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Allah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Arabic word "Allah". See God in Islam for the Islamic conception of God.
| Arabic |
| الله |
| Transliteration |
| Allāh |
| Translation |
| God |
Allah (Arabic: الله, Allāh) is the standard Arabic word for "God".[1] The term 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); another theory traces the etymology of the word to the Aramaic Alāhā.[2]
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".[3][1][4] The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.[2]
The concepts associated with the term Allah (as a deity) though differed from tradition to tradition. In pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah was not the sole divinity, had associates and companions, sons and daughters. There was also a kind of kinship of between Allah and the jinn. [5] In Islam, Allah is the pivot of the Muslim faith who is only God, all-merciful and omnipotent, transcendent creator of the universe, and the judge of humankind.[3][1] As the Arab Christians today have no other word for 'God' than 'Allah'[6], they for example use terms Allāh al-ab (الله الآب) meaning God the father, Allāh al-ibn (الله الابن) mean God the son, and Allāh al-ruh al ghodus (الله الروح القدس) meaning God the Holy Spirit. There are both similarities and differences between the concept of God as portrayed in the Qur'an and the Hebrew Bible. [7] The Qur'an also rejects the Trinitarian conception of God as three persons in one substance (see Trinity).[8]
Contents |
Etymology
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), L. Gardet states.[2] Another theory traces the etymology of the word to the Aramaic Alāhā.[2]. Cognates of the name "Allāh" exist in other Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Aramaic.[4] The corresponding Aramaic form is אֱלָהָא ˀĔlāhā in Biblical Aramaic and ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ ˀAlâhâ or ˀĀlōho in Syriac.[9].
According to Gerhard Böwering, 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 al-Lāt (“the deity” in the feminine form). [10]
Usage
In this section the usage and concepts associated with the term Allah (as a deity) in various traditions is briefly covered. It should be however noted that even when the term Allah (as a deity) is not broadly used in a language, expressions based on this term may be popular. For example, because of the centuries long Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula, the word ojalá (Arabic: إن شاء الله) today exist in the Spanish language, borrowed from Arabic. These words literally mean "God willing" (in the sense of "I hope so").[11]
Polytheistic religion of the pre-Islamic Arabs
In pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah was used by Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity (see 13:16 ; 29:61-63; 31:25; 39:38). Allah was not the sole divinity and according to L. Gardet, the notion of the term was vague in the Meccan religion.[2] Allah had associates and companions, whom pre-Islamic Arabs considered as subordinate deities. Meccans held that a kind of kinship of between Allah and the jinn existed (see 37:158). Allah had sons (6:100) and the local deities of al-ʿUzzā, Manāt and al-Lāt were his daughters (53:19-22 16:57 37:149). The Meccans possibly associated angels with Allah (53:26-27).[5] Allah was invoked in times of distress (see 6:109; 10:22; 16:38; 29:65).[5] Muhammad's father name was ʿAbdallāh meaning the “servant of Allāh.”[5]
Islam
In Islam, Allah is the name of the nameless God. [10] Allah is the pivot of the Muslim faith, Britannica Encyclopedia states. [1] He is the only God, transcendent creator of the universe, and the judge of humankind.[3][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]
According to the tradition of Islam there are more than 99 Names of God (al-asma al-husna lit. meaning: "The best names") each of which evoke a distinct characteristic of Allah. The most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Merciful" (al-rahman) and "the Compassionate" (al-rahim).[12][3]
Some Muslims leave the name "Allāh" untranslated in English. [13] Sometimes this comes from a zeal for the Arabic text of the Qur'an and sometimes with a more or less conscious implication that the God that Jews and Christians worship is not really true in it the full sense.[14] On the other hand, The usage of the term Allah by English speaking non-Muslims in reference to the God in Islam, Marshall G. S. Hodgson says, can imply that Muslims are worshiping a mythical god named 'Allah' rather than God, the creator. This usage is therefore appropriate, Hodgson says, only for those who are prepared to accept its theological implications. [14]
Other
Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word "Allah" to mean "God".[4] The Christian Arabs of today have no other word for 'God' than 'Allah'.[6] Arab Christians for example use terms Allāh al-ab (الله الآب) meaning God the father, Allāh al-ibn (الله الابن) mean God the son, and Allāh al-ruh al ghodus (الله الروح القدس) meaning God the Holy Spirit (See God in Christianity for the Christian concept of God).
According to Marshall Hodgson, it seems that in the pre-Islamic times, some Arab Christians made pilgrimage to the Kaaba, a pagan temple at that time, honoring Allah there as God the Creator.[15]
Cross-religion comparison (an academic view)
Some western scholars have suggested that Muhammad used the term Allah in addressing both pagan Arabs and Jews or Christians in order to establish a common ground for the understanding of the name for God, a claim Gerhard Böwering says must remain doubtful. [10]
- Islamic vs Pre-Islamic Arabian conceptions
According to Gerhard Böwering, in contrast with Pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism, God in Islam does not have associates and companions nor is there any kinship between God and jinn. [10] Pre-Islamic pagan Arabs believed in a blind, powerful, inexorable and insensible fate over which man had no control. This was replaced with the Islamic notion of a powerful but provident and merciful God.[8]
- Islamic vs Jewish conceptions
According to Francis Edwards Peters, "The Qur'an insists, Muslims believe, and historians affirm that Muhammad and his followers worship the same God as the Jews (29:46). The Quran's Allah is the same Creator God who covenanted with Abraham". Peters states that the Qur'an portrays Allah as both more powerful and more remote than Yahweh, and as a universal deity, unlike Yahweh who closely follows Israelites.[7] According to Britannica Encyclopedia [1]:
God, says the Qur'an, “loves those who do good,” and two passages in the Qur'an express a mutual love between God and man, but the Judeo-Christian precept to “love God with all thy heart” is nowhere formulated in Islam. The emphasis is rather on God's inscrutable sovereignty, to which one must abandon oneself. In essence, the “surrender to Allah” (Islam) is the religion itself.
- Islamic vs Christian conceptions
Islam vigorously rejects the Christian belief that God is three persons in one substance (see Trinity). According to Britannica Encyclopedia, in Islamic conception of God, no intermediaries between God and the creation exists and God's presence is believed to be everywhere, and yet he is not incarnated in anything.[8]
See also
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia - Allah
- The Concept of Allāh according to the Qur'an
- Strong's Concordance H433 "Eloah" (See Gesenius's Lexicon commentary).
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Allah." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ a b c d e "Allah", Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ a b c d Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, Allah
- ^ a b c Columbia Encyclopedia, Allah
- ^ a b c d Gerhard Böwering, God and his Attributes, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
- ^ a b Lewis, Bernard; Holt, P. M.; Holt, Peter R.; Lambton, Ann Katherine Swynford (1977). The Cambridge history of Islam. Cambridge, Eng: University Press, 32. ISBN 0-521-29135-6.
- ^ a b F.E. Peters, Islam, p.4, Princeton University Press, 2003
- ^ a b c "Islam." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, p.3
- ^ The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon - Entry for ˀlh
- ^ a b c d Böwering, Gerhard, God and his Attributes, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, Brill, 2007.
- ^ Islam in Luce López Baralt, Spanish Literature: From the Middle Ages to the Present, BRILL, 1992, ISBN 9004094601, p.25
- ^ Bentley, David (Sept. 1999). The 99 Beautiful Names for God for All the People of the Book. William Carey Library. ISBN 0-87808-299-9.
- ^ F. E. Peters, The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition, Princeton University Press, p.12
- ^ a b Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, University of Chicago Press, p.63
- ^ Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, University of Chicago Press, p.156
