Who Is Allah?
The Arabic word “Allah” means “The God.” While the two terms might be used interchangeably, many English-speaking Muslims prefer the former, as its linguistic implications are more precise in defining their sole deity.
A closer understanding of the word “Allah” may be gained by examining the term linguistically. Its first two letters, “Al,” most closely translated as “the” in English, constitute the definite article; thus it cannot be pluralized. While the English word “God” can transformed to take on different meanings such as “gods” and “goddess,” the Arabic word Allah can undergo no such changes. In fact, the word Allah can refer to nothing other than the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In the Qur’an, Allah is referred to using the singular pronoun “huwa,” usually translated as “he” or “it.” However, the translator’s rule of thumb (“translation is treachery to the text”) proves true here as the English speaker might gather from these terms that his Lord’s reality is either opposite to the nature of a female or that his Lord is an inanimate object, both of which are incorrect. These tools of classification (male, female, animate, inanimate) used to help us understand the nature of the CREATION cannot accurately portray the reality of the CREATOR, a reality too awesome for the human intellect to encompass.
Islam’s holy scriptures emphasize God’s absolute, incomparable Perfection and His constant Custody over the affairs of His Creation. Allah is All-Seeing, All-Knowing, and All-Hearing. He is unlike anything. His Bounty is infinite, His Mercy incomparable, His Justice indisputable, His Decree inarguable, His Law final, and His Words never run dry.
Since God created and continues to sustain the heavens and earth Alone with no partner, He deserves to be worshipped alone with no partner. Paying tribute to, and directing worship toward, a sole entity is a part of human nature. It is cited that even atheists tend to extol some form of idol, be it their own whims and opinions, human intellect, modern science, or the like. Worshipping God alone is the only proper expression of this universal inclination to pay tribute to some guiding force.
A closer understanding of the word “Allah” may be gained by examining the term linguistically. Its first two letters, “Al,” most closely translated as “the” in English, constitute the definite article; thus it cannot be pluralized. While the English word “God” can transformed to take on different meanings such as “gods” and “goddess,” the Arabic word Allah can undergo no such changes. In fact, the word Allah can refer to nothing other than the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In the Qur’an, Allah is referred to using the singular pronoun “huwa,” usually translated as “he” or “it.” However, the translator’s rule of thumb (“translation is treachery to the text”) proves true here as the English speaker might gather from these terms that his Lord’s reality is either opposite to the nature of a female or that his Lord is an inanimate object, both of which are incorrect. These tools of classification (male, female, animate, inanimate) used to help us understand the nature of the CREATION cannot accurately portray the reality of the CREATOR, a reality too awesome for the human intellect to encompass.
Islam’s holy scriptures emphasize God’s absolute, incomparable Perfection and His constant Custody over the affairs of His Creation. Allah is All-Seeing, All-Knowing, and All-Hearing. He is unlike anything. His Bounty is infinite, His Mercy incomparable, His Justice indisputable, His Decree inarguable, His Law final, and His Words never run dry.
Since God created and continues to sustain the heavens and earth Alone with no partner, He deserves to be worshipped alone with no partner. Paying tribute to, and directing worship toward, a sole entity is a part of human nature. It is cited that even atheists tend to extol some form of idol, be it their own whims and opinions, human intellect, modern science, or the like. Worshipping God alone is the only proper expression of this universal inclination to pay tribute to some guiding force.
