Allah

==As a loanword==
===English and other European languages===
The history of the name ''Allāh'' in English was probably influenced by the study of [[comparative religion]] in the 19th century; for example, [[Thomas Carlyle]] (1840) sometimes used the term Allah but without any implication that Allah was anything different from God. However, in his biography of Muḥammad (1934), [[Tor Andræ]] always used the term ''Allah'', though he allows that this "conception of God" seems to imply that it is different from that of the Jewish and Christian theologies.<ref name="Watt45">William Montgomery Watt, ''Islam and Christianity today: A Contribution to Dialogue'', [[Routledge]], 1983, p.45</ref>

Languages which may not commonly use the term ''Allah'' to denote God may still contain popular expressions which use the word. For example, because of the centuries long [[Al-Andalus|Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula]], the word {{lang|es|ojalá}} in the Spanish language and {{lang|pt|oxalá}} in the [[Portuguese language]] exist today, borrowed from [[Andalusi Arabic]] {{transliteration|xaa|law šá lláh}}<ref name="DRAE">{{cite book |title=Diccionario de la lengua española |date=2022 |publisher=Real Academia Española - ASALE |edition=23.6 electronic |url=https://dle.rae.es/ojal%25C3%25A1 |access-date=24 April 2023 |language=es |chapter=ojalá}}</ref> similar to {{transliteration|ar|[[inshalla]]}} ({{lang-ar|إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ}}). This phrase literally means 'if God wills' (in the sense of "I hope so").<ref>Islam in Luce López Baralt, ''Spanish Literature: From the Middle Ages to the Present'', Brill, 1992, p.25</ref> The German poet [[Siegfried August Mahlmann|Mahlmann]] used the form "Allah" as the title of a poem about the ultimate deity, though it is unclear how much Islamic thought he intended to convey.

Some Muslims leave the name "Allāh" untranslated in English, rather than using the English translation "God".<ref>F. E. Peters, ''The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition'', [[Princeton University Press]], p.12</ref> The word has also been applied to certain living human beings as [[Anthropomorphism|personifications]] of the term and concept.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-nation-of-islam.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813190129/http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-nation-of-islam.htm|url-status=dead|title=Nation of Islam|archive-date=13 August 2013|website=www.bible.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_3290.shtml |title=A history of Clarence 13X and the Five Percenters, referring to Clarence Smith as Allah |publisher=Finalcall.com |access-date=14 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022034331/http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_3290.shtml|archive-date=22 October 2013}}</ref>

===Malaysian and Indonesian language===
{{main|Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur v. Menteri Dalam Negeri|2010 attacks against places of worship in Malaysia}}
[[File:Vocabularium, ofte Woordenboek, in 't Duytsch en Maleys (IA vocabulariumoft00dancgoog).djvu|page=77|thumb|The first dictionary of Dutch-Malay by [[Albert Cornelius Ruyl|A.C. Ruyl]], Justus Heurnius, and Caspar Wiltens in 1650 recorded {{lang|ms|Allah}} as the translation of the Dutch word {{lang|nl-Latf|[[God]]t}}.|link=File:Vocabularium,_ofte_Woordenboek,_in_'t_Duytsch_en_Maleys_(IA_vocabulariumoft00dancgoog).djvu%3Fpage=77]]
[[File:GKKA Banjarmasin.jpg|thumb|{{Lang|id|Gereja Kalam Kebangunan Allah}} (Word of God Revival Church) in [[Indonesia]]. {{Lang|id|Allah}} is the word for "God" in the [[Indonesian language]] - even in {{Lang|id|Alkitab}} (Christian [[Bible]], from {{lang|ar|الكتاب}} {{transliteration|ar|al-kitāb}} = the book) translations, while {{Lang|id|[[wikt:Tuhan|Tuhan]]}} is the word for "Lord".]]
[[File:Seremban-Annunciation-feast-3808.jpg|thumb|[[Christianity in Malaysia|Christians in Malaysia]] also use the word {{lang|zlm|Allah}} for "God".]]

Christians in Malaysia and Indonesia use {{lang|ms|Allah}} to refer to God in the [[Malaysian language|Malaysian]] and [[Indonesian language]]s (both of them standardized forms of the [[Malay language]]).  Mainstream Bible translations in the language use {{lang|ms|Allah}} as the translation of Hebrew {{transliteration|hbo|[[Elohim]]}} (translated in English Bibles as "God").<ref>Example: [http://alkitab.sabda.org/verse.php?book=Mat&chapter=22&verse=32&search=allah&scope=all&exact=off Usage of the word "Allah" from Matthew 22:32 in Indonesian bible versions (parallel view) as old as 1733] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131019125828/http://alkitab.sabda.org/verse.php?book=Mat&chapter=22&verse=32&search=allah&scope=all&exact=off |date= 19 October 2013 }}</ref> This goes back to early translation work by [[Francis Xavier]] in the 16th century.<ref>The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society Sneddon, James M.; University of New South Wales Press; 2004</ref><ref>The History of Christianity in India from the Commencement of the Christian Era: Hough, James; Adamant Media Corporation; 2001</ref> The first dictionary of Dutch-Malay by Albert Cornelius Ruyl, Justus Heurnius, and Caspar Wiltens in 1650 (revised edition from 1623 edition and 1631 Latin edition) recorded {{lang|ms|Allah}}" as the translation of the Dutch word {{lang|nl-Latf|[[God]]t}}.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3GcTAAAAQAAJ&q=allah |title= Justus Heurnius, Albert Ruyl, Caspar Wiltens. "Vocabularium ofte Woordenboeck nae ordre van den alphabeth, in 't Duytsch en Maleys". 1650:65 |access-date= 14 January 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131022172808/https://books.google.com/books?id=3GcTAAAAQAAJ&v=onepage&q=allah&f=false|archive-date= 22 October 2013|year= 1650 |last1= Wiltens |first1= Caspar |last2= Heurnius |first2= Justus }}</ref> Ruyl also translated the [[Gospel of Matthew]] in 1612 into the Malay language (an early Bible translation into a non-European language,<ref>
But compare:
{{cite book
| last1 = Milkias
| first1 = Paulos
| chapter = Ge'ez Literature (Religious)
| title = Ethiopia
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DtIRbpUNp_oC
| series = Africa in Focus
| location = Santa Barbara, California
| publisher = ABC-CLIO
| date = 2011
| page = 299
| isbn = 978-1-59884-257-9
| access-date = 15 February 2018
| quote = Monasticism played a key role in the Ethiopian literary movement. The Bible was translated during the time of the Nine Saints in the early sixth century [...].
}}
</ref>
made a year after the publication of the [[King James Version]]<ref>Barton, John (2002–12). The Biblical World, Oxford, UK: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-27574-3}}.</ref><ref>North, Eric McCoy; Eugene Albert Nida ((2nd Edition) 1972). The Book of a Thousand Tongues, London: United Bible Societies.</ref>), which was printed in the Netherlands in 1629. Then he translated the [[Gospel of Mark]], published in 1638.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sejarah.sabda.org/sejarah/bio_ruyl.htm|title=Sejarah Alkitab Indonesia / Albert Conelisz Ruyl|website=sejarah.sabda.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/514364/Albert-Cornelius-Ruyl |title= Encyclopædia Britannica: Albert Cornelius Ruyl |encyclopedia= Britannica.com |access-date= 14 January 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131019171117/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/514364/Albert-Cornelius-Ruyl|archive-date= 19 October 2013}}</ref>

The [[government of Malaysia]] in 2007 outlawed usage of the term {{lang|zlm|Allah}} in any other but Muslim contexts, but the [[High Court of Malaya|Malayan High Court]] in 2009 revoked the law, ruling it unconstitutional. While {{lang|ms|Allah}} had been used for the Christian God in Malay for more than four centuries, the contemporary controversy was triggered by usage of {{lang|zlm|Allah}} by the Roman Catholic newspaper [[The Herald (Malaysian Catholic Weekly)|''The Herald'']]. The government appealed the court ruling, and the High Court suspended implementation of its verdict until the hearing of the appeal. In October 2013 the court ruled in favor of the government's ban.<ref>{{cite news |title= No more 'Allah' for Christians, Malaysian court says |first= Simon |last= Roughneen |url= http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2013/1014/No-more-Allah-for-Christians-Malaysian-court-says |newspaper= [[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date= 14 October 2013 |access-date= 14 October 2013}}</ref> In early 2014 the Malaysian government confiscated more than 300 bibles for using the word to refer to the Christian God in Peninsular Malaysia.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25578348|title= BBC News - More than 300 Bibles are confiscated in Malaysia|publisher= BBC|date= 2 January 2014|access-date= 14 January 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140125052310/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25578348|archive-date= 25 January 2014|url-status= live}}</ref> However, the use of {{lang|zlm|Allah}} is not prohibited in the two Malaysian states of [[Sabah]] and [[Sarawak]].<ref name="settle">{{cite news|url= http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=87900|title= Catholic priest should respect court: Mahathir|newspaper= [[Daily Express (Sabah)|Daily Express]]|date= 9 January 2014|access-date= 10 January 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140110085352/http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=87900|archive-date= 10 January 2014|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/03/29/worship-without-hindrance/|title= Worship without hindrance|author1= Jane Moh |author2= Peter Sibon |newspaper= [[The Borneo Post]]|date= 29 March 2014|access-date= 29 March 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140329094134/http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/03/29/worship-without-hindrance/|archive-date= 29 March 2014|url-status= live}}</ref> The main reason it is not prohibited in these two states is that usage has been long-established and local Alkitab ([[Bibles]]) have been widely distributed freely in East Malaysia without restrictions for years.<ref name="settle"/> Both states also do not have similar Islamic state laws as those in West Malaysia.<ref name="10-point"/>

In reaction to some media criticism, the Malaysian government has introduced a "10-point solution" to avoid confusion and misleading information.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://aliran.com/web-specials/bahasa-malaysia-bibles-10-point-solution/|title= Bahasa Malaysia Bibles: The Cabinet's 10-point solution|date= 25 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/01/24/Najib-Kalimah-Allah/|title= Najib: 10-point resolution on Allah issue subject to Federal, state laws|newspaper= [[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]]|date= 24 January 2014|access-date= 25 June 2014}}</ref> The 10-point solution is in line with the spirit of the [[18-point agreement|18]]- and [[20-point agreement]]s of Sarawak and Sabah.<ref name="10-point">
{{cite web
|url= http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2014/02/24/My-take-on-the-Allah-issue-10point-solution-is-key-to-managing-the-polarity/
|title= The 'Allah'/Bible issue, 10-point solution is key to managing the polarity
|author= Idris Jala|work= The Star
|date= 24 February 2014|access-date= 25 June 2014
|author-link= Idris Jala
}}
</ref>