Editing Allah (section)

{{Short description|Arabic word for God}}
{{About|the Arabic word for God|the Islamic conception 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}}
'''Allah''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|l|ə|,_|ˈ|ɑː|l|ə|,_|ə|ˈ|l|ɑː}} {{respell|A(H)L|ə|,_|ə|LAH}};<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> {{langx|ar|الله}}, {{IPA|ar|ɑɫˈɫɑːh|IPA|Ar-allah.ogg}}) is an Arabic term for [[God]], specifically the [[God in Abrahamic religions|God of Abraham]]. Outside of the [[Middle East]], it is principally associated with [[God in Islam|Islam]] (in which it is also considered the proper name), although the term was used in [[pre-Islamic Arabia]] and continues to be used today by Arabic-speaking adherents of any of the [[Abrahamic religions]], including [[God in Judaism|Judaism]] and [[God in Christianity|Christianity]].<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><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Allah|dictionary=Merriam-Webster|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allah|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|author=Merriam-Webster}}</ref> It is thought to be derived by contraction from ''[[Arabic definite article|al]]-[[Ilah|ilāh]]'' ({{Lang|ar|الاله|rtl=yes}}, {{Literal translation|the god}}) and is linguistically related to God's names in other [[Semitic languages]], such as [[Aramaic]] ({{Lang|arc|ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ|rtl=yes}} {{Transliteration|arc|ʼAlāhā}}) and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ({{Lang|he|אֱלוֹהַּ|rtl=yes}} {{Transliteration|he|ʾĔlōah}}).<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" now conveys the superiority or sole existence of [[Monotheism|one God]],<ref name="Robin304">{{cite book|author=Christian Julien Robin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA304|title=Arabia and Ethiopia. In The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity|publisher=OUP USA|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-533693-1|pages=304–305}}</ref> but among the [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia#Role of Allah|pre-Islamic Arabs]], [[Creator deity|Allah was a supreme deity]] and was worshipped alongside lesser deities in a [[Pantheon (religion)|pantheon]].<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> Many Jews, Christians, and [[early Muslims]] used "Allah" and "al-ilah" synonymously in [[Classical Arabic]]. The word is also frequently, albeit not exclusively, used by [[Bábism|Bábists]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]], [[Mandaeans]], [[Christianity in Indonesia|Indonesian Christians]], [[Christianity in Malta|Maltese Christians]], and [[Sephardic 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>