time in regular conversation. I'm no expert, but they seem a bit fatalistic about life and everything happens because of "God's will." So that last exchange (IMHO) is giving her last rites to go to heaven, and she caveats that with "God willing."

[–] Bobby009 17 years ago

I just saw it as a quite beautiful expression of her faith; a mix between islam and christianity, since she is influenced by two cultures.

-Cheerleaders are dancers who have gone retarded-

[–] bertrambunter 17 years ago

Edwards: You LOANED your DVD to your friend, he BORROWED it, get it?

[–] plexisaldome 17 years ago

was it as you say inshallah or was it the word selah from the bible which i think means peace ?

[–] tbeller80 17 years ago

Inshallah is a phonetic representation. The arabic alphabet doesn't directly correspond to the English alphabet, so it can be spelled a couple different ways. Say the word as you see it, and that is how the phrase sounds in real life. It literally translates into "God willing" but I heard it often from Iraqis as translating more like "hopefully."

[–] Norm_uk 17 years ago

Shalom is biblical Hebrew for peace...although saying Shalom to most Arabs (or muslims) will not endear you to them for sure!

Selah means to hang or weigh but it's not an easy word to translate...look up here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selah

Interestingly the definitions of peace in Arabic and Hebrew have different values...

N.

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.

[–] Fadywalker 17 years ago

I think she've converted to islam to get the film more complicated at the end
just watch Denzel's reaction when she said it.

[–] doof14 16 years ago

It goes: "Deliver us from evil, for thine is the kindom" "God willing/Hopefully". I think this is best explained as her hope that we can find peace.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] graypianosflying 15 years ago

This is the correct interpretation of this scene, as all the evidence is present. Blood coming from the character's chest in a faux "bullet-hole wound" fashion and blood being spewed from the mouth indicate diabetic shock; these are the textbook signs of this disorder. Case closed; well done.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] cpo1002h 14 years ago

Thine Kindgom Come, Thine Insulin be done...

[–] Island_Of_Ireland 13 years ago

I believe she's Muslim, and Muslims say Inshallah ALL THE TIME, in almost every sentence.

*SPOILER* Annette Benning's Word - Inshallah - WHY????

SPOILER Annette Benning's Word - Inshallah - WHY????