Allah sayfasının kaynağını görüntüle

{{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 [[Islamic calligraphy|Arabic calligraphy]]]]
'''Allah''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|l|ə|,_|ˈ|ɑː|l|ə|,_|ə|l|ˈ|l|ɑː}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/allah "Allah"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Allah?q=allah|title=Allah - definition of Allah in English from the Oxford dictionary|work=oxforddictionaries.com}}</ref> {{lang-ar|الله|translit=Allāh}}, {{IPA-ar|ɑɫ'ɫɑh|pron|Ar-allah.ogg}}) is the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word referring to [[God in Abrahamic religions]]. In the English language, the word traditionally refers to [[God in Islam]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithgod.html |title=God |work=Islam: Empire of Faith |publisher=PBS|accessdate=18 December 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327034958/http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithgod.html|archivedate=2014-03-27}}</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 | accessdate=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 related to ''[[El (deity)|El]]'' and ''[[Elohim]]'', the [[Hebrew|Hebrew words]] for God.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia|author=Zeki Saritoprak|title=Allah|editor=Oliver Leaman|encyclopedia=The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|page=34}}</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}}</ref> More specifically, it has been used as a term to refer to God by [[Muslim]]s (both [[Arab Muslims|Arab]] and non-Arab) and [[Arab Christians]]. It is now mainly used by Muslims and Arab Christians to refer to God.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allah |title=Allah |author=Merriam-Webster |publisher=Merriam-Webster |accessdate=25 February 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420121231/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allah |archivedate=2014-04-20 }}</ref> It is also often, albeit not exclusively, used in this way by [[Bábism|Bábists]], [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'ís]], [[Christianity in Indonesia|Indonesian]] and [[Christianity in Malta|Maltese]] Christians, and [[Mizrahi Jews]].<ref name="Columbia">[[Columbia Encyclopedia]], ''Allah''</ref><ref name="Britannica">
"Allah." [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica</ref><ref name="EncMMENA">Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, ''Allah''</ref> Similar usage by Christians and [[Sikhs]] in [[West 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>[http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/02/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. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116121501/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/02/us-malaysia-religion-idUSBREA010C120140102 |date=16 January 2014 }}</ref><ref name="10 point"/>

==Etymology==
[[File:Component letters in Allah.png|thumb|240px| The Arabic components that build up the word "Allah": {{ordered list |[[Aleph#Arabic|alif]] |[[Hamza#Hamzat waṣl|hamzat waṣl]] (همزة وصل) |[[lām]] |lām |[[shadda]] (شدة) |[[dagger alif]] (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 is 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, but most considered it to be derived from a [[Synalepha|contraction]] of the Arabic definite article ''[[al-]]'' "the" and ''{{transl|ar|ALA|ilāh}}'' "[[deity]], god" to ''{{transl|ar|ALA|al-lāh}}'' meaning "the deity", or "the God".<ref name=EI2-Ilah/> 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>

[[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 ''Elah'' ({{lang|arc|אלה}}), but its emphatic state is ''Elaha'' ({{lang|arc|אלהא}}). It is written as {{lang|arc|ܐܠܗܐ}} (''ʼĔlāhā'') in [[Biblical Aramaic]] and {{lang|arc|ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ}} (''ʼAlâhâ'') in [[Syriac language|Syriac]] as used by the [[Assyrian Christians|Assyrian Church]], 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> [[Biblical Hebrew]] mostly uses the plural (but functional singular) form ''[[Elohim]]'' ({{lang|arc|אלהים}}), but more rarely it also uses the singular form ''Eloah'' ({{lang|arc|אלוהּ}}).

==Usage==

===Pre-Islamic Arabians===
{{main article|Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia}}
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]]. 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 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 we know nothing precise 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://books.google.com/books?id=mLV6lo4mvj0C&pg=PA42|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-58813-3|page=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>  [[Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib|Muhammad's father's]] name was {{transl|ar|DIN|ʿAbd-Allāh}} meaning "the slave of Allāh".<ref name="GodEoQ"/>

===Christianity===
The [[Aramaic]] word for "God" in the language of [[Assyrian Christians]] is ''ʼĔlāhā'', or ''Alaha''. [[Arabic language|Arabic]]-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word "Allah" to mean "God".<ref name="Columbia"/> The 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 |oclc= }}</ref> (Even the Arabic-descended [[Maltese language]] of [[Malta]], whose population is almost entirely Roman Catholic, uses ''Alla'' for "God".) Arab Christians, for example, use the terms ''{{transl|ar|ALA|Allāh al-ab}}'' ({{lang|ar|الله الأب}}) for [[God the Father]], ''{{transl|ar|ALA|Allāh al-ibn}}'' ({{lang|ar|الله الابن}}) for [[Son of God|God the Son]], and ''{{transl|ar|ALA|Allāh al-rūḥ al-quds}}'' ({{lang|ar|الله الروح القدس}}) for [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|God the Holy Spirit]]. (See [[God in Christianity]] for the Christian concept of God.)

[[Arab Christian]]s have used two forms of invocations that were [[affix]]ed to the beginning of their written works. They adopted the Muslim ''{{transl|ar|ALA|bismillāh}}'', and also created their own [[Trinity|Trinitized]] ''{{transl|ar|ALA|bismillāh}}'' as early as the 8th century.<ref name="Thomas"/> The Muslim ''{{transl|ar|ALA|bismillāh}}'' reads: "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." The Trinitized ''{{transl|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 contained references to Allah as the proper name of God, and some of the graves contained names such as "Abd Allah" which means "the servant/slave of Allah".<ref>James Bellamy, "Two Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscriptions Revised: Jabal Ramm and Umm al-Jimal", ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', 108/3 (1988)</ref><ref>Enno Littmann, Arabic Inscriptions (Leiden, 1949)</ref><ref>Rick Brown, Who is "Allah" ? - International Journal of Frontier Missions, (23:2 Summer 2006), page 80.</ref>

The name Allah can be found countless times in the reports and the lists of names of Christian martyrs in South Arabia, as reported by antique Syriac documents of the names of those martyrs from the era of the [[Himyarite]] and [[Aksumite]] kingdoms.<ref name="rick brown">Rick Brown, Who was 'Allah' before Islam? Evidence that the term 'Allah' originated with Jewish and Christian Arabs (2007), page 8.</ref><ref>Ignatius Ya`qub III, The Arab Himyarite Martyrs in the Syriac Documents (1966), Pages: 9-65-66-89</ref>

A Christian leader named Abd Allah ibn Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad was martyred in Najran in 523, as he had worn a ring that said "Allah is my lord".<ref name="rick brown"/><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 Allah can be found in both Arabic and Aramaic, which called him "Allah" and "Alaha", and the inscription starts with the statement "By the Help of Allah".<ref name="rick brown"/><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 name="before">Rick Brown, Who was 'Allah' before Islam? Evidence that the term 'Allah' originated with Jewish and Christian Arabs (2007), page 10.</ref><ref>Frederick Winnett V, Allah before Islam-The Moslem World (1938), Pages: 239–248</ref><ref>Michael Macdonald, Personal Names in the Nabataean Realm-Journal Of Semitic Studies (1999), Page: 271</ref>

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>

"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>

===Islam===
{{main article|God in Islam}}
{{see also|Names of God in Islam}}
[[File:Istanbul, Hagia Sophia, Allah.jpg|thumb|Medallion showing "Allah [[Jalla Jalaluhu]]" in the [[Hagia Sophia]], [[Istanbul]], Turkey.]]

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"/>

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 (''{{transl|ar|ALA|wāḥid}}'') and inherently one (''{{transl|ar|ALA|aḥad}}''), all-merciful and omnipotent."<ref name="Britannica"/> 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"/>
[[File:Dcp7323-Edirne-Eski Camii Allah.jpg|thumb|150px|Allah script outside [[Eski Cami]] (The Old Mosque) in [[Edirne]], Turkey.]]
In Islamic tradition, there are [[99 Names of God]] (''{{transl|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
| publication-date =
| year =1992
| title =The Tao of Islam : a sourcebook on gender relationships in Islamic thought
| edition =
| series =
| publication-place =Albany NY USA
| place =
| publisher=SUNY
| id =
| isbn =978-0-7914-0914-5
| oclc =
| url =
}}</ref> Among the 99 names of God, the most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Merciful" (''[[Rahman (name)|al-Raḥmān]]'') and "the Compassionate" (''{{transl|ar|ALA|al-Raḥīm}}'').<ref name="EncMMENA"/><ref name="Ben"/>

Most Muslims use the untranslated Arabic phrase ''[[Insha'Allah|{{transl|ar|ALA|in shā’ Allāh}}]]'' (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|{{transl|ar|ALA|bismillāh}}]]'' (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|Subḥān Allāh]]" (Holiness be to God), "[[Alhamdulillah|al-ḥamdu lillāh]]" (Praise be to God), "[[Shahada|{{transl|ar|ALA|lā ilāha illā Allāh}}]]" (There is no deity but God) and "[[Takbir|Allāhu akbar]]" (God is greater) 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> In a [[Sufi]] practice known as ''dhikr Allah'' (lit. remembrance of God), the Sufi repeats and contemplates on the name ''Allah'' or other divine names 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>

Some scholars{{Who|date=December 2008}} have suggested that Muḥammad used the term ''Allah'' in addressing both pagan Arabs and Jews or Christians in order to establish a common ground for the understanding of the name for God, a claim Gerhard Böwering says is doubtful.<ref name="EoQ"/> According to 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 Edwards Peters]], "The [[Quran|Qur’ān]] insists, Muslims believe, and historians affirm that [[Muhammad]] and his followers worship the same God as the Jews ({{cite quran|29|46|style=nosup|expand=no}}). 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>

==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 ''ojalá'' in the Spanish language and ''oxalá'' in the [[Portuguese language]] exist today, borrowed from [[Arabic]] (Arabic: إن شاء الله). 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.<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>[http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-nation-of-islam.htm Nation of Islam – personification of Allah as Detroit peddler W D Fard] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813190129/http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-nation-of-islam.htm |date=13 August 2013 }}</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 |date= |accessdate=2014-01-14|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022034331/http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_3290.shtml|archivedate=2013-10-22}}</ref>

===Malaysian and Indonesian language===
[[File:Vocabulariumoft00dancgoog.djvu|page=78|thumb|left|The first dictionary of Dutch-Malay by [[Albert Cornelius Ruyl|A.C. Ruyl]], Justus Heurnius, and Caspar Wiltens in 1650 recorded "Allah" as the translation of the Dutch word "[[God]]t".]]
{{main article|Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur v. Menteri Dalam Negeri|2010 attacks against places of worship in Malaysia}}

Christians in Malaysia and Indonesia use ''Allah'' to refer to God in the [[Malaysian language|Malaysian]] and [[Indonesian language]]s (both of which are standardized forms of the [[Malay language]].)  Mainstream Bible translations in the language use ''Allah'' as the translation of Hebrew [[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 "Allah" as the translation of the Dutch word "[[:en:God|Godt]]".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3GcTAAAAQAAJ&v=onepage&q=allah&f=false |title=Justus Heurnius, Albert Ruyl, Caspar Wiltens. "Vocabularium ofte Woordenboeck nae ordre van den alphabeth, in 't Duytsch en Maleys". 1650:65 |publisher=Books.google.co.id |date= |accessdate=2014-01-14|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022172808/https://books.google.com/books?id=3GcTAAAAQAAJ&v=onepage&q=allah&f=false|archivedate=2013-10-22}}</ref> Ruyl also translated [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] in 1612 to Malay language (first Bible translation to non-European language, only a year after [[King James Version]] was published<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 [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] which was published in 1638.<ref>{{Id icon}} [http://sejarah.sabda.org/sejarah/bio_ruyl.htm Biography of Ruyl]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/514364/Albert-Cornelius-Ruyl |title=Encyclopædia Britannica: Albert Cornelius Ruyl |publisher=Britannica.com |date= |accessdate=2014-01-14|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019171117/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/514364/Albert-Cornelius-Ruyl|archivedate=2013-10-19}}</ref>

The [[government of Malaysia]] in 2007 outlawed usage of the term ''Allah'' in any other but Muslim contexts, but the [[High Court of Malaya|Malayan High Court]] in 2009 revoked the law, ruling that it was unconstitutional. While ''Allah'' had been used for the Christian God in Malay for more than four centuries, the contemporary controversy was triggered by usage of ''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 appeal was heard. 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 |accessdate=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=http://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|accessdate=14 January 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125052310/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25578348|archivedate=25 January 2014|deadurl=no}}</ref> However, the use of Allah is not prohibited in the two Malaysian state of [[Sabah]] and [[Sarawak]].<ref name="settle">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=87900|title=Catholic priest should respect court: Mahathir|publisher=[[Daily Express (Sabah)|Daily Express]]|date=9 January 2014|accessdate=10 January 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110085352/http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=87900|archivedate=10 January 2014|deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/03/29/worship-without-hindrance/|title=Worship without hindrance|author1=Jane Moh |author2=Peter Sibon |publisher=[[The Borneo Post]]|date=29 March 2014|accessdate=29 March 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329094134/http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/03/29/worship-without-hindrance/|archivedate=29 March 2014|deadurl=no}}</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"/>

As a 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}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|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|publisher=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]]|date=24 January 2014|accessdate=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]]|publisher=The Star|date=24 February 2014|accessdate=25 June 2014}}</ref>
{{clear}}

===In other scripts and languages===
''{{transl|ar|ALA|Allāh}}'' in other languages that use Arabic script is spelled in the same way. This includes [[Urdu]], [[Persian language|Persian]]/[[Dari (Eastern Persian)|Dari]], [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] among others.
* [[Assamese language|Assamese]], {{lang-bn|আল্লাহ}} ''Allah''
* {{lang-bs|Allah}}
* [[Chinese language|Chinese]] ([[Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca)|Mandarin]]): 阿拉 ''Ālā'', {{lang|zh|安拉}} ''Ānlā''; {{lang|zh|真主}} ''Zhēnzhǔ'' (semantic translation as "the true master"),<ref name="VersteeghEid2005">{{cite book|author1=Kees Versteegh|author2=Mushira Eid|title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics: A-Ed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SuNiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA379|year=2005|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-14473-6|pages=379–}}</ref> {{lang|zh|胡大}} ''Huda'' (''Khoda'', from [[Persian language]])
* [[Czech language|Czech]], {{lang-sk|Alláh}}
* {{lang-el|Αλλάχ}}  ''Allách''
*[[Filipino Language|Filipino]]:  Alā or  ''Allah''
* {{lang-he|אללה}} ''Allah''
* {{lang-hi|अल्लाह}} ''Allāh''
* {{lang-ml|അള്ളാഹ്}} ''Aḷḷāh''
* {{lang-ja|アラー}} ''Arā'', {{lang|ja|アッラー}} ''Arrā'', {{lang|ja|アッラーフ}} ''Arrāfu''
* {{lang-lv|Allāhs}}
* {{lang-mt|Alla}}
* {{lang-ko|알라}} ''Alla''
* {{lang-pl|Allah}}, also archaic ''{{lang|pl|Allach}}'' or ''{{lang|pl|Ałłach}}''
* [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], {{lang-bg|Алла́х}} ''Allakh''
* [[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], {{lang-mk|Алах}} ''Alah''
* [[Spanish language|Spanish]], {{lang-pt|Alá}}
* {{lang-syl|আল্লা}} ''Alla''
* {{lang-th|อัลลอฮ์}} ''Anláw''
* Punjabi ([[Gurmukhi script|Gurmukhi]]): ਅੱਲਾਹ ''Allāh'', archaic ਅਲਹੁ ''Alahu'' (in [[Sikh scriptures]])
* [[Turkish language|Turkish]]: Allah

==Typography==
[[File:Allah name in different languages.png|280px|thumbnail|The word ''Allah'' written in different [[writing system]]s.]]
The word ''{{transl|ar|ALA|Allāh}}'' is always written without an [[aleph|{{transl|ar|ALA|alif}}]] to spell the ''{{transl|ar|ALA|ā}}'' vowel. This is because the spelling was settled before Arabic spelling started habitually using ''{{transl|ar|ALA|alif}}'' to spell ''{{transl|ar|ALA|ā}}''. However, in vocalized spelling, a small diacritic ''{{transl|ar|ALA|alif}}'' is added on top of the ''[[shadda|{{transl|ar|ALA|shaddah}}]]'' to indicate the pronunciation.

One exception may be in the pre-Islamic [[History of the Arabic alphabet#Pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions|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
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013005808/http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Inscriptions/zebed.html
| archivedate=2013-10-13
}}
</ref> where it ends with an ambiguous sign that may be a lone-standing ''h'' with a lengthened start, or may be a non-standard conjoined ''{{transl|ar|ALA|l-h}}'':-
* {{lang|ar| الاه }}: This reading would be ''{{transl|ar|ALA|Allāh}}'' spelled phonetically with ''{{transl|ar|ALA|alif}}'' for the ''{{transl|ar|ALA|ā}}''.
* {{lang|ar| الإله }}: This reading would be ''{{transl|ar|ALA|al-Ilāh}}'' = 'the god' (an older form, without contraction), by older spelling practice without ''{{transl|ar|ALA|alif}}'' for ''{{transl|ar|ALA|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]
* [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>

===Unicode===

[[Unicode]] has a codepoint reserved for ''{{transl|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. [http://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=http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFB50.pdf |title='&#39;Unicode Standard 5.0'&#39;, p.479, 492 |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2014-01-14|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428184606/http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFB50.pdf|archivedate=2014-04-28}}</ref> this is discouraged for new text. Instead, the word ''{{transl|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 [[Coat of arms of Iran]] is encoded in Unicode, in the [[Miscellaneous Symbols]] range, at codepoint U+262B (☫).

==See also==
* [[Abdullah (name)]]
* [[Ilah|{{transl|ar|ALA|Ilāh}}]]
* [[Names of God]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* 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:80/book/aboutbook.html About the Unicode Standard Version 5.0 Book]

==External links==
{{Wikisource}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons and category|Allah}}
* [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
* [http://www.smi.uib.no/ksv/ArabicFonts.html Arabic Fonts and Mac OS X]
* [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:God]]

[[te:అల్లాహ్]]