Allah | Deity, Meaning, & Facts - Encyclopedia Britannica

Allah, the one and only God in Islam; also, the term meaning 'God' for speakers of Arabic irrespective of religion. Etymologically, the name Allah is ... Allah TableofContents Introduction FastFacts 2-MinSummary RelatedContent More MoreArticlesOnThisTopic AdditionalReading Contributors ArticleHistory Home Philosophy&Religion AncientReligions&Mythology Allah Qurʾān Print Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. SelectCitationStyle MLA APA ChicagoManualofStyle CopyCitation Share Share Sharetosocialmedia Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/Allah More GiveFeedback ExternalWebsites Feedback Corrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin). FeedbackType Selectatype(Required) FactualCorrection Spelling/GrammarCorrection LinkCorrection AdditionalInformation Other YourFeedback SubmitFeedback Thankyouforyourfeedback Oureditorswillreviewwhatyou’vesubmittedanddeterminewhethertorevisethearticle. JoinBritannica'sPublishingPartnerProgramandourcommunityofexpertstogainaglobalaudienceforyourwork! ExternalWebsites ReligionFacts-Allah By AsmaAfsaruddin • EditHistory Allah,ArabicAllāh(“God”),theoneandonlyGodinIslam.Etymologically,thenameAllahisprobablyacontractionoftheArabical-Ilāh,“theGod.”Thename’sorigincanbetracedtotheearliestSemiticwritingsinwhichthewordforgodwasil,el,oreloah,thelattertwousedintheHebrewBible(OldTestament).AllahisthestandardArabicwordforGodandisusedbyArabic-speakingChristiansandJewsaswellasbyMuslims.TheassociationofthewordspecificallywithIslamcomesfromthespecialstatusofArabicasthelanguageofIslam’sholyscripture,theQurʾān:sincetheQurʾāninitsoriginallanguageisconsideredtobetheliteralwordofGod,itisbelievedthatGoddescribedhimselfintheArabiclanguageasAllāh.TheArabicwordthusholdsspecialsignificanceforMuslims,regardlessoftheirnativetongue,becausetheArabicwordwasspokenbyGodhimself. BritannicaQuiz WorldReligions&Traditions Doyoubelieveyouknowallthereistoknowaboutfaitharoundtheglobe?Fromtemplestofestivals,thisquizexplorescreedsandcultures. AllahisthepivotoftheMuslimfaith.TheQurʾānstressesaboveallAllah’ssingularityandsolesovereignty,adoctrinaltenetindicatedbytheArabictermtawḥīd(“oneness”).Heneversleepsortires,and,whiletranscendent,heperceivesandreactstoeverythingineveryplacethroughtheomnipresenceofhisdivineknowledge.Hecreatesexnihiloandisinnoneedofaconsort,nordoeshehaveoffspring.ThreethemespreponderateintheQurʾān:(1)AllahistheCreator,Judge,andRewarder;(2)heisunique(wāḥid)andinherentlyone(aḥad);and(3)heisomnipotentandall-merciful.Allahisthe“LordoftheWorlds,”theMostHigh;“nothingislikeuntohim,”andthisinitselfistothebelieverarequesttoadoreAllahastheProtectorandtoglorifyhispowersofcompassionandforgiveness.Allah,saystheQurʾān,“lovesthosewhodogood,”andtwopassagesintheQurʾānexpressamutuallovebetweenhimandhumanity.Althoughheisinfinitelyforgiving,accordingtotheQurʾān,thereisoneinfractionthatGodwillnotforgiveinthehereafter:thesinofassociationism,orpolytheism(shirk).TheGodoftheQurʾānproclaimshimselftobetheoneandthesameastheGodwhohascommunicatedwithhumanitythroughhisvariousemissaries(rusul)whocametodifferentcommunities,includingtheJewishandChristianprophets.Muslimscholarshavecollected,intheQurʾānandintheHadith(thesayingsoftheProphetMuhammad),the99“mostbeautifulnames”(al-asmāʾal-ḥusnā)ofAllah,whichdescribehisattributes.Thesenameshavebecomeobjectsofdevotedrecitationandmeditation.AmongthenamesofAllaharetheOneandOnly,theLivingOne,theSubsisting(al-Ḥayyal-Qayyūm),theRealTruth(al-Ḥaqq),theSublime(al-ʿAẓīm),theWise(al-Ḥakīm),theOmnipotent(al-ʿAzīz),theHearer(al-Samīʿ),theSeer(al-Baṣīr),theOmniscient(al-ʿAlīm),theWitness(al-Shahīd),theTrustee(al-Wakīl),theBenefactor(al-Raḥmān),theMerciful(al-Raḥīm),theUtterlyCompassionate(al-Raʾūf),andtheConstantForgiver(al-Ghafūr,al-Ghaffār).Theprofessionoffaith(shahādah)bywhichapersonisintroducedintotheMuslimcommunityconsistsoftheaffirmationthatthereisnogodbutAllahandthatMuhammadishismessenger.ForpiousMuslims,everyactionisopenedbyaninvocationofthedivinename(basmalah).TheformulainshāʾaAllāh,“ifAllahwills,”appearsfrequentlyindailyspeech.Thisformulaisthereminderofanever-presentdivineinterventionintheorderoftheworldandtheactionsofhumanbeings.MuslimsbelievethatnothinghappensandnothingisperformedunlessitisbythewillorcommandmentofAllah,althoughhumansareindividuallyresponsibleforthemoralchoicestheymakeatanygivenmoment.AssignifiedbythetermIslam,thepersonalattitudeofaMuslimbeliever,therefore,isaconscioussubmissiontoGod.SuchsubmissionisnotblindandpassivebutshouldbepurposefulandbasedontheknowledgeofGodandhiscommandmentsthroughhisrevelations. AsmaAfsaruddin TheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannica