«عَشَمْ إِبْلِيسْ فِي الْجَنَّهْ»

The saying brands an expectation as hopeless. By likening someone's wish to the longing of Iblis, the Devil in Islamic tradition, for Paradise, a place he is believed to be barred from forever, the speaker signals that the desired thing is utterly out of reach, however eagerly the person clings to it.

Beyond judging the odds, the line often carries irony or reproach. The word for hope suggests fond or presumptuous expectation rather than a neutral wish, implying the hopeful person is deceiving themselves or presuming on something they have no claim to, and inviting them to let the fantasy go rather than keep waiting.

Use it as a dry or sardonic retort when someone expects a favor, reconciliation, win, or reward that will clearly never come. It suits informal talk among people comfortable with blunt humor; aimed at someone sincerely invested in the outcome, it can sound dismissive or mocking and may hurt.