Editing Allah (section)

=== Islamic period ===
{{main|God in Islam}}
{{see also|Names of God in Islam}}
In contrast with pre-Islamic Arabian [[polytheism]], as stated by [[Gerhard Böwering]], God in Islam does not have associates and companions, nor is there any kinship between God and [[jinn]].<ref name="EoQ"/> Pre Islamic Arabs believed in a blind, powerful, unstoppable and insensible fate over which man had no control. This was replaced with the Islamic belief of a powerful yet benevolent and merciful God's control over man's life.<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>

Since the first centuries of Islam, Arabic-speaking commentators of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faith used the term ''Allah'' as a generic term for the supreme being.<ref name="auto1">Thomas, Kenneth J. "Allah in Translations of the Bible." The Bible Translator 52.3 (2001): 301-306.</ref> [[Saadia Gaon]] used the term ''Allah'' interchangeably with the term ''[[Elohim|ʾĔlōhīm]]''.<ref name="auto1"/> [[Theodore Abu Qurrah]] translates ''theos'' as ''Allah'' in his Bible, as in John 1:1 "the Word was with Allah".<ref name="auto1"/> Muslim commentators likewise used the term Allah for the Biblical concept of God. [[Ibn Qutayba]] writes "You cannot serve both Allah and Mammon.".<ref name="auto1"/> However, Muslim translators of the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia rarely translated the [[Tetragrammaton]], referring to the supreme being in Israelite tradition, as ''Allah''. Instead, most commentators either translated [[Yahweh]] as either ''yahwah'' or ''rabb'', the latter corresponding to the Jewish custom to refer to Yahweh as ''Adonai''.<ref name="auto1"/> 

Most Qur'an [[Tafsir|commentators]], including [[al-Tabari]] (d. 923), [[al-Zamakhshari]] (d. 1143/44), and [[Fakhr al-Din al-Razi|al-Razi]] (d. 1209), regard ''Allah'' to be a proper noun.<ref name="auto2">Ibrahim, Zakyi. "To Use "God" or "Allah"?." American Journal of Islam and Society 26.4 (2009): i-vii.</ref> While other names of [[God in Islam]] denote attributes or adjectives, the term ''Allah'' specifically refers to his essence as his real name ({{Transliteration|ar|ism'alam li-dhatih}}).<ref name="auto2"/> The other names are known as the [[99 Names of God|99 Names of Allah]] (''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|al-asmā' al-ḥusná}}'' lit. meaning: 'the best names' or 'the most beautiful names') and considered attributes, each of which represents 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 previously mentioned above ''al-Aḥad'' ("the One, the Indivisible") and ''al-Wāḥid'' ("the Unique, the Single").

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 foundation 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 Judgment.<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> Allah is not considered 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 attributes of Allah Almighty are described in this way in the Ayat al-Kursi of Surah al-Baqarah in the Holy Quran.

ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ٢٥٥

"Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who could possibly intercede with Him without His permission? He ˹fully˺ knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them, but no one can grasp any of His knowledge—except what He wills ˹to reveal˺. His Seat encompasses the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of both does not tire Him. For He is the Most High, the Greatest."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah Al-Baqarah - Ayatul Kursi |url=https://quran.com/en/ayatul-kursi |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=Quran.com |language=en}}</ref>

The concept correlates to the [[Tawhid]], where chapter 112 of the [[Quran|Qur'an]] ([[Al-Ikhlas|''Al-'Ikhlās'']], The Sincerity) reads:<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><blockquote>قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ [[۝]]  ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ۝ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ۝  وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ ۝١
:[[۝]] 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>

In a [[Sufi]] practice known as {{Transliteration|ar|dhikr Allāh}} ([[Arabic]]: <big>ذِكر الله</big>, lit. "Remembrance of God"), the Sufi chants and contemplates the name ''Allah'' or other associated divine names to Him while regulating 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>