aabiyaba@athena.mit.edu (03/17/90)
I'm writing in response to W. B. Baker's question about the words "Allah" and "God" in soc.religion.islam. I believe that "Allah" is the contracted form of "Al Illah" which is the Arabic for "The God" or "The One-and-Only God". As far as I know "Al Illah" is never used as such but linguists have suggested that origin for "Allah". (A native Arabic speaker might consider responding). I understand that pre-Islamic monotheistic Arabs used "Allah" to denote "God" as opposed to the pagans who referred to their "god(s)". Although "God" is the closest English translation of "Allah" and could be used in the phrase "Mohammed is the Messenger of God", "Allah" carries a sense of Oneness [unity] which Christian English-speaking cultures do not associate with the word "God". To distinguish from the concept of the triune God of Christian cultures, it might be better to always use "Allah". It is quite unfortunate that Mr. Baker's friends think of fanatics when they hear the word "Allah"; it is indicative of the widespread misunderstanding about the Last Religion^ to be Revealed to Humankind by Allah: Islam. Ahmed Biyabani ^ Religion: This is another poorly understood term as it relates to Islam. I don't have the time to pursue it here but one might consider the overlap (in English) between "religion", "faith", "way of life" and "belief". To use the Arabic term, Islam is Allah's only legitimate "deen" and Mohammed [peace be upon him] was chosen to deliver Islam's final form, i.e., the culmination of Islam as delivered through earlier prophets.
MASHAR01%ULKYVX.BITNET@jade.berkeley.edu (03/22/90)
> What are the distinctions between the words "Allah" and > "God," particularly in the minds of most Muslims? Are they > more than just the same word but in different languages? Do > they have different meanings, and should they have different > meanings? The reference to "God" has become quite context sensitive. Sometimes "God" is referred to as "god," as "God" in the Old Testament, as "God" in the New Testament, and as "God" in the Islamic sense. Because people use "God" in many contexts I prefer to use "Allah" when referring to "God" in the Islamic sense. > I know that many of my friends, when they hear "Allah," think > of fanatical terrorists. It is likely that people such as the above will have the same opinion about Islam and Muslims regardless of what others may explain to them. I wouldn't waste my time trying to change their opinions. > Is it proper, for example, to say "Muhammed is a messenger > from God," as well as "Muhammed is a messenger from Allah?" Obviously, because of my preference in the first paragraph, I use "Allah." Also, I prefer the translation "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammed (Pbuh) is the seal of all prophets." Matheen Shareef bitnet%"OPRMAS@ulkyvx"
gwydion@tavi.rice.edu (Basalat Ali Raja) (03/23/90)
In article <5440@accuvax.nwu.edu> MASHAR01%ULKYVX.BITNET@jade.berkeley.edu writes: >> Is it proper, for example, to say "Muhammed is a messenger >> from God," as well as "Muhammed is a messenger from Allah?" > > Obviously, because of my preference in the first paragraph, I > use "Allah." Also, I prefer the translation "There is no God > but Allah, and Muhammed (Pbuh) is the seal of all prophets." My personal preference is to use the translation "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet". [Almost exact translation of "la ila ha illul la ho muhammadun rasul allah"]. However, I agree that it might be better to use Allah instead of God. The god of the Trinity is a different god from Allah, in one sense, in that Allah does not have Jesus as a son, nor is he to be associated with the Holy Ghost. On the other hand, when one uses the word "God" to refer to a diety, or rather THE Diety, then the word Allah can be used instead. That is what the word "allah" means, in Arabic. Essentially, I would say that the word "god" covers the meanings that "allah" might be used in, but the converse is not true - thus "allah" is the more precise term.
khan@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Iqbal Mustafa Khan) (03/23/90)
In article <10048@wpi.wpi.edu> gwydion@tavi.rice.edu (Basalat Ali Raja) writes: >God. The god of the Trinity is a different god from Allah, in one >sense, in that Allah does not have Jesus as a son, nor is he to be >associated with the Holy Ghost. > I have seen Allah being used in an arabic translation of Bible. I think, it is not important whether we use Allah or God, because the moment we attach the second part, "Mohammad is His messenger", it automatically makes it a muslims belief. Iqbal Mustafa Khan
aecder@venus.ycc.yale.edu (04/08/90)
In article <5933@accuvax.nwu.edu>, ray@geac.com (Ray Raheem) writes:
# Is it true that the arabic word "Allah" has no plural and also has no gender
# (male or female) ?.
Yes, it is true. Under the influence of Christianity some people use
pronouns like 'He' or 'Him'.