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Allah
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{{Islam}}
:''For other uses, see
Allah (disambiguation).
The word '''{{ArabDIN|AllÄ?h}}''' is the
Arabic language Arabic term for "
God". In other languages, it is often used to refer specifically to the
Islamic concept of God: see "
#Usage Usage" below.
Etymology
Usage
{{Arabicterm|الله|Allah, AllÄ?h|The God}}
Although, outside the Arab world, use of the word ''AllÄ?h'' is most often associated with
Islam, it is not exclusive to that faith;
Arab Christians and various Arabic-speaking
Jews (including the
Teimanim, several {{ArabDIN.html">Mizrahi Jews
Mizraḥi}} communities and some
Sephardim) also use it to refer to the
monotheist deity. Arabic translations of the
Bible also employ it, as do
Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholics in
Malta (who pronounce it as "Alla"),
Christians in
Indonesia, who say "Allah Bapa" (God the Father) and Christians in the
Middle East who use the
Aramaic language Aramaic "AllÄ?ha".
"Allah" as a word
Many
Linguistics linguists believe that the term ''AllÄ?h'' is derived from a contraction of the Arabic words ''al'' (the) and ''ʾilÄ?h'' (deity, masculine form) - ''al-ilÄ?h'' meaning "the god." In addition, one of the main pagan goddesses of pre-Islamic Arabia,
Allat AllÄ?t (''al'' + ''ʾilÄ?h'' + ''at'', or 'the goddess'), is cited as being
Etymology etymologically (though not synchronically) the feminine linguistic counterpart to the grammatically masculine AllÄ?h. If so, the word ''AllÄ?h'' is an abbreviated title, meaning 'the deity', rather than a name. For this reason, both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars often translate AllÄ?h directly into
English language English as 'God'; this also explains why Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians freely refer to God as AllÄ?h. However, some Muslim scholars feel that "AllÄ?h" should not be translated, because they perceived the Arabic word to express the uniqueness of "AllÄ?h" more accurately than the word "god", which can take a plural "gods", whereas the word "AllÄ?h" has no plural form. This is a significant issue in
translation of the Qur'an.
Image:Allah.jpg thumb|right|200px|An example of ''{{ArabDIN|allÄ?h}}'' written in simple [[Arabic calligraphy.]]
The word ''AllÄ?h'' is always written without an
alif to spell the ''Ä?'' vowel. This is because the spelling was settled before Arabic spelling started habitually using
alif to spell ''Ä?''. However, in vocalized spelling, a diacritic ''alif'' is added on top of the ''
shaddah'' to indicate pronunciation. One exception is in the pre-Islamic
History of the Arabic alphabet#Pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions Zabad inscription, where it is spelled الاه.
Unicode has glyph reserved for Allah, {{ar|ï·²}} = U+FDF2, which can be combined with an alif to yield the post-consonantal form, {{ar|اﷲ}}, as opposed to the full spelling ''alif-lÄ?m-lÄ?m-hÄ?'' {{ar|الله}} which may be rendered slightly differently, in particular featuring a diacritic ''alif'' on top of the ''shadda''. In this, Unicode imitates traditional Arabic typesetting, which also frequently featured special ''llÄ?h'' types.
Also In ''
Abjad numerals'',
The Name Of Allah (الله) numeric value is
66.
Islamic use of "AllÄ?h"
From the point of view of traditional
Islamic
theology, AllÄ?h is the most precious name of God because it is not a descriptive name like other
Ninety-nine names of Allah ninety-nine names of God, but the name of God's own presence. Muslims believe that the name of Allah had existed before the time of
Adam and Eve Adam. It is the same God worshipped by
Adam and Eve Adam,
Noah,
Abraham,
Moses,
Jesus,
Muhammad and other
prophets of Islam. In Islam, there is only one God and Muhammad is the last messenger.
In the Qur'an,
rabb is also one of the usual names of God.
The emphasis in Islamic culture on reciting the
Qur'an in
Arabic language Arabic has resulted in ''AllÄ?h'' often being used by
Muslims world-wide as the word for ''God'', regardless of their
native language. Out of 114
Suras in the
Qur'an, 113 begin with the
Basmala ("Bismi 'llÄ?hi 'r-rahmÄ?ni 'r-rahÄ«m" بسم الله الرØمن الرØيم) which means "In the name of God, the most kind, the most merciful".
Muslims, when referring to the name, often add the words "Subhanahu wa Ta`ala" after it, meaning "Glorified and Exalted is He" as a sign of reverence, or "`Azza wa Jalla" (عز و جل). The entire religion of
Islam is based on the idea of getting closer to God. Although commonly referred to as a "He", God is considered genderless, but there is no
neuter gender to express this in the Arabic language. When Greek or other
Polytheism polytheistic deities are discussed in Arabic, it is customary to use the expression ''ilÄ?h'', a "deity" or "god"; sometimes the word ''ma`bÅ«d'', literally meaning "worshipped [entity]", is used instead.
Uses of "AllÄ?h" in phrases
There are many
List of Arabic phrases#Phrases with Allah's name phrases that contain the word AllÄ?h:
*
Allahu Akbar AllÄ?hu Akbar (الله أكبر) (God is the greatest / God is Greater)
*
A'uzu billahi minashaitanir rajim (I seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan, the damned)
*
Basmala Bismi-llÄ?h (بسم الله) (In the name of God)
*
Insha'Allah InshÄ?'AllÄ?h (إن شاء الله) (God-willing)
:also the origin of the common
Spanish language Spanish interjection "Ojalá" (
Old Spanish, "Oxalá") and
Portuguese language Portuguese interjection "Oxalá"; ''May it be so'' (ie. God-willing)
*
T.A.I.F. (جزاك الله خيراً) (Thank Allah It's Friday) A new restaurant chain in Baghdahd.
*
YÄ? AllÄ?h (يا الله)(O God)
:may be the origin of the Spanish and Portuguese
exclamation "Olé!".
*
Masha Allah MÄ? shÄ?' AllÄ?h (ما شاء الله) ([Look at] what God has willed!)
*
Subhan'allah SubhÄ?n AllÄ?h (سبØان الله) (Glory be to God)
*
alhamdulillah al-Hamdu li-llÄ?h (الØمد لله) (All praise be to God)
*
AllÄ?hu A`alam (الله أعلم) (God knows best)
*
Jazaka AllÄ?hu khayran (جزاك الله خيراً) (May God reward you for your deeds)
"AllÄ?h" appears in a stylized form on the
flag of Iran, in the phrase "AllÄ?hu Akbar" on the
flag of Iraq, and as part of the
shahadah shahÄ?dah on the
flag of Saudi Arabia.
"Allah" is not correctly used as a man's name. See
Arabic name#Mistakes made by Europeans and other non-Arabs.
Islamic concept of God
{{main|Islamic concept of God}}
The Islamic concept of mankind's place in the universe hinges on the notion that '''
AllÄ?h''', or '''
God''', is the only true
reality. There is nothing permanent other than Him. God is considered eternal and "uncreated", whereas everything else in the universe is "created." The Qur'an describes Him in
Sura 112: "Say: He is AllÄ?h,
Singular. AllÄ?h, the Absolute. He begetteth not nor was begotten. And to Him have never been one equal." (see
Tawhid for more). The Qur'an condemns and mocks the pre-Islamic Arabs for attributing daughters to AllÄ?h (
sura 53:19.)
Muslims believe that AllÄ?h, or
God, is the only true God who deserves to be worshipped. This belief must be accompanied by the acknowledgement that Mohammad was a true prophet of God who was chosen to guide people to believing and worshipping God in the correct manner. God is considered eternal and uncreated; with no beginning, whereas everything else in the universe is created with a beginning. The Qur'an mentions, (approximated in English)
Sura 112: "Say: He is AllÄ?h, Without partner. AllÄ?h, the Absolute. He begetteth not nor was begotten. And to Him have never been one equal." (see
Tawhid for more).
God is considered by Muslims to be
Omnipotence omnipotent,
Omnipresence omnipresent, and
Omniscience omniscient. In the Qur'an, God is described as being fully aware of everything that happens in the universe, and knows all things. God also knows what is in people's hearts and minds at all times. It is mentioned in the Qur'an (approximately), "And He it is Who takes your souls at night (in sleep), and He knows what you acquire in the day, then He raises you up therein that an appointed term may be fulfilled; then to Him is your return, then He will inform you of what you were doing. (
sura 6:60)"
Placing God inside his creation, or suggesting that nature or creation simultaneously co-exist in God or vice versa, as in other religious traditions, completely compromises exclusive Islamic monotheism. Attributing a partner, spouse, father, son, daughter, mother or other relation(s) to Allah, literally or metaphorically, partially or completely, is considered unquestionably blasphemous by Muslims.
Therefore, Muslims consider it blasphemous to describe Jesus (or another man, woman child etc) as 'Son of God' whether literally or metaphorically. Similarly, Muslims do not believe that God resembles a man (old or young), woman, half man half woman, half man half animal , bird, elephant or other animal or other creation. It is forbidden for Muslims to view God
anthropomorphism anthropomorphically.
Allah does not resemble any of his creations in any way whatsoever. Allah is not attributed with shape, colour, size, position, location, direction and indeed all of these attributes are found in the creatures Allah created.
Further, Muslims do not believe that Allah is located in a place, whether on Earth, below the Earth, in the Sky, above the Sky, on a Throne above the Sky or all of these places at once or anywhere else or everywhere, but rather, God exists without a place (given he created all places and locations) and the perfectness of his existence is not compromised by his existence not being bound to a created (by Allah) place or location.
God is attributed with complete perfection in his attributes and is free from any defects or any imperfections. Allah is attributed (amongst other attributes) with singleness (without a partner in God's self or attributes), non-beginningness, eternalness, complete freedom from needing others (i.e. each or any of his creations), complete power to do all things, Will (to do as he wills, as and when God decides without any obstruction), knowledge, (of all things simultaneously, past, present and future) hearing (of all sounds without needing any implement or organ to hear), sight (without needing eyes or any other organ or instrument nor light rays to illuminate an area or an object), life (unlike the human or other life which is created and limited, but that which befits him with no beginning or end), speech (unlike the human, created speech which is constituted of languages, letters and sounds but rather an eternal speech which is not a creation but an attribute of God) and the complete non-resemblence of any creation in his self or attributes.
History
It was used in pre-Islamic times by Pagans within the Arabian peninsula to signify the supreme creator. Pre-Islamic Jews referred to their supreme creator as
Yahweh or
Elohim. The pagan Arabs recognized "AllÄ?h" as the supreme God in their
Pre-Islamic mythology pantheon; along with Allah, however, the pre-Islamic Arabs believed in a host of other gods, such as
Hubal and 'daughters of AllÄ?h' (the three daughters associated were
Al-lat al-LÄ?t,
Al-Uzza al-`Uzzah, and
Manah) (Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, ''"The Facts on File"'', ed. Anthony Mercatante,
New York,
1983, I:61). This view of Allah by the pre-Islamic pagans is viewed by Muslims as a later development having arisen as a result of moving away from Abrahamic monotheism over time. Some of the names of these pagan gods are said to be derived from the descendants of Noah, whom later generations firstly revered as saints, and then transformed into gods (although non-Muslims often view polytheism as having come before monotheism). The pagan Arabians also used the word "AllÄ?h" in the names of their children;
Muhammad's father, who was born into pagan society, was named "`AbdullÄ?h", which translates "servant of AllÄ?h". "`AbdullÄ?h" is still used for names of Muslim and non-Muslim arabs.
The
Hebrew language Hebrew word for deity,
Names of God in Judaism#El El (×?ל) or
Names of God in Judaism#Elohim ElÅ?ah (×?לוה), was used as an
Old Testament synonym for
Yahweh (יהוה), which is the proper name for the Jewish God according to the
Tanakh. The
Aramaic word for God is ''alôh-ô'' (
Syriac dialect) or elâhâ (Biblical dialect), which comes from the same Proto-
Semitic languages Semitic word (''*ʾilâh-'') as the Arabic and Hebrew terms;
Jesus is described in
Gospel of Mark Mark 15:34 as having used the word on the cross, with the ending meaning "my", when saying, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (transliterated in Greek as ''elÅ?-i''). One of the earliest surviving translations of the word into a foreign language is in a
Greek language Greek translation of the
Shahada, from 86-96 AH (
705-
715 AD), which translates it as ''ho theos monos''[http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Papyri/enlp1.html], literally "the one god". Also the cognate Aramaic term appears in the Aramaic version of the ''New Testament'', called the
Pshitta (or Peshitta) as one of the words Jesus used to refer to God, e.g., in the sixth Beatitude, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see AlÄ?ha." And in the Arabic Bible the same words (
Matthew 5:8 Mt 5:8): "Ø·Ù?وبَى لأَنْقÙ?يَاءÙ? الْقَلْبÙ?ØŒ Ù?ÙŽØ¥Ù?نَّهÙ?مْ سَيَرَوْنَ الله"
Other beliefs
The Nation of Gods and Earths, one of the many sects created as the result of black separatist movements in the United States, holds that the word "AllÄ?h" is the name of the original black man and stands for "Arm, Leg, Leg, Arm, Head". [http://web.archive.org/web/20041019023127/http://www.ibiblio.org/nge/] [http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2002-10-29-oped-goldblatt_x.htm] This concept is alien to mainstream Islam, which strictly opposes any attempt to portray AllÄ?h as a human or in any other way. Mainstream Islam also prohibits attibuting divine qualities to, worshipping, or glorifying anything other than AllÄ?h.
The
Bahá'à Faith, whose
:Category:Bahá'à texts scriptures are primarily written in
Arabic and
Persian language Persian, also uses '''Allah''' to mean God, though in practice the customary word for God in the local language is typically used when speaking in that language. Some particular uses are not translated, but the Arabic phrase is used. The chief example of this would be the Bahá'à customary greeting '''Alláh'u'abhá''' which is commonly translated as ''God is the All Glorious''.
See also
*
God
*
Islam
*
99 Names of God
*
Muhammad
*
Monotheism
External links
-
ServantsofAllah.org - For those who desire to be in the servitude of Allah
-
Islam Way Online - Your Religion and Spirituality Portal For further discussion on Allah, the word's etymology, and the Islamic concept of God
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