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| Arabic |
|---|
| الله |
| Transliteration |
| Allah, Alleh |
| Translation |
| "God" |
Although the usage of the word Allāh is traditionally attributed to Muslims, it is not exclusive to Islam; Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Jews (including some Sephardim, Teimanim and several Mizraḥi communities) also use it to refer to the monotheist Deity. Arabic translations of the Bible also employ it, as do Roman Catholics in Malta (who pronounce it as "Alla"), Christians in Indonesia, who say "Allah Bapa" (Allah the Father) and Christians in the Middle East who use the Aramaic "Allāha".
It was used in pre-Islamic times by Pagans within the Arabian peninsula to signify the supreme creator. Pre-Islamic Christians and Jews referred to their supreme creator as Yahweh. The pagan Arabs recognized "Allāh" as the supreme God in their pantheon; along with Allah, however, the pre-Islamic Arabs believed in a host of other gods, such as Hubal and 'daughters of Allāh' [the three daughters associated were al-Lāt, 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 latter 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 latter generations firstly revered as saints, and then transformed into gods. The pagan Arabians also used the word "Allāh" in the names of their children; Muhammad's father, who was born into pagan society, was named "`Abdullāh", which translates "servant of Allāh". The word was also used in a monotheistic sense by Arab Christians in the pre-Islamic Umm al-Jimal inscription (6th century). The Hebrew word for deity, El (לא) or Elōha (הולא), was used as an Old Testament synonym for Yahweh (הוהי). This was used only once in the entire Old Testament. The proper name for the Jewish God in the Old Testament was the Tetragrammaton, Yahweh. The Aramaic word for God is alôh-ô (Syriac dialect), which comes from the same Proto-Semitic word (*ʾilâh-) as the Arabic and Hebrew terms; Jesus is described in Mark 15:34 and Matthew 27:46 as having used this word on the cross (in the forms elō-i and ēl-i respectively). One of the earliest surviving translations of the word into a foreign language is in a Greek translation of the Shahada, from 86-96 AH (705-715 AD), which translates it as ho theos monos, 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 Alāha." And in the Arabic Bible the same words (Mt 5:8): "طُوبَى لأَنْقِيَاءِ الْقَلْبِ، فَإِنَّهُمْ سَيَرَوْنَ الله"
The word Allāh is always written without an Alif to spell the ā vowel. This is because the spelling was settled before Arabic spelling started habitually using Alif to spell ā. However, in vocalized spelling, a diacritic alif is added on top of the shaddah to indicate pronunciation. One exception is in the pre-Islamic Zabad inscription, where it is spelled الاه.
Unicode has glyph reserved for Allah, ﷲ= U+FDF2, which can be combined with an alif to yield the post-consonantal form, اﷲ, as opposed to the full spelling alif-lām-lām-hā 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 llāh types.
God is considered by Muslims to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, while at the same time above and outside of all creation. He is said to be "in Heaven" (Qur'an 67:16) and "in the heavens and the earth" (Qur'an 66:3), but also said to be "nearer to him [man] than his jugular vein" (Qur'an 50:16); He constantly watches all that goes on in the world, and knows all things. This suggests that He is present in the heart as the supreme witness. "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, in the literal sense, or suggesting that nature or creation simultaneously co-exist in God or vice versa, as in other religious traditions, compromises exclusive Islamic monotheism. It is more appropriate to say that in nature there are signs for the existence of Allah.
Muslims do not try to draw or depict God in any way, according to Islamic belief 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 God's attributes and actions. Also, "Hadith Qudsi" are special recorded sayings of Muhammad to Muslims where he quotes what God says to him. The ninety-nine "Attributes" are frequently written in calligraphic Arabic as a permissible decoration, which adorns mosques and homes of Muslims.
The emphasis in Islamic culture on reciting the Qur'an in Arabic has resulted in Allāh 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 'llāh ar-rahmān ar-rahīm" بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم) 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 "`Az wa Jal" (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 polytheistic deities are discussed in Arabic, it is customary to use the expression ilāh, a "deity" or lower-case "god."
"Allāh" appears in a stylized form on the Flag of Iran, in the phrase "Allāhu Akbar" on the Flag of Iraq, and as part of the shahādah on the Flag of Saudi Arabia.