Allah is the
Arabic word for
God. It is compounded of "Al", the definite article
'the', and "ilah", meaning "a god". Therefore, Allah
literally means "The God"--somewhat parallel to the
capitalized "God" in English. It is used by Muslims
world-wide, as well as Arabic-speaking Christians, Jews,
and others.
From an
Islamic point of view, Allah is the special name of
God and is the most precious name because it is not a
descriptive name like other
Ninety-nine names of Allah, but the name of God's
own presence. It is impossible to alter the word in
Arabic; such as create a plural form (gods) or change
the gender.
Muslims, when referring to the name, add the words "Subhanna
wa Ta'ala" after it, meaning "Glorified and Exalted is
He" as a sign of reverence. The entire religion of
Islam is based on the idea of getting closer to
Allah. Muslims consider Him eternal and uncreated, as
the rest of existence was His creation.
"Allah" was also used in pre-Islamic
times. The Arab Jews referred to God as Allah, and the
Nomadic tribes at the time adopted Allah as the creator
of lesser gods, similar to the way
Hindus regard
Brahma. The father of
Muhammad,
Islam's prophet, had the name "Abdullah"; servant of
Allah. Allah was considered to be the ancestor and
leader of the other gods. Up until the rise of
Islam in the seventh century, people would devote
their worship to Allah's "partners" which were other
gods such as the goddesses
al-Lat[?],
al-Uzza[?] and
Man'at, who were at the time worshipped as Allah's
daughters.
According to Professor
Carleton S. Coon in his book Southern Arabia,
"The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon
God, but early in Arabian history the name became a
general term for god, and it was this name that the
Hebrews used prominently in their personal names, such
as Emanu-el, Israel, etc."
Muslims and nearly all other scholars dispute this
claim, instead suggesting the name carried over from the
Jewish tribes and
Christians that had lived for centuries in
Arabia. The Hebrew form of this name, El or
Eloh[?], was used as an
Old Testament synonym for
Yahweh. The
Aramaic word for God is also Allah, therefore it is
believed that
Jesus Christ also used this word in his teachings.
Muslims declare that the name has existed since the time
of
Adam.
Muslims do not try to draw or depict Allah in any
way, as it could lead to
idol worship. Instead, they focus on His
99 "Attributes" that are stated in the
Qur'an, the holy book of the Muslims. Nearly one
third of the book is used describing Allah's attributes
and actions. Also, "hadith
qudsi" are special recorded sayings of
Muhammad to Muslims where he quotes what Allah says
to him.
See also
Allahu Akbar,
Bismillah[?],
Alhumdulilah[?]
The word Allah is commonly written in
Calligraphic Arabic:
