The closely related plural form elohim is used more often in the Bible, but both derive from the same Semitic root as Allah.Įl and elohim, the New Testament theos (hence theology), the Latin deus (hence deism), and the pre-Christian, Germanic god can all refer both to the Judeo-Christian god and other supernatural beings. Muhammad’s own father, who died before the Prophet was born, was called Abdullah (Servant of God).īut the argument that Allah cannot be God because he was originally part of a polytheistic religious system ignores the origins of Jewish monotheism (and its Christian and Islamic derivatives).īiblical writers identified the Canaanite high god El with their own god even though he originally presided over a large pantheon.
Indeed, Allah was recognised mostly by polytheists before the revelation of the Qur’an. Some will reply that while there are competing interpretations of the one Jesus, God and Allah have different origins. Yet, they seem sure that Jews worship the same god despite similarly rejecting the trinity and the incarnation.Ĭlaiming that the Qur’an’s god and the Bible’s god are different beings is rather like arguing that the New Testament’s Jesus and the Qur’an’s Jesus (who is not divine and was not crucified) are different historic individuals. Some Christians therefore deny that Allah is the god they acknowledge. The names Allah and al-Rahman were evidently used by pre-Islamic Jews and Christians for God, and the Qur’an (5:17-18) even criticises Christians for identifying Allah with Christ and both Jews and Christians for calling themselves children of Allah.Īllah is not a trinity of three persons and has no son who was incarnate (made flesh) as a man. All Muslims and most Christians acknowledge that they believe in the same god even though their understandings differ.Īrabic-speaking Christians call God Allah, and Gideon bibles, quoting John 3:16 in different languages, assert that Allah sent his son into the world.Īddressing Christians and Jews, the Qur’an declares, “Our god and your god are one” (29:46). Allah and the god of the BibleĪllah is usually thought to mean “the god” ( al-ilah) in Arabic and is probably cognate with rather than derived from the Aramaic Alaha. In their prayers and on other occasions (including battles and street protests), Muslims declare that Allah is the greater than anything else ( Allahu akbar). If matters go well, one says ma sha‘ allah (Whatever Allah wills), but in any event one can say al-hamdu li-llah (Thanks be to Allah). Nothing can ever happen unless it is caused or at least permitted by Allah, so when making plans of any kind, Muslims typically say in sha‘ allah (God willing). Muslims claim to reject anthropomorphic descriptions of Allah, yet the Qur’an describes him as speaking, sitting on a throne, and having a face, eyes and hands. Two important titles of Allah occur in a phrase that typically prefaces texts: Bismillah, al-Rahman, al-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful).Īllah is also the Master of the Day of Judgment, when the good, especially believers, will be sent to their heavenly reward, and the wicked, especially unbelievers, will be dispatched to hellfire. These include the Creator, the King, the Almighty, and the All-Seer. Unlike the biblical Yahweh (sometimes misread as Jehovah), he has no personal name, and his traditional 99 names are really epithets. The Qur’an refers to Allah as the Lord of the Worlds. Miraculously, the Qur’an (“recitation”) revealed to Muhammad – the very word of Allah – will not suffer this fate, so there is no need for further prophets or revelations.