Wa iyyakum is a common response to a person who has said Jazakallah. The meaning of this Arabic phrase is “and to you too”. Wa iyyakum is the plural version. Depending on gender male or female the response to Jazakallah would be different:

Wa iyyak (to a male Singular)
Wa iyyaki (to a female Singular)

Now, even though “Wa iyyakum” is grammatically plural, the use would be acceptable for a single person. In Arabic, it’s respectful to speak to a person in the plural form, if someone is speaking about himself in the plural form, then he is seen as confident and proud. This is why when Allah says in the Quran.

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا ٱلذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ
 
Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian.
Surah Al Hijr ayat 9

Allah is speaking about himself without companions but gramatically uses plural.

Another Response To Jazakallah

Another acceptable response to Jazakallah khair would be “Wa antum fa jazakumullahu khairan” which means “And you too, May Allah reward to with good”. This would be a better reply to someone who says Jazakallah khairan than saying wa iyyakum. However, there is nothing wrong with replying with the shorter version.

Wa Iyyakum used in a sentence:

It’s best to see real life examples to see how Muslims use this Arabic word in everyday conversation. So we took to Facebook and Twitter to see the different contexts in which Wa iyyakum is used. Let’s take a look:

Example #1:
Waiyyakum khair, i have merely stated the facts sister. May He bless you with the best of his blessings and jazakallah hu khairan again. (khair means good, so in this case the person said and to you good).

Example #2:
Ameen wa iyyakum bhaijaan Two accidents and a fire at the metro station on the same day

Example #3:
Ameen wa iyyakum bhaijaan

Example #4:
Wa iyyaki dear sister! Amin Ya Rabb! He has blessed me so much every day, alhamdulillah (example of term Wa iyyaki used for female).

Example #5:
Wa Iyyak bro I’m sure you will be fine just keep at it and leave the rest in Allah SWT hands (example of term Wa iyyak used for male).

 

Learn More Islamic Terms: