What does allah mean

What does allah mean

1. Whatdoes“Allah”mean?
ByAbuImanAbdar-RahmanRobertSquires.©MuslimAnswers
Someofthebiggestmisconceptionsthatmanynon-MuslimshaveaboutIslamhavetodowiththeword
“Allah”.Forvariousreasons,manypeoplehavecometobelievethatMuslimsworshipadifferentGod
thanChristiansandJews.Thisistotallyfalse,since“Allah”issimplytheArabicwordfor“God”-and
thereisonlyOneGod.Lettherebenodoubt-MuslimsworshiptheGodofNoah,Abraham,Moses,David
andJesus-peacebeuponthemall.However,itiscertainlytruethatJews,ChristiansandMuslimsall
havedifferentconceptsofAlmightyGod.Forexample,Muslims-likeJews-rejecttheChristianbeliefsof
theTrinityandtheDivineIncarnation.This,however,doesn’tmeanthateachofthesethreereligions
worshipsadifferentGod-because,aswehavealreadysaid,thereisonlyOneTrueGod.Judaism,
ChristianityandIslamallclaimtobe“AbrahamicFaiths”,andallofthemarealsoclassifiedas
“monotheistic”.However,Islamteachesthatotherreligionshave,inonewayoranother,distortedand
nullifiedapureandproperbeliefinAlmightyGodbyneglectingHistrueteachingsandmixingthemwith
man-madeideas.Firstofall,itisimportanttonotethat“Allah”isthesamewordthatArabic-speaking
ChristiansandJewsuseforGod.IfyoupickupanArabicBible,youwillseetheword“Allah”beingused
where“God”isusedinEnglish.Thisisbecause“Allah”istheonlywordintheArabiclanguage
equivalenttotheEnglishword“God”withacapital“G”.Additionally,theword“Allah”cannotbemade
pluralorgivengender(i.e.masculineorfeminine),whichgoeshand-in-handwiththeIslamicconceptof
God.Becauseofthis,andalsobecausetheQur’an,whichistheholyscriptureofMuslims,wasrevealed
intheArabiclanguage,someMuslimsusetheword“Allah”for“God”,evenwhentheyarespeakingother
languages.Thisisnotuniquetotheword“Allah”,sincemanyMuslimstendtouseArabicwordswhen
discussingIslamicissues,regardlessofthelanguagewhichtheyspeak.Thisisbecausetheuniversal
teachingsofIslam-eventhoughtheyhavebeentranslatedineverymajorlanguage-havebeen
preservedintheArabiclanguage.ItisinterestingtonotethattheAramaicword“El”,whichisthewordfor
GodinthelanguagethatJesusspoke,iscertainlymoresimilarinsoundtotheword“Allah”thanthe
Englishword“God”.ThisalsoholdstrueforthevariousHebrewwordsforGod,whichare“El”and
“Elah”,andthepluralform“Elohim”.ThereasonforthesesimilaritiesisthatAramaic,HebrewandArabic
areallSemiticlanguageswithcommonorigins.ItshouldalsobenotedthatintranslatingtheBibleinto
English,theHebrewword“El”istranslatedvariouslyas“God”,“god”and“angel”!Thisimprecise
languageallowsdifferenttranslators,basedontheirpreconceivednotions,totranslatethewordtofit
theirownviews.

2. TheArabicword“Allah”presentsnosuchdifficultyorambiguity,sinceitisonlyusedfor
AlmightyGodalone.Additionally,inEnglish,theonlydifferencebetween“god”,meaninga
falsegod,and“God”,meaningtheOneTrueGod,isthecapital“G”.IntheArabicalphabet,
sinceitdoesnothavecapitalletters,thewordforGod(i.e.Allah)isformedbyaddingthe
equivalenttotheEnglishword“the”(Al-)totheArabicwordfor“god/God”(ilah).Sothe
Arabicword“Allah”literallyitmeans“TheGod”-the“Al-”inArabicbasicallyservingthe
samefunctionasthecapital“G”inEnglish.Duetotheabovementionedfacts,amore
accuratetranslationoftheword“Allah”intoEnglishmightbe“TheOne-and-OnlyGod”or
“TheOneTrueeGod”.
Moreimportantly,itshouldalsobenotedthattheArabicword“Allah”containsadeep
religiousmessageduetoitsrootmeaningandorigin.Thisisbecauseitstemsfromthe
Arabicverbta’allaha(oralaha),whichmeans“tobeworshipped”.ThusinArabic,theword
“Allah”means“TheOnewhodeservesallworship”.This,inanutshell,isthePure
MonotheisticmessageofIslam.Yousee,accordingtoIslam,“monotheism”ismuchmore
thansimplybelievingintheexistenceof“onlyOneGod”-asseeminglyopposedtotwo,
threeormore.Ifoneunderstandstherootmeaningoftheword“Allah”,thispointshould
becomeclear.OneshouldunderstandthatIslam’scriticismoftheotherreligionsthatclaim
tobe“monotheistic”isnotbecausetheyare“polytheistic”intheclassicsense,but
becausetheydirectvariousformsofworshiptootherthanAlmightyGod.Wewilldiscuss
themeaningofworshipinIslambelow,however,beforemovingonitshouldbenotedthat
manynon-Muslimsareunawareofthedistinctionbetweensimplybelievingintheexistence
ofonlyOneGodandreservingallworshipforHimalone.

3. ManyChristiansarepainfullyunawareofthispoint,andthusyouoftenfindthemasking
howMuslimscanaccusethefollowersofJesus,peacebeuponhim,ofbeing“polytheists”
whentheywereall“monotheisticJews”.Firstofall,itshouldbeclarifiedthattheword
“polytheist”doesn’treallysoundrightinthiscontext,sincetomanyitimpliessimply
believingintheexistenceofmorethanoneGod.SoinanIslamiccontext,“associators”,
“man-worshippers”or“creatureworshippers”mightbemoreaccurateandappropriate
terms-especiallysinceChristiansbelieveJesustobeboth“100%Godand100%man”,
whilestillpayinglip-servicetoGod’s“Oneness”.However,aswe’repreviouslytouched
upon,whatisreallyattherootofthisproblemisthefactthatChristians-aswellasthe
membersofotherreligions-don’treallyknowwhat“monotheism”means-especiallyinthe
Islamicsense.Allofthebooks,articlesandpapersthatI’vereadwhichwerewrittenby
Christiansinvariablylimit“monotheism”tobelievingintheexistenceof“OneSovereign
andCreatorGod”.Islam,however,teachesmuchmorethanthis.
Sufficeittosaythatjustbecausesomeoneclaimstobea“monotheistic”Jew,Christianor
Muslim,thatdoesn’tkeepthemfromfallingintocorruptbeliefsandidolatrouspractices.
Manypeople,includingsomeMuslims,claimbeliefin“OneGod”eventhoughthey’vefallen
intoactsofidolatry.Certainly,manyProtestantsaccuseRomanCatholicsofidolatrous
practicesinregardstothesaintsandtheVirginMary.Likewise,theGreekOrthodoxChurch
isconsidered“idolatrous”bymanyotherChristiansbecauseinmuchoftheirworshipthey
useicons.However,ifyouaskaRomanCatholicoraGreekOrthodoxpersonifGodis
“One”,theywillinvariablyanswer:“Yes!”.Thislip-service,however,doesnotstopthem
frombeing“creatureworshipping”idolaters.ThesamegoesforHindus,whojustconsider
theirgodstobe“manifestations”or“incarnations”oftheOneSupremeGod.

4. Everyoneshouldbeawareofthefactthatthroughoutthelonghistoryofthe“Abrahamic
Faiths”,therehavepeoplewho,whilebelievingin“OneGod”,haveadoptedbeliefsand
practicesthatcompletelynullifytheirclaimto“monotheism”.ThisistheMuslimviewof
Christians.We’rewellawareofthefactthattheyclaimbeliefin“OneGod”withtheirlips,
butthisdoesn’tmeanthattheydon’tnullifytheirclaiminotherways.Thisisbecausemany
peoplesimplyhaven’tbeentaughteverythingthatPureMonotheismentails.Froman
Islamicpointofview,“monotheism”canbenullifiedinmanyways.Forexample,simply
believingthatitispermissibletorulebyWestern“liberal”and“democratic”lawsinlieuof
theDivinelyRevealedLawofAlmightyGodmakesonea“polytheist”.Certainly,aperson
whodoessuchathing,whetherJewish,ChristianorMuslim,doesn’teverbelievethatthere
isanotherAlmightyCreatorandSovereignLord.However,forallpracticalpurposes,sucha
personhastakeanother“god”,whethertheychoosetoadmititornot.Inthiswaytheyare
associatingpartnerswithAlmightyGod(Arabic:shirk),andthusbecomea“polytheist”ina
practicalsense,regardlessoftheirlip-serviceto“monotheism”.Thisholdstrueevenifthe
persondoesn’tbelievewhattheyaredoingis“worship”.Forexample,RomanCatholics
whopraytotheVirginMarywillstaunchlydenythattheyare“worshipping”her.They
insteadcallit“adoration”orsomeotherwatered-downterm.However,fromanIslamicpoint
ofview,whatisworshipifnotthis?Islamteachesthatprayerandsupplicationarethe
marrowofworship,soifonedirectstheirprayerstoanintermediary(eveniftheprayis
“ultimately”meantforGod),thenwhatisleftofworship?Additionally,howcansomeone
whobelievesinAlmightyGodfollowman-madelawsinsteadofGod’sLaw,without
admittingthatthey’vebegunworshippingotherthanGod?DotheyknowbetterthanGod?

5. Additionally,theOldTestamentmakesitperfectlyclearthatmakinga“gravenimage”ofany
createdthing(nottomentiononeswhicharesupposedto“represent”AlmightyGod)is
prohibited.PleaseseeExodus20:4-6,Leviticus26:1andDeuteronomy4:16,23,25,5:8and
Nehemiah9:6forsomestatementsinregardstothispoint.Withoutaddressingtheissue
thatChristianscommonlyviolatetheunambiguouscommandment nottoeven“make”
representationsofanythingthatisinthe“heavensaboveorontheearthbeneath”,these
versesnotonlyteachthatworshippingidolsisprohibited,butalsothatAlmightyGodis
eternallydistinctfromHiscreationandthusnothinginHiscreationcanrepresentHim.To
believeotherwiseistobeadefactoidolworshipper-evenifoneclaimsbeliefinone,and
onlyone,“TrueGod”.InExodus20:4-6andDeuteronomy4:16,AlmightyGod-whoisa
“JealousGod”-makesitperfectlyclearthatHeisdistinctfromHiscreation.
Bygivingsuchclearandmercifulguidancetohumanbeings,Godisestablishinga
universalandeternalTruthforthebenefitofmankind.ThiseternalTruthisthebedrockof
religiousguidance,sinceoncepeoplebegintobelievethatAlmightyGodmixeswithorcan
berepresentedbyHiscreation,theycanbedupedintobelievingalmostanything.Once
someoneacceptsthatGodhasbecome“incarnate”inHiscreation,orthatsomeoneor
somethingisa“manifestation”-andthusrepresentation-ofHim,thefloodgatesareopen
and“Truth”becomesamatterofsubjectiveguesswork.Oncethefirstandmostbasic
conceptisviolated-regardlessofhowcomplicatedandsophisticatedtherationaleforit
mightbe-itisveryeasytofallfurtherandfurtherawayfromtheEternalTruthofPure
Monotheism.Inthefinalanalysis,itisnotaquestionofwhetherGodiscapableofbecoming
aman,butratheraquestionofwhetheronebasestheirbeliefsaboutGodonclear,
unambiguousandauthenticguidance.

6. OnceitisleftuptothehumanmindtodecidewhatAlmightyGodcanandcannotdo,the
stageissetformisguidancetotakeroot.HumanspeculationaboutGodonlyendsup
leadingtomisguidanceanddespair,sincenoclearconclusionscaneverbereached.For
example,isGodcapableofcreatinganobjectsoheavythatHeisincapableofmovingit?If
not,doesthatmeanthatHeisincapable?Itisbecauseofmisguidedquestionslikethisthat
IslamclearlyteachesthatmankindshouldonlysayaboutGodwhatHehassaidabout
Himself.ThismeansallofourideasaboutGodmustbebasedonRevelation-nothuman
speculation.Inshort,thefinalprophetofIslam-Muhammad-wassentbyAlmightyGodto
preachthesamePureMonotheismthatwaspracticedbyNoah,Abraham,Moses,Davidand
Jesus-peacebeuponthemall.ThisPureMonotheismmeansnotonlybelievingthatthere
isonlyOneGodinexistence,butrealizingthatHeistranscedentaboveHiscreationand
thatallworshipisduetoHimalone.
Beforeconcluding,weshouldprobablyaddressthepracticeofthoseMuslimswhoinsiston
usingtheArabicword“Allah”evenwhenspeakingEnglish.Eventhoughthispractice
certainlyisnottobecondemnedwhenitisdonearoundthosewhounderstandthemeaning
oftheArabicword“Allah”,itismyexperience-bothduringmyyearsasanon-Muslimand
myyearsasaMuslim-thatsuchapracticecan(andusuallyddoes)breed
misunderstanding.Itseemsthatoftentimes,manyoftheMuslimswhousetheword“Allah”
inlieuoftheword“God”,evenwhentryingtoattractpeopletoIslam,areunawareofthe
severemisunderstandingsthatmanynon-MuslimshaveaboutIslam(andthedistortedway
whichIslamhasbeenportrayedintheWest).Insistingonusingtheword“Allah”onlyfuels
theflamesofmisunderstanding-sothere’snogoodreasontodoit.I’veoftenwondered
whatvaluesomeMuslimsthinkthatusingtheword“Allah”addstothePureMessagethat
theyaretryingtoconvey.

7. (...andI’mstillwaitingforananswer!)Unfortunately,thoseMuslimswhoinsistonusing
theword“Allah”evenwhenaddressingnon-MuslimswhoareunfamiliarwithIslamandthe
Arabiclanguage,dobothadisservicetothemselvesandtheirreligion.Unfortunately,this
practiceisusuallybasedonthefalseassumption-byanon-nativespeakerofEnglish-that
theword“God”inEnglishisincapableofexpressingapureandproperbeliefinAlmighty
God.Thisiscertainlyfalse.IfsomeonesaysthattheEnglishword“God”cannotbeusedto
expressthePureIslamicBeliefinTawhid,theyarewrongnotbecausetheydon’t
understandTawhid,butsimplybecausetheydon’tunderstandtheEnglishlanguage.Many
peoplewhoinsistonusingtheArabicword“Allah”usuallydon’trealizethis,becausein
reality,theyarenotsomuchaffirmingtheword“Allah”astheyarerejectingtheword“God”
asunsuitable-basedonincorrectassumptions.Forsomeonetoassumethattheword
“God”presupposesacertaintheologicalpoint-of-view(suchastheTrinity)issimplyWrong
-andthat’sWrongwithacapital“W”.Tosaytheword“God”shouldberejectedbecauseit
canbechangedinto“god”,“gods”or“goddess”isillogicalbecauseeachofthesewords
hasadistinctivemeaningandadistinctivespelling-atleasttosomeonewhoknowshowto
speakEnglishcorrectly.Usingthesamelogic,Icandemonstratethattherootletters“ktb”
canbeusedtoformtheArabicwords“kitab”(book),“maktabah”(library),“maktab”(office)
and“kaatib”(writer),butdoesthatmeanthatthesewordshavethesamemeaning?Do
Arabic-speakingpeoplegothroughlifeconfusinglibrarieswithwritersandofficeswith
books(bothinconversationandinreality)?Ithinknot!Thisisnottomentionthefactthatif
theArabic“Al-”wasputinfrontofthesewordsinordertomakethemdefinite,confusion
wouldbeevenlesslikely!Sothelogicinbothcasesisthesame,andthisisbecauseeven
thoughthesamelettersareusedin“God”and“god”,thesetwowordshavetwodifferent
meaningsintheEnglishlanguage.Thecapital“G”impliessomethingdifferentthanthe
small“g”-andanyonewhodeniesthissimplydoesn’tknowhowtospeaktheEnglish
language.

8. Inconcludingthispoint,itshouldbementionedthatArabic-speakingMuslimswhobelieve
inPureTawhid,Arabic-speakingChristians,theidolworshippersofMeccaand(so-called)
Muslimswhobelievein“Wahdatal-Wujud”allusetheword“Allah”.However,doesthis
guaranteeallofthemproperbeliefin“Allah”?Certainlynot,becauseiftheyhaveacorrupt
conceptof“Allah”itdoesn’tmatterwhatwordtheyuse!
Thisbringsustoamoreimportantpoint:ItshouldbeclearlyunderstoodthatwhatIslamis
primarilyconcernedwithiscorrectingmankind’sconceptofAlmightyGod.Whatweare
ultimatelygoingtobeheldaccountableattheendofourlifeisnotwhetherwepreferthe
word“Allah”overtheword“God”,butwhatourconceptofGodis.Languageisonlyaside
issue.ApersoncanhaveanincorrectconceptofGodwhileusingtheword“Allah”,and
likewiseapersoncanhaveacorrectconceptofGodwhileusingtheword“God”.Thisis
becausebothofthesewordsareequallycapableofbeingmisusedandbeingimproperly
defined.Aswe’vealreadymentioned,usingtheword“Allah”nomoreinsinuatesbeliefin
theUnityofGodthantheuseoftheword“God”insinuatesbeliefintheTrinity-oranyother
theologicalopinion.Naturally,whenGodsendsarevelationtomankindthroughaprophet,
Heisgoingtosenditinalanguagethatthepeoplewhoreceiveitcanunderstandandrelate
to.AlmightyGodmakesthisclearintheQur’an,whenHestates:
“NeverdidWesendaMessengerexcept(toteach)inthelanguageofhis(own)peoplein
ordertomake(things)cleartothem.”

9. (Qur’an,Chapter14-“Abraham”,Verse4)
AsMuslims,wethinkthatitisunfortunatethatwehavetogointodetailsonsuchseemingly
minorissues,butsomanyfalsehoodshavebeenheapeduponourreligion,thatwefeelthat
itisourdutytotrytobreakdownthebarriersoffalsehood.Thisisn’talwayseasy,since
thereisalotofanti-IslamicliteratureinexistencewhichtriestomakeIslamlooklike
somethingstrangeandforeigntoWesterners.Therearesomepeopleoutthere,whoare
obviouslynotonthesideoftruth,thatwanttogetpeopletobelievethat“Allah”isjust
someArabian“god”,andthatIslamiscompletely“other”-meaningthatithasnocommon
rootswiththeotherAbrahamicreligions(i.e.ChristianityandJudaism).TosaythatMuslims
worshipadifferent“God”becausetheysay“Allah”isjustasillogicalassayingthatFrench
peopleworshipanotherGodbecausetheyusetheword“Dieu”,thatSpanish-speaking
peopleworshipadifferentGodbecausetheysay“Dios”orthattheHebrewsworshippeda
differentGodbecausetheysometimescallHim“Yahweh”.Certainly,reasoninglikethisis
quiteridiculous!Itshouldalsobementioned,thatclaimingthatanyonelanguageusesthe
onlythecorrectwordforGodistantamounttodenyingtheuniversalityofGod’smessageto
mankind,whichwastoallnations,tribesandpeoplethroughvariousprophetswhospoke
differentlanguages.
Beforeclosing,wewouldlikeeveryonetobeawareofthefactthatsomeChristian
missionaryorganizationsprintEnglishliteratureintendedtoteachChristiansaboutIslam
whichsaysuchthingsas:“AllahisthegodoftheMuslims”andthat“Muhammadcameto
getpeopletobelieveinthegodAllah”-implyingthat“Allah”issomesortoffalse“god”.
However,whenthesesameorganizationsprintliteratureintheArabiclanguage,hopingto
leadArabic-speakingMuslims“toChrist”,theyusetheword“Allah”forGod.Itseemsthatif
theywereonthesideoftruth,theywouldnothavetoresorttosuchinconsistencies.Andon
anevenmoreridiculousnote...

10. therearealsomissionaryorganizationsthatexceedthisinignorance(ordeceit)bywriting
booksthatcallonMuslimstogiveuptheirbeliefin“Allah”,andinsteadworshipthe“Lord”
Jesus,“theSonofGod”.Besidesmakingitabundantlyclearthattheyareoutsidethe
communityofPureMonotheism,thepeoplewhowritesuchmaterialdon’tevenrealizethat
iftheywrotesuchapamphletinArabic,itwouldbeself-contradictory.Thisisbecauseinan
ArabicBibleJesusisthe“SonofAllah”!IfanArabic-speakingpersongaveuptheworship
of“Allah”,theywouldhavenoGodtoworship,since“Allah”issimplytheArabicwordfor
God!
Beforeweconclude,however,wewouldliketoaskourreaderstoaskthemselveswhatthey
thinkthereasonsarebehindalloftheselies?IfIslamwasjustsomefalsereligionthat
didn’tmakeanysense,wouldsomanypeople,fromWesternscholarstoChristian
missionaries,havetotellsomanyliesaboutit?ThereasonisthattheUltimateTruthof
IslamstandsonsolidgroundanditsunshakablebeliefintheUnityofGodisabove
reproach.Duetothis,Christianscan’tcriticizeitsdoctrinesdirectly,butinsteadmakeup
thingsaboutIslamthataren’ttruesothatpeoplelosethedesiretolearnmore.IfMuslims
wereabletopresentIslamintheproperwaytopeopleintheWest,itsurelymightmake
manypeoplereconsiderandre-evaluatetheirownbeliefs.ItisquitelikelythatChristians,
whentheyfindoutthatthereisauniversalreligionintheworldthatteachespeopleto
worshipandloveGod,whilealsopracticingPureMonotheism,wouldatleastfeelthatthey
shouldre-examinethebasisfortheirownbeliefsanddoctrines