Arabic origins of kismet, the word for fate Taylor Swift references in The Life of a Showgirl

The term is rooted in an acceptance of destiny in Islam

In title track of The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift sings: 'Zero missteps / Looking back, I guess it was kismet.' PA

Taylor Swift has released her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl.

The 12-track album, which Swift made with Swedish producers and songwriters Shellback and Max Martin, features one collaboration. For the title track Swift teams up with Sabrina Carpenter for a high-energy pop track, reflective of the album on the whole.

In the song, Swift sings: “Zero missteps / Looking back, I guess it was kismet.”

The English word kismet is commonly used to describe fate or destiny in modern usage. However, the word's origins trace back to Arabic and the wider Islamic tradition.

Kismet may now be used to casually to explain a chance encounter or an inevitability of events, but its roots are found in attempts to understand divine will and the human condition.

Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl album track list. Photo: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott

The term comes from the Arabic qisma, which translates to portion or share. Derived from the roots qaf, seen, meem, which signifiy dividing or appropriating, it originally referred to one’s allotted share of wealth or circumstance.

In Islam, the meaning expands to embrace the idea of a divinely ordained share of life’s fortunes and trials. In this context, qisma becomes closely tied to a belief in God’s will and the acceptance of whatever is destined.

As Islam spread into the Ottoman world, the word evolved into the Turkish kismet, which retained this dual sense of portion and fate. From there, it entered European languages in the 19th century, carried by cross-cultural encounters. By the time it appeared in English and French, kismet had taken on a romantic, sometimes exotic quality, often used in literature to evoke inevitability and resignation before a higher power.

Qisma can also be found in the Arabic expression qisma w naseeb. In this context, naseeb refers to good fortune. Together, they capture the belief that everyone’s path – whether in marriage, ambition or personal fortune – is determined by divine will. It is often used to explain outcomes beyond human control, serving both as a reminder of faith and as a source of comfort in the face of disappointment.

In contemporary English, kismet has lost some of that mystique, becoming a familiar way to describe life’s twists and turns. The word still carries echoes of its Arabic origins, where destiny is not mere chance but a carefully measured allotment.