“Allah” is an Arabic word that many of Islamic faith use to refer to their concept of God. However, there is much controversy about its origin and there are many, many complex meanings for the word. There is even controversy about whether non-Arab people or those of non-Islamic faith should even use the term. The complexities surrounding the word “Allah” are endless.
Many sources claim that Allah comes from the Arabic term for “the God”, “al-ilah”. However, these sources are primarily non-Islamic and often specifically Christian. In fact, many Evangelical Christians used this claim to support their propaganda that Allah was originally a pagan moon god. (“Is Allah God’s Name?”).
Many Muslim sources go out of their way to debunk this, saying it is far more likely that Allah comes from the Aramaic/Syriac world “alaha” which means God. The reasoning for this is that the last letter of “alaha” was often dropped when the Syriac name was borrowed into the Arabic language. Another good point is that if the name “Allah” was truly derived from “al-ilah”, the term “ya Allah” or “O Allah” would be grammatically incorrect because when addressing someone with the term “ya” it is required that the word “al” or “the” be dropped from the title. Yet as Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon points out, the “al” is inseparable from Allah’s name, because Allah is his true name and is not derived from the article “al” (“Allah, the unique name of God”).
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An interesting and unique feature to Allah as a word in the Arabic language is that the second “a” in the word is pronounced as “ah”. The pronunciation of the “a” vowel as “ah” (as in “Prada”) does not exist in Arabic. Yet the second “a” vowel in Allah is pronounced that way and that is the only Arabic word where this is the case. However, in the Aramaic/Syriac language, the vowel pronounced like “ah” is common and is used in “alaha”. Therefore, this seems to be the final bit of proof that the Arabic word “Allah” is borrowed from the Aramaic/Syriac language and is specifically borrowed from the word “alaha” (Heger).It should also be mentioned that some Islamic scholars also believe that Allah originates specifically from “the phrase alahaya’lahu-uluhatan- ilahatan-ilahiyyatan which means „abada-‘ibadatan – to worship and worshipping” because it is said that “Allah has attributes of Godliness (al-ilahiyyah) and submission (al-‘ubudiyah) on all of His creations” (“Allah: Does Not Only Mean ‘God'” ).
According to many Arabic lexicons, the world “Allah” means “the Being Who comprises all attributes of perfection”. This is supported by the Qu’ran saying that Allah is the best and most beautiful name (“Allah, the unique name of God”). Another source states “It is said by that Allah is a Most Glorified name has ten uttered characteristics… about its worldly characteristic, the most knowledgeable of all Allah‟s creation, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I cannot praise You as whole and as perfect as it should be. You areas You praise Yourself (end of saying).” (“Allah: Does Not Only Mean ‘God'”).
Many non-Arab and specifically Christian sources claim that “Ah-Lat” is the feminine form of Allah. However, this claim has also been debunked by Muslim sources who point out that “Ah-Lat” is a “the tribal god of the Thaqeef tribe who lived in the city of Taif”. Ah-Lat is also believed to have been the daughter of Allah (“Allah, the unique name of God”).
A Muslim source states that the word “Allah” is unique because it has, throughout history, never been used to refer to beings other than the one God. The term for God in other languages, like the one used in English, can be used to refer to beings other than one God. God can even be pluralized as “gods” and be used to refer to multiple powerful beings. But this is not the case for Allah. It is referred to only as the personal name of this Supreme Being. The Holy Quran even states that no others can be named Allah. (“Allah: Does Not Only Mean ‘God'”).
This reasoning is what is used to support the argument that no other cultures or religions should use the term “Allah” to refer to their God because it is a term that only refers to the God of the Islamic origin. It has very specific connotations. It is “not merely a word for conversation or an exclamation or a calling name for God” but “a name that signifies the faith (aqidah) or religion of the person who uses it.” (“Allah: Does Not Only Mean ‘God'”).
However, there is some controversy around this subject. Many Arab Christians and Jews refer to their one god as “Allah”. There is evidence that Arab Christians and Jews may have in fact been using the term for Allah since pre-Islamic times (Jeffrey 85). Moreover, the Arabic translation of the Bible has referred to the Christian God as “Allah” . “Muslim writers have been using Allah in their quotations of the Christian Bible since the ninth century. Jewish scholars have also been translating elohim and elah as Allah since the earliest known Arabic translations of the Torah in the ninth century until today” (Massey).
The word was used in both Nabatean compound phrases and Meccans pre-Islam. Many inscriptions using the term “Allah” were discovered to have been made in 5th century B.C. and inscriptions using the term were found dating back to 1700 B.C. in Babylon (Jeffrey 85). As previously stated, it is likely it was derived from Aramaic. Despite all this, the Islamic government in Malaysia did ban the usage of “Allah” by the non-Muslim minority in their country was upheld in 2014, showing that many Muslims do believe “Allah” should only refer specifically to the Islamic God (France-Presse).
In conclusion, the word Allah has a lot of controversy around its origin and its modern issues. It has certainly been in use since pre-Islamic times and it is likely it is derived from Aramaic. However, there is no doubt that now it is primarily used to refer to the God of the Islamic faith.
- France-Presse, Agence. “Malaysia’s highest court backs a ban on Allah in Christian
bibles.” Guardian 23 Jun 2014, n. pag. Web. 31 Jul. 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/23/malaysia-highest-court-allah-bible-ban - Heger, Christoph. “The Origin of the name “Allah”.”Answering Islam. Answering Islam, 25 Mar 1998. Web. 31 Jul 2014. http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Sources/alaha.html
- Jeffrey, A. Islam: Mohammed and His Religion. Stockbridge: Liberal Arts Press, 1958. 85. Web.
- Massey, Joshua. “The use of the word “Allah”: Should Christians Use Allah in Bible Translation?” The People of the Book. The People of the Book. Web. 31 Jul 2014. http://www.thepeopleofthebook.org/Massey-Allah.html
- “Is Allah God’s Name?” Let Us Reason. Let Us Reason Ministries, n.d. Web. 31 Jul 2014. http://www.letusreason.org/islam6.htm
- “Allah: Does Not Only Mean ‘God’.” Islam.gov.my. JAKIM Research Department. Web. 31 Jul 2014. http://www.islam.gov.my/sites/default/files/kalimah_allah_0.pdf
- “Allah, the unique name of God.” Muslim.org. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha`at Islam Lahore . Web. 31 Jul 2014. http://www.muslim.org/islam/allah.htm
