Allah

{{Short description|Arabic word for God}}
{{About|the Arabic word "Allah"|the Islamic view of God|God in Islam|other uses|Allah (disambiguation)}}
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[[File:Allah3.svg|thumb|right|The word 'Allah' in ''[[thuluth]]'' [[Islamic calligraphy|calligraphy]].]]

'''Allah''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|l|ə|,_|ˈ|ɑː|l|ə|,_|ə|ˈ|l|ɑː}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/allah "Allah"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/allah|title=Allah|work=[[Oxford Learner's Dictionaries]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-18 |title=Definition of ALLAH |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Allah |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> {{lang-ar|{{script/Arabic|ٱللَّٰه}}|translit=Allāh}}, {{IPA|ar|ʔaɫ.ɫaːh|IPA|Ar-allah.ogg}}) is the common [[Arabic]] word for [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]]. In the English language, the word generally refers to [[God in Islam]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithgod.html |title=God |work=Islam: Empire of Faith |publisher=PBS|access-date=18 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327034958/http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithgod.html|archive-date=27 March 2014}}</ref><ref>"Islam and Christianity", ''Encyclopedia of Christianity'' (2001): Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews also refer to God as ''Allāh''.</ref><ref name="gardet-allah">{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/allah-COM_0047| title=Allah | encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online | first=L.|last=Gardet | access-date=2 May 2007 |editor1-first=P.|editor1-last=Bearman|editor2-first=Th.|editor2-last=Bianquis|editor3-first=C.E.|editor3-last=Bosworth|editor4-first=E.|editor4-last=van Donzel|editor5-first=W.P.|editor5-last=Heinrichs|publisher=Brill Online}}</ref> The word is thought to be derived by [[Contraction (grammar)|contraction]] from ''[[Arabic definite article|al]]-[[Ilah|ilāh]]'', which means "the god", and is linguistically related to the [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] words [[Names of God in Judaism|Elah]] and [[Syriac language|Syriac]] {{lang|arc|ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ}} (ʼAlāhā) and the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word ''[[El (deity)|El]]'' (''[[Elohim]]'') for God.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|year=2006|title=Allah|encyclopedia=The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Routledge]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=isDgI0-0Ip4C&q=ilah|editor=Oliver Leaman|page=34|isbn=978-0-415-32639-1|author=Zeki Saritoprak}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Vincent J. Cornell|title=God: God in Islam|editor=Lindsay Jones|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Religion|edition=2nd|publisher=MacMillan Reference USA|volume=5|year=2005|page=724}}</ref>

The word ''Allah'' has been used by [[Arabs|Arabic people]] of different religions since [[pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic]] times.<ref name="Robin304">{{cite book|author=Christian Julien Robin|title=Arabia and Ethiopia. In The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA304|year=2012|publisher=OUP USA|pages=304–305|isbn=978-0-19-533693-1}}</ref> The pre-Islamic Arabs worshipped a [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia#Role of Allah|supreme deity]] whom they called Allah, alongside other lesser deities.<ref name="auto">{{cite encyclopedia |author=Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow |title=Allah|encyclopedia=The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend|publisher=Facts on File|year=2004|page=53|isbn=978-1-4381-2685-2}}</ref> [[Muhammad]] used the word ''Allah'' to indicate [[God in Islam|the Islamic conception of God]]. ''Allah'' has been used as a term for God by [[Muslim]]s (both [[Arab Muslims|Arab]] and non-Arab), [[Judaeo-Arabic]]-speaking [[Jews]], and [[Arab Christians]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allah |title=Allah |author=Merriam-Webster |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |access-date=25 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420121231/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allah |archive-date=20 April 2014 }}</ref> after the terms "[[Arabic definite article|al]]-[[Ilah|ilāh]]" and "Allah" were used interchangeably in [[Arabic#Old Hejazi and Classical Arabic|Classical Arabic]] by the majority of Arabs who had become Muslims. It is also often, albeit not exclusively, used in this way by [[Bábism|Bábists]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]], [[Mandaeans]], [[Christianity in Indonesia|Indonesian]] and [[Christianity in Malta|Maltese]] Christians, and [[Sephardi Jews]],<ref name="Britannica">
"Allah." [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica</ref><ref name="EncMMENA">Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, ''Allah''</ref><ref>Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer ''The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition'' Shambhala Publications 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-8348-2414-0}} page 531</ref> as well as by the [[Gagauz people]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities|author=Carl Skutsch|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|page=480}}</ref> Similar usage by Christians and [[Sikhs]] in [[Peninsular Malaysia]] has recently led to political and legal controversies.<ref>[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10620032 Sikhs target of 'Allah' attack], Julia Zappei, 14 January 2010, ''The New Zealand Herald''. Accessed on line 15 January 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11139915 Malaysia court rules non-Muslims can't use 'Allah'], 14 October 2013, ''The New Zealand Herald''. Accessed on line 15 January 2014.</ref><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-religion-idUSBREA010C120140102 Malaysia's Islamic authorities seize Bibles as Allah row deepens], Niluksi Koswanage, 2 January 2014, Reuters. Accessed on line 15 January 2014. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-religion-idUSBREA010C120140102]</ref><ref name="10-point"/>

==Etymology==
[[File:Component letters in Allah.svg|thumb|240px| The Arabic components that make up the word "Allah": {{ordered list |[[Aleph#Arabic|alif]] |[[Hamza#Hamzat al-waṣl ( ٱ )|hamzat waṣl]] ({{lang|ar|همزة وصل}}) |[[lām]] |lām |[[shadda]] ({{lang|ar|شدة}}) |[[dagger alif]] ({{lang|ar|ألف خنجرية}}) |[[hāʾ]]}}]]

The [[etymology]] of the word ''Allāh'' has been discussed extensively by classical Arab philologists.<ref name=EI2-Ilah>D.B. Macdonald. Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed, Brill. "Ilah", Vol. 3, p. 1093.</ref> Grammarians of the [[Hasan of Basra|Basra school]] regarded it as either formed "spontaneously" (''murtajal'') or as the definite form of ''lāh'' (from the verbal root ''lyh'' with the meaning of "lofty" or "hidden").<ref name=EI2-Ilah/> Others held that it was borrowed from Syriac or Hebrew.

Most considered it to be derived from a [[synalepha|contraction]] of the [[Arabic definite article]] ''al-'' and ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ilāh}}'' "[[deity]], god" to ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|al-lāh}}'' meaning "the deity, the God".<ref name=EI2-Ilah/> Indeed, there is "the interchangeability of ''al-ilāh'' and ''allāh'' in early Arabic poetry even when composed by the Christian [[Adi ibn Zayd|ʿAdī ibn Zayd]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sinai |first1=Nicholas |title=Rain-Giver, Bone-Breaker, Score-Settler: Allāh in Pre-Quranic Poetry |date=2019 |publisher=American Oriental Society |location=Atlanta, GA |isbn=978-1-948488-25-9 |page=7}}</ref>

The majority of modern scholars subscribe to the latter theory and view the loanword hypothesis with skepticism.<ref>[[Gerhard Böwering]]. [[Encyclopedia of the Quran]], Brill, 2002. Vol. 2, p. 318</ref>

The use of Allah as the name of a deity appears as early as the [[first century]]. An inscription using the [[Ancient South Arabian script]] in [[Old Arabic]] from [[Qaryat al-Fāw]] reads, "to Kahl and {{smallcaps|lh}} and ʿAththar ({{smallcaps|b-khl w-lh w-ʿṯr}})".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sinai |first1=Nicholas |title=Rain-Giver, Bone-Breaker, Score-Settler: Allāh in Pre-Quranic Poetry |date=2019 |publisher=American Oriental Society |location=Atlanta, GA |isbn=978-1-948488-25-9 |page=12}}</ref>

[[Cognates]] of the name "Allāh" exist in other [[Semitic languages]], including [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]].<ref name="autogenerated1">Columbia Encyclopaedia says: Derived from an old Semitic root referring to the Divine and used in the Canaanite ''[[El (deity)|El]]'', the Mesopotamian ''[[Ilah|ilu]]'', and the biblical ''[[Elohim]]'' and ''[[Eloah]]'', the word Allah is used by all Arabic-speaking Muslims, Christians, Jews, and other monotheists.</ref> The corresponding [[Aramaic]] form is ''ʼElāh'' ({{lang|arc|אלה}}), but its emphatic state is ''{{transliteration|arc|ʼElāhā}}'' ({{lang|arc|אלהא}}). It is written as {{lang|syc|ܐܠܗܐ}} ({{transliteration|arc|ʼĔlāhā}}) in [[Biblical Aramaic]] and {{lang|syc|ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ}} ({{transliteration|syc|ʼAlāhā}}) in [[Syriac language|Syriac]], both meaning simply "God".<ref name="cal">[http://cal1.cn.huc.edu The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon] – Entry for ''ʼlh''  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018045941/http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/ |date=18 October 2013 }}</ref> The unusual Syriac form is likely an imitation of the Arabic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sinai |first1=Nicholas |title=Rain-Giver, Bone-Breaker, Score-Settler: Allāh in Pre-Quranic Poetry |date=2019 |publisher=American Oriental Society |location=Atlanta, GA |isbn=978-1-948488-25-9 |page=8}}</ref>

==History of usage==
===Pre-Islamic Arabians===
{{See also|Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia}}{{Middle Eastern deities}}

Regional variants of the word ''Allah'' occur in both pagan and Christian pre-Islamic inscriptions.<ref name="Robin304"/><ref>{{cite book | last = Hitti | first = Philip Khouri | title = History of the Arabs | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | year = 1970 | pages = 100–101}}</ref> Different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in pre-Islamic [[Polytheism|polytheistic cults]]. According to the Islamic scholar [[Ibn Kathir]], Arab pagans considered Allah as an unseen God who created and controlled the Universe. Pagans believed worship of humans or animals who had lucky events in their life brought them closer to God. Pre-Islamic Meccans worshiped Allah alongside a host of lesser gods and those whom they called the "daughters of Allah."<ref name="auto"/> Islam forbade worship of anyone or anything other than God.<ref>{{Cite book|last=IslamKotob|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uTJoiXp3pS4C|title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir all 10 volumes|publisher=IslamKotob|language=en}}</ref> Some authors have suggested that polytheistic Arabs used the name as a reference to a [[creator god]] or a supreme deity of their [[Pantheon (religion)|pantheon]].<ref name="EoI"/><ref>Zeki Saritopak, ''Allah'', The Qu'ran: An Encyclopedia, ed. by Oliver Leaman, p. 34</ref> The term may have been vague in the [[Mecca|Meccan religion]].<ref name="EoI">L. Gardet, ''Allah'', Encyclopaedia of Islam, ed. by [[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb|Sir H.A.R. Gibb]]</ref><ref name="GodEoQ">Gerhard Böwering, ''God and his Attributes'', Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, ed. by [[Jane Dammen McAuliffe]]</ref> According to one hypothesis, which goes back to [[Julius Wellhausen]], Allah (the supreme deity of the tribal federation around [[Quraysh]]) was a designation that consecrated the superiority of [[Hubal]] (the supreme deity of Quraysh) over the other gods.<ref name="Robin304"/> However, there is also evidence that Allah and Hubal were two distinct deities.<ref name="Robin304"/> According to that hypothesis, the [[Kaaba]] was first consecrated to a supreme deity named Allah and then hosted the pantheon of Quraysh after their conquest of [[Mecca]], about a century before the time of [[Muhammad]].<ref name="Robin304"/> Some inscriptions seem to indicate the use of Allah as a name of a polytheist deity centuries earlier, but nothing precise is known about this use.<ref name="Robin304"/> Some scholars have suggested that Allah may have represented a remote creator god who was gradually eclipsed by more particularized local deities.<ref name= Berkey>{{cite book|author=Jonathan Porter Berkey|title=The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800|url=https://archive.org/details/formationofislam0000berk|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-58813-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/formationofislam0000berk/page/42 42]}}</ref><ref name="Peterson2007">{{cite book|author=Daniel C. Peterson|title=Muhammad, Prophet of God|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9zpbEj0xA_sC&pg=PA21|date=26 February 2007|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-0754-0|page=21}}</ref> There is disagreement on whether Allah played a major role in the Meccan religious cult.<ref name= Berkey/><ref name= Peters107>{{cite book|author=Francis E. Peters|title=Muhammad and the Origins of Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OrCo4VyvGkC&pg=PA107|year=1994|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-1875-8|page=107}}</ref> No iconic representation of Allah is known to have existed.<ref name= Peters107/><ref name="Zeitlin33">{{cite book|author=Irving M. Zeitlin|title=The Historical Muhammad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sbhJJ7AOLL4C|date=19 March 2007|publisher=Polity|isbn=978-0-7456-3999-4|pages=33}}</ref> Allah is the only god in Mecca that did not have an idol.<ref>"Allah." In The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Ed. John L. Esposito. Oxford Islamic Studies Online. 1 January 2019. <http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e128>.</ref> Muhammad's father's name was [[Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib|{{transliteration|ar|DIN|ʿAbd-Allāh}}]] meaning "the slave of Allāh".<ref name="GodEoQ"/> The interpretation that Pre-Islamic Arabs once practiced [[Abrahamic religions]] is supported by some literary evidence, being the prevalence of [[Ishmael]], whose God was that of [[Abraham]], in pre-Islamic Arab culture.<ref>The Treasury of literature, Sect. 437</ref><ref>The Beginning of History, Volume 3, Sect.10</ref><ref>The Collection of the Speeches of Arabs, volume 1, section 75</ref>

===Islam===
{{main|God in Islam}}
{{see also|Names of God in Islam}}

==== Before Muhammad ====
In Islam, it is believed that all [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophets]] were adherents of Islam, which is considered the primordial faith since the creation of the world and heavens by Allah. According to this perspective, every human is born a Muslim, into a state of "[[Fitra]]" (natural disposition), often interpreted as an innate inclination towards Islam.{{sfn | Nasr | Dagli | Dakake | Lumbard | 2015 | p=991}}
[[File:Istanbul, Hagia Sophia, Allah.jpg|thumb|Medallion showing "Allah [[Jalla Jalaluhu]]" in the [[Hagia Sophia]], [[Istanbul]], Turkey]]
[[File:Dcp7323-Edirne-Eski Camii Allah.jpg|thumb|150px|Allah script outside the [[Old Mosque, Edirne|Old Mosque]] in [[Edirne]], Turkey]]

==== 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>

===Christianity===
The [[Arab Christians|Christian Arabs]] of today have no other word for "God" than "Allah".<ref name="Cambridge">{{cite book |author1=Lewis, Bernard |author2=Holt, P. M. |author3=Holt, Peter R. |author4=Lambton, Ann Katherine Swynford |title=The Cambridge history of Islam |publisher=University Press |location=Cambridge, Eng |year=1977 |page=32 |isbn=978-0-521-29135-4 }}</ref> Similarly, the [[Aramaic]] word for "God" in the language of [[Assyrian Christians]] is ''ʼĔlāhā'', or ''Alaha''. (Even the Arabic-descended [[Maltese language]] of [[Malta]], whose population is almost entirely [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], uses ''Alla'' for "God".)

[[Arab Christians]] have used two forms of invocations that were [[affix]]ed to the beginning of their written works. They adopted the Muslim ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|bismillāh}}'', and also created their own [[Trinity|Trinitized]] ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|bismillāh}}'' as early as the 8th century.<ref name="Thomas"/> The Muslim ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|bismillāh}}'' reads: "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." The Trinitized ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|bismillāh}}'' reads: "In the name of Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God." The [[Syriac language|Syriac]], [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] invocations do not have the words "One God" at the end. This addition was made to emphasize the [[monotheism|monotheistic]] aspect of Trinitarian belief and also to make it more palatable to Muslims.<ref name="Thomas">Thomas E. Burman, ''Religious Polemic and the Intellectual History of the Mozarabs'', [[Brill Publishers|Brill]], 1994, p. 103</ref>

According to [[Marshall Hodgson]], it seems that in the pre-Islamic times, some Arab Christians made pilgrimage to the [[Kaaba]], a pagan temple at that time, honoring Allah there as God the Creator.<ref>Marshall G. S. Hodgson, ''The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization'', [[University of Chicago Press]], p. 156</ref>

Some archaeological excavation quests have led to the discovery of ancient [[pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic]] inscriptions and tombs made by [[Arab Christians]] in the ruins of a church at [[Umm el-Jimal]] in Northern [[Jordan]], which initially, according to Enno Littman (1949), contained references to Allah as the proper name of God. However, on a second revision by Bellamy et al. (1985 & 1988) the 5-versed-inscription was re-translated as "(1)This [inscription] was set up by colleagues of ʿUlayh, (2) son of ʿUbaydah, secretary (3) of the cohort Augusta Secunda (4) Philadelphiana; may he go mad who (5) effaces it."<ref>James Bellamy, "Two Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscriptions Revised: Jabal Ramm and Umm al-Jimal", ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', 108/3 (1988) pp. 372–378 (translation of the inscription) "This was set up by colleagues/friends of ʿUlayh, the son of ʿUbaydah, secretary/adviser of the cohort Augusta Secunda Philadelphiana; may he go mad/crazy who effaces it."</ref><ref>Enno Littmann, Arabic Inscriptions (Leiden, 1949)</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Type and Spread of Arabic Script|last=Daniels|first=Peter T.|year=2014}}</ref>

The syriac word ܐܠܗܐ (''ʼĔlāhā'') can be found in the reports and the lists of names of Christian martyrs in South Arabia,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.syriaca.org/work/254|title=The Himyarite Martyrs (text) —}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=James of Edessa the hymns of Severus of Antioch and others." Ernest Walter Brooks (ed.), Patrologia Orientalis VII.5 (1911)., vol: 2, p. 613|pages=ܐܠܗܐ (Elaha)}}</ref> as reported by antique Syriac documents of the names of those martyrs from the era of the [[Himyarite]] and [[Aksumite]] kingdoms<ref>Ignatius Ya`qub III, The Arab Himyarite Martyrs in the Syriac Documents (1966), Pages: 9-65-66-89</ref>

In [[Ibn Ishaq|Ibn Ishaq's]] biography there is a Christian leader named Abd Allah ibn Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad, who was martyred in Najran in 523, as he had worn a ring that said "Allah is my lord".<ref>Alfred Guillaume& Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, (2002 [1955]). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Isḥāq's Sīrat Rasūl Allāh with Introduction and Notes. Karachi and New York: Oxford University Press, page 18.</ref>

In an inscription of Christian martyrion dated back to 512, references to 'l-ilah (الاله)<ref name=Kugener>{{Cite book|title=M. A. Kugener, "Nouvelle Note Sur L'Inscription Trilingue De Zébed", Rivista Degli Studi Orientali, pp. 577-586.}}</ref> can be found in both Arabic and Aramaic. The inscription starts with the statement "By the Help of 'l-ilah".<ref>Adolf Grohmann, Arabische Paläographie II: Das Schriftwesen und die Lapidarschrift (1971), Wien: Hermann Böhlaus Nochfolger, Page: 6-8</ref><ref>Beatrice Gruendler, The Development of the Arabic Scripts: From the Nabatean Era to the First Islamic Century according to Dated Texts (1993), Atlanta: Scholars Press, Page:</ref>

In pre-Islamic Gospels, the name used for God was "Allah", as evidenced by some discovered Arabic versions of the [[New Testament]] written by [[Arab Christians]] during the pre-Islamic era in Northern and Southern [[Arabia]].<ref>Frederick Winnett V, Allah before Islam-The Moslem World (1938), Pages: 239–248</ref> However most recent research in the field of Islamic studies by Sydney Griffith et al. (2013), David D. Grafton (2014), Clair Wilde (2014) & ML Hjälm et al. (2016 & 2017) assert that "all one can say about the possibility of a pre-Islamic, Christian version of the Gospel in Arabic is that no sure sign of its actual existence has yet emerged."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sidney H Griffith, "The Gospel in Arabic: An Enquiry into Its Appearance in the First Abbasid Century", Oriens Christianus, Volume 69, p. 166. "All one can say about the possibility of a pre-Islamic, Christian version of the Gospel in Arabic is that no sure sign of its actual existence has yet emerged.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The identity and witness of Arab pre-Islamic Arab Christianity: The Arabic language and the Bible|last=Grafton|first=David D|year=2014|quote=Christianity [...] did not penetrate into the lives of the Arabs primarily because the monks did not translate the Bible into the vernacular and inculcate Arab culture with biblical values and tradition. Trimingham's argument serves as an example of the Western [[Protestant]] assumptions outlined in the introduction of this article. It is clear that the earliest Arabic biblical texts can only be dated to the 9th century at the earliest, that is after the coming of Islam.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Sidney H. Griffith, The Bible in Arabic: The Scriptures of the 'People of the Book' in the Language of Islam. Jews, Christians and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World, Princeton University Press, 2013, pp242- 247 ff. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Arabic Bible before Islam – Clare Wilde on Sidney H. Griffith's The Bible in Arabic|date=June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition: The Bible in Arabic Among Jews, Christians and Muslims|last=Hjälm|first=ML|publisher=Brill|year=2017|isbn=978-90-04-34716-8}}</ref> Additionally ML Hjälm in her most recent research (2017) inserts that "manuscripts containing translations of the gospels are encountered no earlier than the year 873"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hjälm|first=ML|title=Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition, The Bible in Arabic among Jews, Christians and Muslims (Biblia Arabica)|publisher=Brill|year=2017|isbn=978-90-04-34716-8|quote=By contrast, manuscripts containing translations of the gospels are encountered no earlier then the year 873 (Ms. Sinai. N.F. parch. 14 & 16)|edition=English and Arabic}}</ref>

[[Irfan Shahîd]] quoting the 10th-century encyclopedic collection [[Kitab al-Aghani]] notes that pre-Islamic Arab Christians have been reported to have raised the battle cry "''Ya La Ibad Allah''" (O slaves of Allah) to invoke each other into battle.<ref>Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fourth Century, Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University-Washington DC, page 418.</ref> According to Shahid, on the authority of 10th-century Muslim scholar [[Al-Marzubani]], "Allah" was also mentioned in pre-Islamic Christian poems by some [[Ghassanid]] and [[Tanukhids|Tanukhid]] poets in [[Syria]] and Northern [[Arabia]].<ref>Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fourth Century, Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University-Washington DC, Page: 452</ref><ref>A. Amin and A. Harun, Sharh Diwan Al-Hamasa (Cairo, 1951), Vol. 1, Pages: 478-480</ref><ref>Al-Marzubani, Mu'jam Ash-Shu'araa, Page: 302</ref>

==Pronunciation==

The word ''Allāh'' is generally pronounced {{IPA|[ɑɫˈɫɑː(h)]}}, exhibiting a heavy lām, {{IPA|[ɫ]}}, a [[velarized alveolar lateral approximant]], a marginal phoneme in [[Arabic phonology|Modern Standard Arabic]]. Since the initial alef has no [[hamza]], the initial {{IPA|[a]}} is elided when a preceding word ends in a vowel. If the preceding vowel is {{IPA|/i/}}, the lām is light, {{IPA|[l]}}, as in, for instance, the [[Basmala]].<ref name="ARABIC for NERDS">{{Cite news|url=https://www.arabic-for-nerds.com/2018/06/16/how-do-you-pronounce-allah-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-correctly/|title=How do you pronounce "Allah" (الله) correctly?|date=16 June 2018|work=ARABIC for NERDS|access-date=16 June 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617092853/https://www.arabic-for-nerds.com/2018/06/16/how-do-you-pronounce-allah-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-correctly/|archive-date=17 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==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>

== National flags with "Allah" written on them ==
<gallery widths="200" heights="140">
File:Flag of Iraq.svg|[[Flag of Iraq]] with the [[Takbir]] written on it
File:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg|[[Flag of Saudi Arabia]] with the [[Shahada]] written on it
File:Flag of the Taliban.svg|[[Flag of Afghanistan]] with the [[Shahada]] written on it
File:Flag of Iran.svg|[[Flag of Iran]] with "Allah" written on it
File:"Allah" in Arabic script from stars on flag of Uzbekistan.gif|alt=The 12 stars in the Flag of Uzbekistan form the inscription "Allah" in Arabic script|The 12 stars in the [[Flag of Uzbekistan]] form the inscription "Allah" in [[Arabic script]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flags, Symbols & Currency of Uzbekistan |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/amp/flags/uzbekistan |website=WorldAtlas |date=24 February 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>
</gallery>

==Typography==
[[File:Allah name in different languages.png|280px|thumbnail|The word ''Allah'' written in different [[writing system]]s]]

The word ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Allāh}}'' is always written without an [[aleph|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|alif}}]] to spell the ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ā}}'' vowel. This is because the spelling was settled before Arabic spelling started habitually using ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|alif}}'' to spell ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ā}}''. However, in vocalized spelling, a [[Dagger alif|small diacritic ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|alif}}'']] is added on top of the ''[[shadda|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|shaddah}}]]'' to indicate the pronunciation.

In the pre-Islamic [[Zabad inscription]],<ref>{{cite web
 | title=Zebed Inscription: A Pre-Islamic Trilingual Inscription In Greek, Syriac & Arabic From 512 CE 
 | url=http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Inscriptions/zebed.html
 | publisher=Islamic Awareness
 | date=17 March 2005
}}
</ref> God is referred to by the term {{lang|ar| الاله }}, that is, alif-lam-alif-lam-ha.<ref name=Kugener/> This presumably indicates ''Al-'ilāh'' = "the god", without ''alif'' for ''ā''.

Many Arabic type fonts feature special [[typographic ligature|ligatures]] for Allah.<ref name="Typ1">

* [http://www.smi.uib.no/ksv/ArabicFonts.html Arabic fonts and Mac OS X] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310022047/http://www.smi.uib.no/ksv/ArabicFonts.html |date=10 March 2008 }}
* [http://www.smi.uib.no/ksv/ArabicProgsx.html Programs for Arabic in Mac OS X]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006005022/http://www.smi.uib.no/ksv/ArabicProgsx.html |date=6 October 2013 }}</ref>

Since [[Arabic script]] is used to write other texts rather than Koran only, rendering ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|lām}}'' + ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|lām}}'' + ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|hā’}}'' as the previous ligature is considered faulty which is the case with most common Arabic typefaces.

{{lquote|This simplified style is often preferred for clarity, especially in non-Arabic languages, but may not be considered appropriate in situations where a more elaborate style of calligraphy is preferred.
:—[[SIL International]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Scheherazade New |url=//software.sil.org/scheherazade/design/ |website=[[SIL International|SIL&nbsp;International]] |access-date=4 February 2022}}</ref>}}

===Unicode===
[[Unicode]] has a code point reserved for ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Allāh}}'', {{script/Arabic|ﷲ}} = U+FDF2, in the [[Arabic Presentation Forms-A]] block, which exists solely for "compatibility with some older, legacy character sets that encoded presentation forms directly";<ref>The Unicode Consortium. [https://www.unicode.org/faq/middleeast.html#5 FAQ - Middle East Scripts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001110649/http://www.unicode.org/faq/middleeast.html#5 |date=1 October 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Uni">{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFB50.pdf |title=''Unicode Standard 5.0'', p.479, 492 |access-date=14 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428184606/http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFB50.pdf|archive-date=28 April 2014}}</ref> this is discouraged for new text. Instead, the word ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Allāh}}'' should be represented by its individual Arabic letters, while modern font technologies will render the desired ligature.

The calligraphic variant of the word used as the [[emblem of Iran]] is encoded in Unicode, in the [[Miscellaneous Symbols]] range, at code point U+262B (☫). The [[#National flags with "Allah" written on them|flags that include the word]] are also present in the [[regional indicator symbol]]s of Unicode: 🇮🇶, 🇸🇦, 🇦🇫, 🇮🇷, 🇺🇿.

==See also==
* [[Abdullah (name)]]
* [[Allah as a lunar deity]]
* [[Emblem of Iran]]
* [[Ismul Azam]]
* [[Names of God]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{cite book |title=The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2015 |isbn=9780062227621 |url=https://archive.org/details/thestudyquran_201909/mode/2up |editor1-first=Seyyed Hossein |editor1-last=Nasr |editor2-first=C.K. |editor2-last=Dagli |editor3-first=Maria Massi |editor3-last=Dakake |editor4-first=J.E.B. |editor4-last=Lumbard |editor5-first=M. |editor5-last=Rustom |url-access=registration|author-link=Seyyed Hossein Nasr }}
* The Unicode Consortium, ''Unicode Standard 5.0'', Addison-Wesley, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-321-48091-0}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080304160907/http://www.unicode.org/book/aboutbook.html About the Unicode Standard Version 5.0 Book]

== Further reading ==
=== Online ===
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Allah Allah Qur'ān], in ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online'', by Asma Afsaruddin, Brian Duignan, Thinley

==External links==
{{Wikisource}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Allah in calligraphy}}
* [http://www.searchtruth.com/Allah/99Names.php Names of Allah with Meaning on Website, Flash, and Mobile Phone Software]
* [http://www.sultan.org/articles/god.html Concept of God (Allah) in Islam]
* [http://www.islam-info.ch/en/Who_is_Allah.htm The Concept of Allāh According to the Qur'an] by Abdul Mannan Omar
* [http://www.muslim.org/islam/allah.htm Allah, the Unique Name of God]

; Typography
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080310022047/http://www.smi.uib.no/ksv/ArabicFonts.html Arabic Fonts and Mac OS X]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131006005022/http://www.smi.uib.no/ksv/ArabicProgsx.html Programs for Arabic in Mac OS X]

{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Names of God}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Allah| ]]
[[Category:Arabian deities]]
[[Category:Arabian gods]]
[[Category:Islamic terminology]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern gods]]
[[Category:Names of God]]