Allah
Allah (Arabic: اللَّهْٰ) is the common name for God in the Arabic language.[1] It is similar to Ha-El, which is the name for God in the Hebrew language, and Alaha-i, which is the name for God in the Aramaic language. Muslims commonly use the word Allah for God.[2] Sometimes, people who speak Arabic still use the word Allah when they speak English. In Islam, Allah is Merciful and Allah is the one who loves his followers.
In Arabic
[change | change source]Where the word comes from
[change | change source]Around 2000 BC (4000 years ago) there was a group of people called the Canaanites, who lived in the Middle East. They had many gods, and the ruling god was called El. He had power and ruled over everything, and he lived forever. He is claimed to have made the earth and everything else. Later, the word El became Eloh or Eloah in the Aramaic language. Another language, Hebrew, changed the Aramaic word to Eloah. In the New Testament (the second book in the Christian Bible), the words Eli and Elohi were used to mean god. El is also in some people's names, such as Gabriel, Mikael, Azrael, Israel, Yishmael, Emanuel etc.
As a common noun
[change | change source]In Arabic, the general word for a god is ilaah. It can mean a specific god, or any god at all, depending on how it is used.
As a proper noun
[change | change source]As a proper noun, Allah is a name for one God, the god of the Abrahamic religions. In Arabic, the word al is an article (a word for the), so al-ilaah means the god. Usually, the word Allah is used by Muslims. However, Arab Christians also call their God Allah. The name Allah is made of four letters in Arabic, ا ل ل ه (or Alif Lam Lam Ha, from right to left, A-L-L-H, 2111), which when brought together make الله
In Islam
[change | change source]In Islam, God is usually called Allah.[3] There are many different names for God in Islam. However, Allah is the most common. It means the same thing as any of the other names.[4] For Muslims, Allah describes a single God who is all-powerful and never makes mistakes.[5] Muslims believe that Allah created everything, including the heavens and the Earth, simply by saying "Kun faya kun" ("Be and it is").[6][7] Muslims often repeat the word Allah many times when they are praying.
In Judaism
[change | change source]In Judaism, God is usually called YHWH (by scholarly convention pronounced Yahweh) and Eloah. Both names are mentioned in the Old Testament and are one of the seven names of God in Judaism. It can also be noted that in Judaism, Elohim is a name for God and in Islam, Allahuma is a name for God. Since Jewish and Muslim names of God are very similar, Jews and Muslims say that they believe in the same God.
In Christianity
[change | change source]Arab Christians call their God Allah due to the Arabic language. In the Arabic translation of the Christian Bible, God is referred to by Allah.[8] The word Allah was also used in the old translations of the Bible into Turkish, e.g. 1941 version, due to Islamic culture being common in Turkey, and because the Turkish language was influenced by the Arabic language.[9]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "God". Islam: Empire of Faith. PBS. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ↑ "Islam and Christianity", encyclopedia|title=Allah|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|access-date=7 January 2015|author=L. Gardet
- ↑ Böwering, Gerhard, God and His Attributes, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʼān, Brill, 2007
- ↑ Bentley, David (September 1999). The 99 Beautiful Names for God for All the People of the Book. William Carey Library. ISBN 978-0-87808-299-5.
- ↑ Murata, Sachiko (1992). The Tao of Islam: A sourcebook on gender relationships in Islamic thought. Albany NY USA: SUNY. ISBN 978-0-7914-0914-5.
- ↑ Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, Allah
- ↑ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, Allah
- ↑ "الكتاب المقدس باللغة العربية مع السرد الصوتي - Arabic Bible". wordproject.org (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ↑ "A Short History of Bible Translation in Turkey". translation-trust.org. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.