Allah

==== Present day ====
In Islam, ''Allah'' is the unique, omnipotent and only deity and [[Creator deity|creator of the universe]] and is equivalent to [[God in Abrahamic religions|God in other Abrahamic religions]].<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="EncMMENA"/> ''Allah'' is usually seen as the personal name of God, a notion which became disputed in contemporary scholarship, including the question, whether or not the word ''Allah'' should be translated as ''God''.<ref>Andreas Görke and Johanna Pink Tafsir and Islamic Intellectual History Exploring the Boundaries of a Genre Oxford University Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies London {{ISBN|978-0-19-870206-1}} p. 478</ref>

According to Islamic belief, Allah is the most common word to represent God,<ref name="EoQ">Böwering, Gerhard, ''God and His Attributes'', Encyclopaedia of the Qurʼān, Brill, 2007.</ref> and humble submission to his will, divine ordinances and commandments is the pivot of the Muslim faith.<ref name="Britannica"/> "He is the only God, creator of the universe, and the judge of humankind."<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="EncMMENA"/> "He is unique (''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|wāḥid}}'') and inherently one (''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|aḥad}}''), all-merciful and omnipotent."<ref name="Britannica"/>      No human eyes can see Allah till the Day Of Judgement.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Translation|url=https://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=6&verse=103|access-date=2021-04-11|website=corpus.quran.com}}</ref> The Qur'an declares "the reality of Allah, His inaccessible mystery, His various names, and His actions on behalf of His creatures."<ref name="Britannica"/> Allah does not depend on anything.<ref>{{Cite web|title=112. Surah Al-Ikhlaas or At-Tauhid – NobleQuran.com|url=https://noblequran.com/surah-al-ikhlaas-or-at-tauhid/|access-date=2021-04-11|language=en-US}}</ref> God is not a part of the Christian Trinity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Translation|url=https://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=5&verse=73|access-date=2021-03-30|website=corpus.quran.com}}</ref> God has no parents and no children.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Translation|url=https://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=112&verse=3|access-date=2021-03-30|website=corpus.quran.com}}</ref>

The concept correlates to the [[Tawhid]], where chapter 112 of the [[Quran|Qur'an]] ([[Al-Ikhlas|''Al-'Ikhlās'']], The Sincerity) reads:<blockquote>
:[[۝]]<ref>[[Arabic script in Unicode]] symbol for a Quran verse, U+06DD, page 3, [http://www.evertype.com/standards/iso10646/pdf/09419-encode-koranic.pdf Proposal for additional Unicode characters]</ref> SAY, God is one GOD;
:۝ the eternal GOD:
:۝  He begetteth not, neither is He begotten:
:۝ and there is not any one like unto Him.<ref>[[Sale, G]] [[AlKoran]]</ref></blockquote>and in the [[Ayat ul-Kursi]] ("Verse of the Throne"), which is the 255th verse and the powerful verse in the longest chapter (the 2nd chapter) of the Qur'an, ''[[Al-Baqarah]]'' ("The Cow") states:

<blockquote>Allah! There is no deity but ''Him'', the Alive, the Eternal.
Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh ''Him''.

Unto ''Him'' belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth.
Who could intercede in ''His'' presence without ''His'' permission?

''He'' knoweth that which is in front of them and that which is behind them,
while they encompass nothing of ''His'' knowledge except what ''He'' wills.

''His'' throne includeth the heavens and the earth,
and ''He'' is never weary of preserving them.

''He'' is the Sublime, the Tremendous.</blockquote>

In Islamic tradition, there are [[99 Names of God]] (''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|al-asmā' al-ḥusná}}'' lit. meaning: 'the best names' or 'the most beautiful names'), each of which evoke a distinct characteristic of Allah.<ref name="EncMMENA" /><ref name="Ben">{{cite book |last=Bentley |first=David |title=The 99 Beautiful Names for God for All the People of the Book |publisher=William Carey Library |date=September 1999 |isbn=978-0-87808-299-5 }}</ref> All these names refer to Allah, the supreme and all-comprehensive divine name.<ref name="Tao-Islam">
{{cite book
| last =Murata
| first =Sachiko
| year =1992
| title =The Tao of Islam : a sourcebook on gender relationships in Islamic thought
| location =Albany NY USA
| publisher=SUNY
| isbn =978-0-7914-0914-5
}}</ref> Among the 99 names of God, the most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Merciful" (''[[Rahman (name)|ar-Raḥmān]]'') and "the Compassionate" (''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ar-Raḥīm}}''),<ref name="EncMMENA" /><ref name="Ben" /> including the forementioned above ''al-Aḥad'' ("the One, the Indivisible") and ''al-Wāḥid'' ("the Unique, the Single").

Most Muslims use the untranslated Arabic phrase ''[[Insha'Allah|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|in shā’a llāh}}]]'' (meaning 'if God wills') after references to future events.<ref>Gary S. Gregg, ''The Middle East: A Cultural Psychology'', Oxford University Press, p.30</ref> Muslim discursive piety encourages beginning things with the invocation of ''[[Basmala|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|bi-smi llāh}}]]'' (meaning 'In the name of God').<ref>Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, ''Islamic Society in Practice'', University Press of Florida, p. 24</ref> There are certain phrases in praise of God that are favored by Muslims, including "[[subhan'allah|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Subḥāna llāh}}]]" (Glory be to God), "[[Alhamdulillah|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|al-ḥamdu li-llāh}}]]" (Praise be to God), "[[Shahada|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|lā ilāha illā llāh}}]]" (There is no deity but God) or sometimes "''lā ilāha illā inta/ huwa''" (There is no deity but ''You''/ ''Him'') and "[[Takbir|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Allāhu Akbar}}]]" (God is the Most Great) as a devotional exercise of remembering God ([[dhikr]]).<ref>M. Mukarram Ahmed, Muzaffar Husain Syed, ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Anmol Publications PVT. LTD, p. 144</ref>

[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art txt 0222.1.jpg|thumb|right|Silk textile panel repeating the name Allah, North Africa, 18th century]]

In a [[Sufi]] practice known as ''dhikr Allah'' ([[Arabic]]: <big>ذكر الله</big>, lit. "Remembrance of God"), the Sufi repeats and contemplates the name ''Allah'' or other associated divine names to Him while controlling his or her breath.<ref>Carl W. Ernst, Bruce B. Lawrence, ''Sufi Martyrs of Love: The Chishti Order in South Asia and Beyond'', Macmillan, p. 29</ref> For example, in countless references in the context from the Qur'an forementioned above:

# Allah is referred to in the second [[Personal pronoun|person pronoun]] in Arabic as "''Anta'' ([[Arabic]]: <big>أَنْتَ</big>)" like the [[English language|English]] "''You''", or commonly in the third person pronoun "''Huwa'' ([[Arabic]]: َهُو)" like the English "''He''" and uniquely in the case pronoun of the [[Oblique case|oblique]] form "''Hu/ Huw'' ([[Arabic]]: هو /-هُ)" like the English "''Him''" which rhythmically resonates and is chanted as considered a sacred sound or echo referring Allah as the "Absolute Breath or Soul of Life"—''Al-[[Nafs]] al-Hayyah'' ([[Arabic]]: النّفس الحياة, ''an-Nafsu 'l-Ḥayyah'')—notably among the 99 names of God, "the Giver of Life" (''[[Al Muhyi|al-Muḥyī]]'') and "the Bringer of Death" (''[[Al Mumit|al-Mumiyt]]'');
# Allah is neither male or female (who has no gender), but who is the essence of the "Omnipotent, Selfless, Absolute Soul (''an-[[Nafs]],'' <big>النّفس</big>) and Holy Spirit" (''ar-[[Rūḥ]],'' <big>الرّوح</big>) - notably among the 99 names of God, "the All-Holy, All-Pure and All-Sacred" (''[[Al Quddus|al-Quddus]]'');
# Allah is the originator of both before and beyond the cycle of creation, destruction and time, - notably among the 99 names of God, "the First, Beginning-less" (''[[Al Awwal|al-Awwal]]''), "the End/ Beyond ["the Final Abode"]/ Endless" (''[[Al Akhir|al-Akhir/ al-Ākhir]]'') and "the Timeless" (''[[Al Sabur|aṣ-Ṣabūr]]'').

According to [[Gerhard Böwering]], in contrast with pre-Islamic Arabian [[polytheism]], God in Islam does not have associates and companions, nor is there any kinship between God and [[jinn]].<ref name="EoQ"/> Pre-Islamic pagan Arabs believed in a blind, powerful, inexorable and insensible fate over which man had no control. This was replaced with the Islamic notion of a powerful but provident and merciful God.<ref name="Britannica"/>

According to [[Francis Edward Peters]], "The [[Quran|Qur’ān]] insists, Muslims believe, and historians affirm that [[Muhammad]] and his followers worship the same God as the Jews ({{Qref|29|46}}). The Qur’an's Allah is the same Creator God who covenanted with [[Abraham]]". Peters states that the Qur'an portrays Allah as both more powerful and more remote than [[Yahweh]], and as a universal deity, unlike Yahweh who closely follows [[Israel]]ites.<ref name="Peters1">F.E. Peters, ''Islam'', p.4, Princeton University Press, 2003</ref>