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Silver
02-18-2009, 06:08 PM
:sl:
I use the word Allah because I speak arabic. My christian friends also say Allah. Allah simply means God in arabic. So why do non-arab muslims say Allah and not just God in their native language? :?
Allah isn't God's name is it? So why say Allah? Is there a particular reason?
Just curious...
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Ar-RaYYan
02-18-2009, 07:18 PM
Good thread sis!
I have always wondered why people say Allah if they are non-arab
Im not Arab but in my language God means 'Ilah' so i say 'Ilah' most of the time but i do also say Allah and God too!
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doorster
02-18-2009, 07:34 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
:sl:
I use the word Allah because I speak arabic. My christian friends also say Allah. Allah simply means God in arabic. So why do non-arab muslims say Allah and not just God in their native language? :?
Allah isn't God's name is it? So why say Allah? Is there a particular reason?
Just curious...
God, god, gods

The Name Allah is not one word but a small phrase, a statetement of tawhid.

its equivalant English phrase would be: The(One)God < a mouthful compared to "Allah" (الله )
Al:The
illah: a god, any god, a deity, anything that is worshipped by man.

it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "The(One)God"
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Silver
02-18-2009, 07:42 PM
God, god, gods

The Name Allah is not one word but a small phrase, a statetement of tawhid.

its equivalant English phrase would be: The(One)God < a mouthful compared to "Allah" (الله )
Al:The
illah: a god, any god, a deity, anything that is worshipped by man.
But:

by writing God with a capital G instead of god, isn't it like saying that there is only one God?
God --> Allah or al-ilah
god --> ilah
gods --> the plural of al-ilah is al aliha and Allah is derived from al-ilah.

So what's the difference?

I've always wondered about this...
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doorster
02-18-2009, 07:50 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
yeah but since Allah is derived from al-ilah "The God" it has a plural which is al-aliha "The gods".
could you show me where you are taking me:confused:

regardless of what al-aliha are (I do not care one jot about them, whoever they might be); Al-Illah is contracted to Allah, which is translated as The(one)God (unless I misunderstood the Original Post)
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doorster
02-18-2009, 07:53 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
But:

by writing God with a capital G instead of god, isn't it like saying that there is only one God?
God --> Allah or al-ilah
god --> ilah
gods --> the plural of al-ilah is al aliha and Allah is derived from al-ilah.

So what's the difference?

I've always wondered about this...
it seems from your edit that you are up to something, so I'll take your leave for now until Woodrow is online lest some ban-happy kiddy disables me again after just one day

edit: how does one use a capital G in spoken English?
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Silver
02-18-2009, 08:09 PM
it seems from your edit that you are up to something, so I'll take your leave for now until Woodrow is online lest some ban-happy kiddy disables me again after just one day
I'm not. I just thought that my reply before the edit wasn't clear. I'm just asking out of curiosity.
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AabiruSabeel
02-18-2009, 08:15 PM
:sl:

This is what Dr. Zakir Naik says about the question:
Why do Muslims prefer calling God Almighty as ‘Allah’ then the English word God, because the Arabic word ‘Allah’ is a pure word. The English word God, it can be played around with. If you add an ‘s’ to God, it becomes ‘Gods’, ‘plural of God’. You can not add an ‘s’ to Allah. There is nothing like plural Allah. Allah is one...(Arabic)... ‘Say he is Allah one and only’. If you add a ‘dess’ to God, it becomes ‘Goddess’, ‘a female god’. There is nothing like female Allah or male Allah. Allah has got no gender. If you have a god with a capital ‘G’, it becomes true God. If you have a god with a small ‘g’ it becomes fake god. In Islam we have only one true Allah. We do not have any false Allah, only true Allah. If you add father to god, it becomes ‘godfather’. He is my godfather. He is my guardian. You can not add an abba to Allah or a father to Allah. There is nothing like ‘Allahabba’ or ‘Allahfather’ in Islam. If you add a mother to god, it becomes Godmother. You can not add a mother to Allah or an ‘ammi’ to Allah. There is nothing like ‘Allahammi’ in Islam. If you put a tin before God, it becomes ‘Tingod’, ‘fake God’. In Islam there is nothing like ‘Tin Allah’. Allah is pure. It is unique, you can call him by any name, but it should be a beautiful name. I hope that answers the question.
Source
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Silver
02-18-2009, 08:16 PM
Bro doorster, perhaps I misunderstood you. When you said "god, God, gods" you meant that you don't say God because it has a plural while Allah doesn't?
Is that why we use Allah instead of God?

If you add father to god, it becomes ‘godfather’. He is my godfather. He is my guardian. You can not add an abba to Allah or a father to Allah. There is nothing like ‘Allahabba’ or ‘Allahfather’ in Islam. If you add a mother to god, it becomes Godmother. You can not add a mother to Allah or an ‘ammi’ to Allah. There is nothing like ‘Allahammi’ in Islam. If you put a tin before God, it becomes ‘Tingod’, ‘fake God’. In Islam there is nothing like ‘Tin Allah’. Allah is pure. It is unique, you can call him by any name, but it should be a beautiful name. I hope that answers the question.
Yeah, I guess it makes sence. thx.
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doorster
02-18-2009, 08:29 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
Bro doorster, perhaps I misunderstood you. When you said "god, God, gods" you meant that you don't say God because it has a plural while Allah doesn't?
Is that why we use Allah instead of God?



Yeah, I guess it makes sence. thx.
jazakillah khair. do not worry about me, I am very easily confused. wa salaam
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KashifB
02-19-2009, 12:16 AM
I read in a book (I can't remeber the name of the book) that the name Allah is chosen by Allah to address Allah subhanahu wata'ala. Is this not correct?
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Banu_Hashim
02-19-2009, 12:24 AM
It's become a kind of standardised Islamic term almost hasn't it? In urdu the word "khuda" is used to mean God.
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Woodrow
02-19-2009, 12:31 AM
I do not use God, because of the origin of the word and because the word god has many un-Godlike conontations for me. I also feel the fullness of the name Allaah(swt) expresses His attributes better.
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Intisar
02-19-2009, 01:00 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Ar-RaYYan
Good thread sis!
I have always wondered why people say Allah if they are non-arab
Im not Arab but in my language God means 'Ilah' so i say 'Ilah' most of the time but i do also say Allah and God too!
:sl: Do you mean Somali, because we say Ilahay. :?
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Raizins
02-19-2009, 03:06 PM
Well "Allah" is Allah's first name out of His 99 beautiful attribues (+more). I think it's just a universal thing. OHHHHH I just remembered we had a discussion about this at the Masjid.
Alright well the word "god" in English can be.. played around with, if that's what you want to call it. For example, you can add a "s" and make it plural. You can add a "dess" at the end, and make it feminine. However, in Arabic, there is no way you can pluralize it or feminize it. No way to play around with it. Hope that helped. :)
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Banu_Hashim
02-19-2009, 03:21 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Raizins
Well "Allah" is Allah's first name out of His 99 beautiful attribues (+more). I think it's just a universal thing. OHHHHH I just remembered we had a discussion about this at the Masjid.
Alright well the word "god" in English can be.. played around with, if that's what you want to call it. For example, you can add a "s" and make it plural. You can add a "dess" at the end, and make it feminine. However, in Arabic, there is no way you can pluralize it or feminize it. No way to play around with it. Hope that helped. :)
Ohhhh right. Yeah that makes sense. JazakAllah Khair.:happy:
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Raizins
02-19-2009, 03:35 PM
Wa iyakum.
Oh I just decided to skim through the comments and I realized someone already said the same thing I did. xD :$ Sorry.
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Banu_Hashim
02-19-2009, 03:37 PM
Haha.. so they did. No problem. I have a habit of skipping to the ends of threads anyways.
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Caller الداعي
02-19-2009, 07:15 PM
salam
sorry guys but Allah is the name of the Lord of the universe and He and mentioned it in the quran about himself and His prophet peace be upon him mentioned it in the ahadeeth.
Even though there is nothing wrong with saying God.
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Zamtsa
02-19-2009, 07:31 PM
What is "Laa ilaha illallah."?
In Arabic the way to write Laa ilaha illallah is " لا اله الا الله "
See the ا (alif) in the word Allah there? The Alif could be erase, but why was it written in there? Because it is Alif lam makrifat, means that what Muslim meant by the word "Allah" is definite, not indefinite and not abstact (Nakirah).

That means Allahu Ta'ala is only the Creator, the Cherisher, the Sustainer, and the One God who owns the Asma'ul Husna which He made known through His Kitab, and through His messengers, and which He keep inside His knowledge which is Ghaib (not known but by Him).

If the writing is like this " لا اله الا لله " the alif before the lafazh Allah is erase, then it is becoming Allah the abstract, which won't be Al Ilah, the word Allah was derived from Al Ilah " ال اله" not "اله" the rule in Arabic is that when the word written the form of Nakirah means abstract, while when written in the form of Makrifat (with Al : ال) means that it is a DEFINITE noun (Isim).

So forever, Islam will never worship duality of Allah as one or Oneness of Allah in duality, or Trinity of Allah in 1 or oneness of Allah in Trinity.
Only Allah the Al Ilah, Ilah means 1 God, if 2 God: Ilahaini.


Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh (May peace, development, safe from guile, and Allah's mercy and His blessings be upon thee).
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Silver
02-19-2009, 07:40 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Woodrow
I do not use God, because of the origin of the word
What's the origin of the word God?
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doorster
02-19-2009, 07:40 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
What's the origin of the word God?
http://www.bibleanswerstand.org/God.htm
.... the word 'God' that we use for the Supreme Being, comes from a very pagan origin. ....
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=What's+the+origin+of+the+word+God

format_quote Originally Posted by Abdul Thayyib
What is "Laa ilaha illallah."?
In Arabic the way to write Laa ilaha illallah is " لا اله الا الله "
See the ا (alif) in the word Allah there? The Alif could be erase, but why was it written in there? Because it is Alif lam makrifat, means that what Muslim meant by the word "Allah" is definite, not indefinite and not abstact (Nakirah).

That means Allahu Ta'ala is only the Creator, the Cherisher, the Sustainer, and the One God who owns the Asma'ul Husna which He made known through His Kitab, and through His messengers, and which He keep inside His knowledge which is Ghaib (not known but by Him).

If the writing is like this " لا اله الا لله " the alif before the lafazh Allah is erase, then it is becoming Allah the abstract, which won't be Al Ilah, the word Allah was derived from Al Ilah " ال اله" not "اله" the rule in Arabic is that when the word written the form of Nakirah means abstract, while when written in the form of Makrifat (with Al : ال) means that it is a DEFINITE noun (Isim).

So forever, Islam will never worship duality of Allah as one or Oneness of Allah in duality, or Trinity of Allah in 1 or oneness of Allah in Trinity.
Only Allah the Al Ilah, Ilah means 1 God, if 2 God: Ilahaini.


Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh (May peace, development, safe from guile, and Allah's mercy and His blessings be upon thee).
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/sho...978#post294978
http://www.prlog.org/10163866-asking...nswer-this.pdf

:(

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Woodrow
02-19-2009, 10:04 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
What's the origin of the word God?
Rather then going by memory I found a source I can quote from:

Word origin: God - Our word god goes back via Germanic to Indo-European, in which a corresponding ancestor form meant “invoked one.” The word’s only surviving non-Germanic relative is Sanskrit hu, invoke the gods, a form which appears in the Rig Veda, most ancient of Hindu scriptures: puru-hutas, “much invoked,” epithet of the rain-and-thunder god Indra. (From READER’S DIGEST, Family Word Finder, page 351) (Originally published by The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville New York, Montreal; Copyright (C) 1975)



Now if the sources noted above are accurate, then the word that we use for the Supreme Being, God, comes from a very pagan origin. Thus the word god is used generically by many different religions to refer to their deity or “invoked one.”



Some may laugh at the notion, the very idea that the word “God” has any origin or association with Hindu Sanskrit. To illustrate how this is possible, we again quote from ‘Family Word Finder’ on the historical development of our Modern English language:



Page 7, ‘Word Origins’ - “English belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, which consists of about 100 related tongues, all descended from prehistoric language of a pastoral, bronze working, horse breeding people, the Aryans, who inhabited the steppes of Central Asia about 4500 B.C. Scholars refer to their language at this stage as proto-Indo-European, or simply Indo-European.

Source: http://www.bibleanswerstand.org/God.htm

In addition How the early Germans used the word:

"Similarly, it is equally easy to gloss over the sordid history of many non-Arabic terms
Christians use for God. The English word “God”, for example, comes from the pagan
Germanic “Gott,” which was sued as a proper name for the chief Teutonic deity Odin,
who lives on top of the world-tree and created the first humans with his wife Freya, a
blonde, blue-eyed goddess of love, fertility and beauty. Should English speakers therefore
discontinue addressing the Most High as God? In spite of its pagan origin and its present
use for both false deities and the Most High, “God” (when capitalized) is generally
understood by English speakers as the God of the Bible, and therefore perfectly
acceptable to English-speaking Christians. Allah, by contrast, shares the same Semitic
roots as Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic, is not presently used for false deities, and clearly
understood by all Arab Christians and Muslims as the God of the Bible. Allah is therefore
a perfectly acceptable term for Arabic-speaking Christians and Muslims."

Source: http://camelmethod.com/downloads/Sho...anslations.pdf

Now for the big surprise before I get called anti-Christian. Both of those quotes are from Christian sites.
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Silver
02-19-2009, 10:20 PM
JazakAllah Khair. Thx :) I never knew the word God had pagan origins!
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 01:58 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
But:

by writing God with a capital G instead of god, isn't it like saying that there is only one God?
God --> Allah or al-ilah
god --> ilah
gods --> the plural of al-ilah is al aliha and Allah is derived from al-ilah.

So what's the difference?

I've always wondered about this...
To be correct, "Allah" is not a contraction of "al-ilah". "Allah" is a proper name applied to the Being Who exists necessarily, by Himself, comprising all the attributes of perfection, i.e. the Being Who is perfect in every way (in His knowledge, power etc.), and possesses the best and the noblest qualities imaginable in the highest degree.

The term "al-ilah" (the-god/deity") is a generic title, and a different word from "Allah".
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doorster
03-18-2009, 02:02 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by muslimapoclyptc
To be correct, "Allah" is not a contraction of "al-ilah". "Allah" is a proper name applied to the Being Who exists necessarily, by Himself, comprising all the attributes of perfection, i.e. the Being Who is perfect in every way (in His knowledge, power etc.), and possesses the best and the noblest qualities imaginable in the highest degree.

The term "al-ilah" (the-god/deity") is a generic title, and a different word from "Allah".
can you give a reference from a linguist (other than from anti-Islam sites according to whom it is name of a pagan god worshipped by Arabs of old and Muslims of today)

following your peculiar brand of Arabic

Abdullah is not a contraction of Abdul Allah, jazakillah is not jazaki Allah, Noor-ud-deen is not noor al deen and so on and so forth
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 02:25 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by doorster
can you give a reference from a linguist (other than from anti-Islam sites according to whom it is name of a pagan god worshipped by Arabs of old and Muslims of today)

following your peculiar brand of Arabic

Abdullah is not a contraction of Abdul Allah, jazakillah is not jazaki Allah, Noor-ud-deen is not noor al deen and so on and so forth
Anti-Islam sites say the opposite of what I said, as their arguments are based on the name "Allah" being a contraction of "al-ilah". What I'm saying is what several Arabic-English lexicons say: That the word "Allah" is a proper name, and not a contracted word.

How can it be a contracted word if it is unique, and specific to only the one, true god? The name "Allah" has never been applied (and can never be applied) to anyone else besides Him.
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doorster
03-18-2009, 02:31 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by muslimapoclyptc
Anti-Islam sites say the opposite of what I said, as their arguments are based on the name "Allah" being a contraction of "al-ilah". What I'm saying is what several Arabic-English lexicons say: That the word "Allah" is a proper name, and not a contracted word.

How can it be a contracted word if it is unique, and specific to only the one, true god? The name "Allah" has never been applied (and can never be applied) to anyone else besides Him.
name a few dictionaries/lexicons so that I can look them up too

oh BTW what did Hebrews call the Almighty? can you remind me?
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 05:03 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by doorster
name a few dictionaries/lexicons so that I can look them up too
There is the Dictionary of the Holy Qur'an, 1st edition, by Abdul Mannan Omar. There is also Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon.

oh BTW what did Hebrews call the Almighty? can you remind me?
It's Eloah or Elohim, correct? In Aramaic, the Almighty is called Alaha. In Arabic, the Almighty is called Allah. In English, the Almighty is called "God" with a capital "G".

"Allah" is a name/proper noun; a single, inseparable and unique word in Arabic, which has always been used to refer specifically to the Almighty by Arabic-speakers. That is an established fact.

The idea that the word "Allah" is a contraction of "al-ilah", is just that; "an idea", which is based on little more than the apparent similarity between the two terms. That is not evidence, and to assume that it's fact without solid evidence is a fallacy.

Here's an interesting article on the issue:

al-ilah = the god, Allah = God
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doorster
03-18-2009, 05:12 AM
There is the Dictionary of the Holy Qur'an, 1st edition, by Abdul Mannan Omar. There is also Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon.
after all that searching you found 2, is there not any that differ?
Abdullah is not a contraction of Abdul Allah, jazakillah is not jazaki Allah, Noor-ud-deen is not noor al deen and so on and so forth
^^could you also comment on this too please?

It's Eloah or Elohim, correct?
my actual intent was to ask whether the Muslims from time of Hz. Adam down to hz. Eesa had been using wrong terms to describe the Supreme Being, and that only after the nabuwat of Last Rasul we discovered the true "Name? or that the all originally knew him as Allah but later corrupted it in to various forms?

PS. can you also explain me the rules of idgham please?
Here's an interesting article on the issue:

al-ilah = the god, Allah = God
oh, and I believe that you misunderstood them too due to them not being very good
to me it looks like they are saying that: AL-ILAH>> the god; ALLAH which is the English "God "
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Silver
03-18-2009, 05:29 AM
"Allah" is a name/proper noun; a single, inseparable and unique word in Arabic, which has always been used to refer specifically to the Almighty by Arabic-speakers. That is an established fact.
Yes, now people use Allah as a proper noun but it's not a proper noun. It does come from the word al-ilah. Allah comes from the "Idgham" of the two L in al-ilah.
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 05:59 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by doorster
after all that searching you found 2, is there not any that differ?
Well, I already knew about those two. If there are any that differ, can you name them?

^^could you also comment on this too please?
None of them use the prefix "al" (meaning "the") at the beginning, and only 'Abdullah is a proper name. I'm not saying that contractions don't exist in Arabic, I'm simply saying that the name "Allah" is not a contraction.

my actual intent was to ask whether the Muslims from time of Hz. Adam down to hz. Eesa had been using wrong terms to describe the Supreme Being, and that only after the nabuwat of Last Rasul we discovered the true "Name? or that the all originally knew him as Allah but later corrupted it in to various forms?
This isn't about a "true" name, as all the names are descriptive. This is about the name "Allah", which is a unique name, and not a derivative, or a contraction, of other words.
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 06:02 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
Yes, now people use Allah as a proper noun but it's not a proper noun. It does come from the word al-ilah. Allah comes from the "Idgham" of the two L in al-ilah.
What is the basis for this?
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doorster
03-18-2009, 06:07 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by muslimapoclyptc
Well, I already knew about those two. If there are any that differ, can you name them?



None of them use the prefix "al" (meaning "the") at the beginning, and only 'Abdullah is a proper name. I'm not saying that contractions don't exist in Arabic, I'm simply saying that the name "Allah" is not a contraction.



This isn't about a "true" name, as all the names are descriptive. This is about the name "Allah", which is a unique name, and not a derivative, or a contraction, of other words.
thank you very much you've told me all I needed to know, I'll take your leave now
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Silver
03-18-2009, 08:20 AM
What is the basis for this?
I read it in some books, but they are difficult to translate and I don't have the time to do it.
As someone who's been speaking arabic all my life, this seems obvious to me. I know that some might disagree but if you know arabic grammar than you will know what I am talking about.
Idgham is to mix to identical letters and replace them with one with a "chadda" on it.
Al-Ilah has 2 L so the became one L with a chadda on it : الله
Saying that Allah comes from Al-Ilah is not a bad thing. Ilah is used many times in the Holy Quran.
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Silver
03-18-2009, 08:21 AM
"Allah" is a name/proper noun; a single, inseparable and unique word in Arabic, which has always been used to refer specifically to the Almighty by Arabic-speakers. That is an established fact.
What proves that Allah is a proper noun and was not a contraction of al-Ilah? Why is this an established fact?
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 01:45 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
I read it in some books, but they are difficult to translate and I don't have the time to do it.
As someone who's been speaking arabic all my life, this seems obvious to me. I know that some might disagree but if you know arabic grammar than you will know what I am talking about.
Idgham is to mix to identical letters and replace them with one with a "chadda" on it.
Al-Ilah has 2 L so the became one L with a chadda on it : الله
Saying that Allah comes from Al-Ilah is not a bad thing. Ilah is used many times in the Holy Quran.
Yes, it would seem obvious (it did to me at first, and I don't even speak Arabic), but, it's still an assumption based on observation, and not an established fact.

What proves that Allah is a proper noun and was not a contraction of al-Ilah? Why is this an established fact?
The proof is how it is used in the Qur'an and Arabic in general, and the fact that it has only ever been applied to the Almighty. That makes it a proper name, as well as a unique one.
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_Rida_
03-18-2009, 02:26 PM
:sl:

Why Muslims say ALLAH?

ALLAH is the unique word,name of ALLAH has no plural ,no antonym, no masculine & no feminine because ALLAH is one,

But Khuda ,God, Bhagvan, Devta, Lord & all other names have their plural,antonym, masculine & Feminine i.e.

God=Gods, Godess
Khuda=Khudaon,
Bhagvan=Bhagvano
Devta=Devi, Devtaon
Lord=Lords etc.,

But ALLAH is AHD(one)
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 04:12 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by muslimapoclyptc
Yes, it would seem obvious (it did to me at first, and I don't even speak Arabic), but, it's still an assumption based on observation, and not an established fact.



The proof is how it is used in the Qur'an and Arabic in general, and the fact that it has only ever been applied to the Almighty. That makes it a proper name, as well as a unique one.
Also, here is someone's refutation of the "al-ilah" contraction theory, as well as a refutation of the anti-Islam claims about the name "Allah":

Allah, Not an Etymological Contraction of al-ilah
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doorster
03-18-2009, 04:55 PM
then there are others refuting it the other way in response to it being a noun used for moongod

by the way why does it take you 2 hours from clicking reply to submit button? is it trouble with googling terms?
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Silver
03-18-2009, 05:35 PM
It still seems to me that Allah is derived from al-Ilah but I don't see why that's a problem.
I have arabic texts about this but they are difficult to translate and they are at my grandparents' house.

Here's something that's kinda like the texts that I read:

The Arabic name Allah consists of the definite article "Al" [the] attached to the noun "Ilahun" [god -- allowing for the classical nunation]. When "Al" is attached, the I (aliph) of "Ilahun" become quiescent, the L of "Al" assimilates in pronunciation with the L of "Ilahun," and the word loses its nunation. Also Modern Arabic drops the final vowel [the case ending] in pronunciation. The resultant pronunciation is "Allah." However, the spelling in the Qur'an is Al[I]lah(u/i/a), where [I] is the quiescent but written aliph, and the last vowel is the case ending [u for nominative, i for genitive, a for accusative]. The Arabic word "Ilahun" is the equivalent of Aramaic "Elah" [no case endings in Aramaic] and of Hebrew "Eloah" [no case endings]. It is then obvious that the word "Ilah" comes from a common Semitic root, EL or ILU/IL for the word (g)od, as do the words "Eloah" in Hebrew and "Elah" in Aramaic.
www.answering-christianity.com/allahorigin.htm

When we say that Allah is a proper noun we are allowing anti-muslims to say that it was the proper noun of a moon god.
So what if Allah comes from the word Al-Ilah. Why is it a bad thing? ILAH is a semetic word and ELAH which is a similar word was used by Jesus (PBUH).
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 05:54 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by doorster
then there are other idiots refuting it the other way in response to it being a noun used for moongod
What enables those idiots to use it that way, is the assumption that the name "Allah" is a contraction of "al-ilah". You'll notice that this assumption is a central part of their "moon-god" argument.

The reason it's central, is because of the idea that "al-ilah" was originally a title for a "moon-god" in ancient, pagan Arabia.

by the way why does it take you 2 hours from clicking reply to submit button? is it trouble with googling terms?
I get distracted.
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muslimapoclyptc
03-18-2009, 06:16 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Lara
It still seems to me that Allah is derived from al-Ilah but I don't see why that's a problem.
I have arabic texts about this but they are difficult to translate and they are at my grandparents' house.

Here's something that's kinda like the texts that I read:



www.answering-christianity.com/allahorigin.htm

When we say that Allah is a proper noun we are allowing anti-muslims to say that it was the proper noun of a moon god.
So what if Allah comes from the word Al-Ilah. Why is it a bad thing? ILAH is a semetic word and ELAH which is a similar word was used by Jesus (PBUH).
The reason, is that "al-ilah" is a generic title, meaning "the-god/deity", which can be pluralized and is not gender-neutral. It's application is also not limited to the Almighty.

It is this title, as well as the idea that "Allah" is a contracted form of it, which enables those anti-Muslims to make their moon-god argument.

The fact that the name "Allah" cannot be pluralized, is gender-neutral, and has only ever been used to refer to the Almighty, in itself refutes the idea that it is just a contraction of the generic title "al-ilah".

The word "Jesus" would've used in Aramaic was "Alaha". If anything, "Allah" is more likely the arabicized form of the Aramaic "Alaha", than it is a contraction of "al-ilah".
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doorster
03-20-2009, 10:12 PM
I am going to say it one last time and then I am going to try to get the thread closed since it was resolved long ago but when I used it for reference, some one derailed it

Allah comes from Arabic word illah/ellah which means someone worshipped; a god, a deity

Al + illah = Allah
The + God = "The Only One to be Worshipped" or The Only One worthy of being worshipped
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