Insha’ Allah (God’s Willing) and its Functions in Persian

This study takes as primary the analysis of the use of the Quranic verse ‘insha’allah’ in Persian language to come up with the functions it serves in the context of Iran. Based on the findings of the research, there are eight major functions of ‘insha’allah’ in Persian which are classified under three broad categories of ‘Being a Muslim’, ‘Dealing with emotions’, and ‘Displaying indirectness’. Moreover, the results obtained from the current study were compared and contrasted to the ones achieved from Arabs’ society to bring forward the similarities and differences between Iranian and Arab individuals in employing this Quranic verse. Key words: Politeness strategies; Direct/ indirect speech acts; Face; Insha’ allah