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Allah
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Name of
Allāh written in
Arabic calligraphy by 17th century Ottoman artist Hâfız Osman
For other uses, see
Allah (disambiguation).
This article is about the Arabic word "Allah". For the Islamic conception of God, see
God in Islam.
ArabicاللهTransliterationAllāhTranslationGod
Allah (
Arabic:
الله, Allāh,
IPA: [ʔalˤːɑːh]) is the standard Arabic word for "
God".
[1] While the term is best known in the
West for its use by
Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all
Abrahamic faiths, including
Christians and
Jews, in reference to "God".
[2][1][3] The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.[4]
The concepts associated with the term
Allah (as a deity) differ among the traditions. In
pre-Islamic Arabia amongst
pagan Arabs,
Allah was not the sole divinity, having associates and companions, sons and daughters, a concept strongly opposed by
Islam. In Islam,
Allah is the supreme and all-comprehensive divine name. All other divine names are believed to refer back to the one God.
[5] Allah is unique, the
only God, transcendent
creator of the universe and omnipotent.
[2][1] Arab Christians today, having no other word for 'God' than
Allah,
[6] use terms such as
Allāh al-Āb (
الله الآب) "God the Father". There are both similarities and differences between the concept of God as portrayed in the Qur'an and the Hebrew Bible.
[7]
Unicode has a codepoint reserved for
Allāh,
ﷲ = U+FDF2.
[8] Many Arabic type fonts feature special ligatures for Allah.
[9]
Etymology
Medallion showing 'Allah' in
Hagia Sophia,
Istanbul,
Turkey.
The term
Allāh is most likely derived from a
contraction of the Arabic article
al- and
ʾilāh "deity, god" to
al-lāh meaning "the [sole] deity, God" (
ho theos monos).
[4] Another theory traces the etymology of the word to the
Aramaic Alāhā.
[4] Cognates of the name "Allāh" exist in other
Semitic languages, including
Hebrew and
Aramaic.
[3] The corresponding
Aramaic form is אֱלָהָא
ˀĔlāhā in
Biblical Aramaic and ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ
ˀAlâhâ or
ˀĀlōho in
Syriac.
[10]
The contraction of
al- and
ʾilāh in forming the term
Allāh (the deity in the masculine form) parallels the contraction of
al- and
ʾilāha in forming the term
Allāt (the deity in the feminine form).
[11]
Usage in Arabic
Pre-Islamic Arabia
In pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah was used by Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity.
[12] Allah was not the sole divinity and the notion of the term may have been vague in the Meccan religion.
[4] Allah had associates and companions, whom
pre-Islamic Arabs considered as subordinate deities. Meccans held that a kind of kinship existed between Allah and the
jinn.
[13] Allah had sons
[14] and the local deities of
al-ʿUzzā,
Manāt and
al-Lāt were his daughters.
[15] The Meccans possibly associated angels with Allah.
[16][17] Allah was invoked in times of distress.
[18][17] Muhammad's father name was ʿAbdallāh meaning the servant of Allāh.
[17]
Muslims
Main article: God in Islam
Main article: 99_Names_of_God_in_the_Qur'an
In Islam, Allah is the name of the nameless God,
[11] the pivot of the Muslim faith.
[1] "He is the
only God, transcendent
creator of the universe, and the judge of humankind."
[2][1] "He is unique (
wahid) and inherently one (
ahad), all-merciful and omnipotent."
[1] The Qur'an insists upon "the reality of Allah, His inaccessible mystery, His various names, and His actions on behalf of His creatures."
[1]
Allah script outside
Eski Cami (The Old Mosque) in
Edirne,
Turkey.
According to the tradition of Islam there are
99 Names of God (
al-asma al-husna lit. meaning: "The best names") each of which evoke a distinct characteristic of Allah.
[19][2] All these names refer to Allah, the supreme and all-comprehensive divine name.
[5] Among the 99 names of God, the most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Merciful" (
al-rahman) and "the Compassionate" (
al-rahim).
[19][2]
Most Muslims use the untranslated Arabic phrase "insha' Allah" (meaning "God willing") after references to future events.
[20] Muslim discursive piety encourages beginning things with the invocation of "basmAllah".
[21]
Muslims are recommended to repeat phrases like "Subhan-Allah" (Holiness be to God), "Ahlamdo-Lillah" (Praise be to God), "La-il-la-ha-il-Allah" (There is no deity but God) and "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is great) as a devotional exercise of remembering God (zikr).
[22] In a
Sufi practice known as
zikr Allah (lit. remembrance of God), the Sufi repeats and contemplates on the name
Allah or other divine names while controlling his or her breath.
[23]
You mentioned the the first evidence with its references
but I am not sure about this line(
It signifies the goddess; and particularly the serpent; because it was a special object of worship of some of the ancient Arabs; or the great serpent; and the new moon.)
So you have to check again.
The second evidence is not followed by a reference???
Would you please mention one.
To Be Continued
