Allah, Arabic Allāh (“God”), the one and only God in Islam.Etymologically, the name Allah is probably a contraction of the Arabic al-Ilāh, “the God.” The name’s origin can be traced to the earliest Semitic writings in which the word for god was il, el, or eloah, the latter two used in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Allah is the standard Arabic word for God and is used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews as well as by Muslims. The association of the word specifically with Islam comes from the special status of Arabic as the language of Islam’s holy scripture, the Qurʾān: since the Qurʾān in its original language is considered to be the literal word of God, it is believed that God described himself in the Arabic language as Allāh. The Arabic word thus holds special significance for Muslims, regardless of their native tongue, because the Arabic word was spoken by God himself.
Allah is the pivot of the Muslim faith. The Qurʾān stresses above all Allah’s singularity and sole sovereignty, a doctrinal tenet indicated by the Arabic term tawḥīd (“oneness”). He never sleeps or tires, and, while transcendent, he perceives and reacts to everything in every place through the omnipresence of his divine knowledge. He creates ex nihilo and is in no need of a consort, nor does he have offspring. Three themes preponderate in the Qurʾān: (1) Allah is the Creator, Judge, and Rewarder; (2) he is unique (wāḥid) and inherently one (aḥad); and (3) he is omnipotent and all-merciful. Allah is the “Lord of the Worlds,” the Most High; “nothing is like unto him,” and this in itself is to the believer a request to adore Allah as the Protector and to glorify his powers of compassion and forgiveness.
