When something bad happens or when we hear about someone death, we always hear Muslims say Ina Lilah Waina Allah Rajiun, so let’s find what does it mean.
How to say Ina Lilah Waina Allah Rajiun in Arabic and English? In Arabic you say إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون which is pronounced as “Ina Lilah Waina Allah Rajiun”, while in English it is said as “We surely belong to Allah and to Him we shall return”.
Now let’s understand its English meaning, when to say it and how to respond to it.
What is the meaning of Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun?
Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun Meaning in English is “We surely belong to Allah and to Him we shall return”. In most cases, you hear it when someone passes away, or when someone experiences or go through a tragedy.
Inna lillahi wa Inna ilayhi rajioon is said in many cases like when losing something or suffering from something.
Inna lillahi wa Inna ilaihi rajiun means that we belong to Allah and to Allah we shall return. But it’s not just about our lives but it shows us that everything that we have or anything that surround us belongs to Allah.
Allah says in the Holy Quran:
“And to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth….” (Surah Aal-Imraan:180)
“The kingdom of the heavens and the earth and everything in them belongs to Allah. He has power over all things.” (Surat al-Ma’ida: 120)
‘Say: ‘To Allah belongs the East and the West…’ (Surah al-Baqarah:142)
Muslims learned to say ‘innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun’ from the holy Quran.
ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌۭ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ ١٥٦
who, when faced with a disaster, say, “Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will all return.” [Surah Baqarah ayah 156]
How to say Ina Lilah Waina Allah Rajiun in Arabic?
Inna lillahiwa Inna ilayhi raji’un in Arabic is written إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون and it is simply pronounced “innā li-llāhi wa-ʾinnā ʾilayhi rājiʿūna”.
What is the meaning of Ina Lilah Waina Allah Rajiun in English?
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un in English means “We surely belong to Allah and to Him we shall return”.
The English meaning of “inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji un” is “To Allah we belong and to Him is our return.” Lets understand the meaning of each word on its own.
Inna means “we”.
Li-llahi means “we belong to Allah”.
Wa Inna: wa means and, Inna means we, together they mean “and we”
ilayhi means “to him”.
Rajiun means “Will Return”.
How to reply to Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun in Arabic?
Here is how to respond to Ina Lilah Waina Allah Rajiun:
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji3oun (إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون) which means: “We surely belong to Allah and to Him we shall return”. To respond to it you can say:
إن لله ما أخذ، وله ما أعطى، وكل شيء عنده بأجل مسمى. It is pronounced as “’iina lilah ma ‘akhadh , walah ma ‘aetaa , wakulu shay’ eindah bi’ajal musamaa.”
جزاكم الله عنا الخير، ورزقنا اللهم الصبر والسلوان. It is pronounced as “jazakum allah eanaa alkhayr , warizaqna allahuma alsabr walsulwan.”
اللهم أجرنا خيرا في مصيبتنا، لا إله إلا الله. It is pronounced as “allahuma ‘ajarna khayran fi musibatina , la ‘iilah ‘iilaa allahu.”
لله ما أخذ ولله ما أعطى pronounce it as follows “lilah ma ‘akhadh walilah ma ‘aetaa”
الدوام لله it is pronounced as “aldawam lilah”
لا أراكم الله مكروه، دعواتكم بالرحمة والمغفرة pronounce it as follows “la ‘arakum allh makruh , daeawatukum bialrahmat walmaghfira”
Other ways to say condolences in Arabic and there response:
Adhdhama Ellaho Ajrakoum (عظم الله أجركم ) which means “May God may you payment in the last home bigger”. To response to it you can say: Rabbana la taftinna ba3dah (ربنا لا تفتنا بعده) meaning: Please God, dont let us in trouble after him/her)
Ellahouma Ighfir lahou Ellahouma Irhamh (اللهم اغفر له، اللهم ارحمه) which means May God forgive him (or her), May God give him (or her) mercy” and to respond to it you can say Amin ya rabba el 3alamin (آمين يا رب العالمين)
How to reply to Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun in English?
Here is how to reply to inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un:
إن لله ما أخذ، وله ما أعطى، وكل شيء عنده بأجل مسمى.
God has what He took, and He has what He gave, and everything with Him has an appointed term.
جزاكم الله عنا الخير، ورزقنا اللهم الصبر والسلوان.
May Allah reward you, and may Allah grant us patience and solace.
اللهم أجرنا خيرا في مصيبتنا، لا إله إلا الله.
Oh God, reward us with good in our calamity, there is no god but God.
When to Say Innalillahi Wa Innailaihi Rojiun?
We say inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un when we experience tragedies like death. When a Muslim hears that someone has passed away, he will say innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji’oon.
They are not just words that we say when we experience tragedy, we should understand its true meaning and know that we all belong to Allah and so is everything we have in life.
Its English meaning is “we ALL belong to Allah and we ALL will return to him” this sentence shows us that we all will die one day and return to Allah.
“Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.” (3:185)
What to say when a calamity strikes you
Umar bin Umm Salamah narrated from his mother, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) said:
“When a calamity strikes one of you, then let him say: ‘Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. O Allah, I seek reward with You for my affliction, so reward me for it, and replace it for me with something better (Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun Allahumma Indaka Ahtasibu Musibati Fa’jurni Fiha Wa Abdilni Minha Khair).’” When the time of death was near Abu Salamah, he said: ‘O Allah, replace me for my wife, with better than me.” So when he died, Umm Salamah said: “Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. I seek reward with Allah for my affliction, so reward me for it.”
We shouldn’t just say inalillahi wainailaihi rajiun when someone passes away or hearing bad news, we should say it to remind ourselves of the day of judgment and that we all belong to Allah.
Allah said in the Quran: “Bear in mind that the present life is just a game, a diversion, an attraction, a cause of boasting among you, of rivalry in wealth and children. It is like plants that spring up after the rain: their growth at first delights the sowers, but then you see them wither away, turn yellow, and become stubble. There is terrible punishment in the next life as well as forgiveness and approval from God; the life of this world is only an illusory pleasure.” (57:20)
Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Rajioon Transliteration.
There are many ways to write Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un, there is no right or wrong way to write it, what is important is that you can read it. Here are its different forms and you can use the one that helps you pronounce it correctly.
- Inna lillahi wa inallah rajioon.
- inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji un
- Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun.
- Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un.
- inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon.
- ina lilah waina allah rajiun.
- inna lillahi wa inallah-e-raji’oon.
Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun in other languages.
1- Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun Urdu Translation.
Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun means “Hum sab Allah ke liye hai aur hume lautkar Allah ke taraf hi jaana hai” in Urdu
2- Inna Lillahiwa Inna Ilayhi Raji’oon in Hindi.
its meaning in hindi is “हम तो अल्लाह के है और हम उसी की तरफ लौट कर जाने वाले है।“
3- Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun in Tamil.
its meaning in Tamil is “இன்னா லில்லாஹி வா இன்னா இலைஹி ராஜிஊன்”
Hadiths about Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Rajioon.
Umm Salamah (رضى الله عنها) narrated: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) saying, “When a person suffers from a calamity and utters:
إنَّا للـهِ وإنَّا إلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ، اللَّهُمَّ أجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيْبَتي، وأخْلِفْ لِي خَيْراً مِنْهَا
Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. Allahumma-jurni fi musibati, wa akhlif li khairan minha
(we belong to Allah, and to him we do return. o Allah, i seek reward with you for my affliction, so reward me for it, and replace it for me with something better)
also narrated with the following words in Tirmidhi: “when one of you is afflicted with a calamity, he should say:
إنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ اللَّهُمَّ عِنْدَكَ أَحْتَسِبُ مُصِيبَتِي فَآجِرْنِي فِيهَا وَأَبْدِلْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا
inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un, allahumma indaka ahtasibu musibati fa’jirni fiha wa abdil li khairan minha
(we belong to Allah, and to him, we do return. o Allah, I seek reward with you for my affliction, so reward me for it, and replace it for me with something better)
Then Allah surely compensates him with reward and better substitute.”
Al-Muṭṭalib reported from Umm Salamah: On an occasion, Abū Salamah came back after he was with Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) and said, “I heard Allah’s Messenger recite a statement that made me delighted.”
He said, “No Muslim is struck with an affliction and then says ‘istirja’ (saying: “Inna lillahi wa inallah-e-raji’oon” [from Allāh we come and to Him we will return]) when the affliction strikes, and then he says, ‘O Allah! reward me for my loss and give me what is better than it’, except that Allah will do that for him.”
