Use of the word Allah as a name, even when speaking English
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So this has been bothering me for years and I figured it was time to get to the bottom of it.
Firstly let me apologize if this has been discussed before, I did a search, and did not come up with anything.
So,
What bothers me specifically is the use of the word Allah when people speak another language. Why is this done?I am an Arabic speaker, and as I'm sure you all know, Allah simply means 'The God' in the Arabic language. It comes from Al (The) and Ilah (god).
Now, I'm sure you all know that the word Allah is also used by Arab Christians and Jews, and was even used to refer to God before Islam.
So why do people continue to use the term Allah when speaking English? God has no name in Islam in the sense of humans having arbitrary names like Michael, Dave, Adnan, etc. His names are characteristics, through which we can then understand him better. And the only one that is not a characteristic, but which is used as a name is Allah.
Why this is important
The reason this bothers me is because I think the overuse of the word Allah alienates Muslims from people of other religions. They begin to associate the term Allah with Muslims and see it as a foreign term used by "others". They do not associate the word with God.
However, if Muslims used the word 'God' when speaking English or other languages, this strikes a chord with people, and helps them understand the topic at hand with something they are familiar with and have thought about. It brings to their minds images of God that they have harbored since childhood, instead of turban-wearing terrorists, wife beaters, child molesters, and whatever other stereotypes Muslims now have. -
What bothers me specifically is the use of the world Allah when people speak another language. Why is this done?
I am an Arabic speaker, and as I'm sure you all know, Allah simply means 'The God' in the Arabic language. It comes from Al (The) and Ilah (god).
Are you really an Arab or just settler there speaking Arabic?
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Peace ths,
At certain angle you might have a point there, just because of some western media might intrepret incorrectly regarding certain terminologies of Islam. But, I think the word Allah is not an 100% issue in regards to the mindset of non-muslims.
I can question here? Why muslims especially non-Arabic speaking use names of Arabic origin such as Ibrahim not Abraham, Daud not David, Musa not Moses? or if convert to Islam they will leave their original name or put alias in between. Or, why Christians of non-English speaking mostly use English names such as Abraham, Peter, John, David and many others? How about Arab Christians? Might be, all these names are not wrong at all for muslims or christians.
ths, are you convenient if you meet some muslims with their name such as Daniel, John, Peter or Jesus? or Jewish name?
There are some cases, where non-Muslims become attracted to Islam just because they heard of Adzan. or somebody read Quran in English translation. This happens everywhere. Most of non-muslims are more than curious to know some words from muslims, such as "Assalamualaikum", 'Alhamdulillah" and I'm very happy to explain to them.
Once they know, they will respect the words.
Peace.
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So this has been bothering me for years and I figured it was time to get to the bottom of it.
Firstly let me apologize if this has been discussed before, I did a search, and did not come up with anything.
So,
What bothers me specifically is the use of the word Allah when people speak another language. Why is this done?I am an Arabic speaker, and as I'm sure you all know, Allah simply means 'The God' in the Arabic language. It comes from Al (The) and Ilah (god).
Now, I'm sure you all know that the word Allah is also used by Arab Christians and Jews, and was even used to refer to God before Islam.
So why do people continue to use the term Allah when speaking English? God has no name in Islam in the sense of humans having arbitrary names like Michael, Dave, Adnan, etc. His names are characteristics, through which we can then understand him better. And the only one that is not a characteristic, but which is used as a name is Allah.
Why this is important
The reason this bothers me is because I think the overuse of the word Allah alienates Muslims from people of other religions. They begin to associate the term Allah with Muslims and see it as a foreign term used by "others". They do not associate the word with God.
However, if Muslims used the word 'God' when speaking English or other languages, this strikes a chord with people, and helps them understand the topic at hand with something they are familiar with and have thought about. It brings to their minds images of God that they have harbored since childhood, instead of turban-wearing terrorists, wife beaters, child molesters, and whatever other stereotypes Muslims now have.Salam ths,
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The language as it is today, made by the people. For example, word 'Allah' is a Malay word refer to exactly word 'Allah' in Arabic.
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'Al-Ilah' also means 'The God' doesn't it?
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The language is a creation, created for us to get understanding things.
Wallahualam.
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Salam ths,
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The language as it is today, made by the people. For example, word 'Allah' is a Malay word refer to exactly word 'Allah' in Arabic.
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'Al-Ilah' also means 'The God' doesn't it?
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The language is a creation, created for us to get understanding things.
Wallahualam.
Peace Ariji,
In Malay, the word "Allah/The God" is literally translated as "Tuhan" when it is understood as a common name. But generally, majority of the Malays believe that "Allah" is a proper name, hence the recent controversy in Malaysia.
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I see what you mean about non-muslims being attracted to the religion via adhans or other habits, and I myself have had to explain many a time the meaning of Salaam Aleikum and such. So I definitely agree with you on that part.
As far as names go, I think that a person's name doesn't have any bearing on their spirituality or their character. For all I know someone by the name of Moshe could have converted, and despite the overtly Hebrew name, be a better muslim than I. So names I think are a personal issue and whether a convert changes or keeps his name is immaterial to me honestly.
Also, I believe many people around the world who use names of Arabic origin come from communities with descendants of West and East African slaves. It's common in Cuba and other Latin American countries to find names such as Ibrahim, Omar, etc. The famous sprinter Ussain Bolt also has a name of Arabic origin (Hussein). My own belief is that when the people were taken to the West as slaves, they lost their religion, languages, and customs, but retained some aspects such as names, that later stayed within the culture.
Thanks for reminding me about that. Yes in Malaysia the word Allah has also been appropriated, and I think recently there was quite a scandal about Christians using the word. This only highlights my point though. We know that the word is not Muslim specific, and yet many Muslims there are rioting about its usage by Christians.
My problem is that it has become an exclusive term because of its overuse by Muslims. If all Muslims spoke about God in their own language and not Allah, people wouldn't feel this fear of foreigners usurping their land and changing their culture.
Also, even more than that, my problem is that it has BECOME a name. People refer to Allah no matter what language they speak, and have now come to feel that it is actually God's name, and this puts pressure on converts as well as non-Arabic speaking Muslims to refer to God exclusively as Allah.
This results in ridiculous situations where I've met converts or non-Arabs speaking about God in random conversations with Christians/Jews/Atheists/what have you, and have exclusively used the term Allah.To me the whole situation is ridiculous, and it's as if people were walking around talking about 'Al-Rasul' everytime they wanted to mention Muhammad. We don't, because his name is Muhammad, so we refer to him as such regardless of the language we're speaking, and sometimes add 'the messenger' in the way it is spoken in that language. But God's name is not Allah, it is only the Arabic way of saying God.
It's the same as people muttering 'Salla-llaahu 3aleihi wa sallam' when referring to Muhammad in public whilst speaking English. This is downright stupid. I've literally seen people do this, and you can see the confusion on the faces of all the non-muslims, only detracting from whatever argument the speaker was trying to express.
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Yes I am really Arab. Born and raised in the Middle East, and thankfully, well traveled and educated.
Why?
If this is the state with a pure Arab, very well educated that he remained perplexed about proper name Allah for years, may Allah have mercy on Non Arab believers.
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If this is the state with a pure Arab, very well educated that he remained perplexed about proper name Allah for years, may Allah have mercy on Non Arab believers.
If this is the state with a Muslim, that he ridicules only without bothering to aid his fellow Muslim, then may God have mercy on us all.
So in other words, get off your high horse and either read the question properly or show some humility and decency to answer it.
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http//haqeeqat.org.pk/English%20Tafsir%20e%20Haqeeqat/00.Arabic%20Text/017.%20Al%20Israa/017.%20A2.gif
http//You, the Messenger tell them; "You people may call/address as Allah or call/address Him Ar'Reh'maan;http//haqeeqat.org.pk/English%20Tafsir%20e%20Haqeeqat/00.Arabic%20Text/017.%20Al%20Israa/017.%20A4.gif
if/whenever you people call since for Him are the Names having distinction of exacting balance/appropriate/proportioned/equilibrium/virtue/admirable/absolutely void of negativity/ grandeur/just/absoluteness/beauty".http//haqeeqat.org.pk/English%20Tafsir%20e%20Haqeeqat/00.Arabic%20Text/017.%20Al%20Israa/017.G%20Al%20Israa.htm
"god" whether with small g or capital g is not the name, in English it is noun but not name. And Allah is the Name.
And "al" in Allah is not definite article, it is part of the name;
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Peace,
Respectfully.I use the word God and sometimes Allah but whenever i use the word God when talking to sunnis about whatever, they always, always correct me and tell me i must use the word Allah.
I also believe in free will and i also believe that The Most Merciful has created us with many languages, accents and so many more beautiful differences in order for this species not to be boring.
God has created non-Arabic languages as well as Arabic, so it doesn't matter which languages you, speak, be grateful to Him.
Peace.
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Thank you.
If you've taken an advanced Arabic course at Madinah and they told you that the 'Al' in 'Allah' is not equal to 'the', then I'd definitely like to hear about it.
What was the reasoning? Why does the 'Al' not count in this case?As far as the ayah goes, I don't think this is sufficient evidence at all.
Firstly, the translation you posted is questionable at best. The ayah doesn't say half of the text included in the translation. That has been added by a translator.The Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation is as follows
Say "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well) for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither speak thy Prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between."
The M.M. Pickthall translation is
Say (unto mankind) Cry unto Allah, or cry unto the Beneficent, unto whichsoever ye cry (it is the same). His are the most beautiful names. And thou (Muhammad), be not loud-voiced in thy worship nor yet silent therein, but follow a way between.
And lastly, the Shakir translation is
Say Call upon Allah or call upon, the Beneficent Allah; whichever you call upon, He has the best names; and do not utter your prayer with a very raised voice nor be silent with regard to it, and seek a way between these.
To me, this passage tells us the exact opposite of your position to call him by whatever name we choose. The important phrase is
If you posted that ayah because it has the command "say", then that doesn't work either, because as you know, many passages in the Quran use commands such as "say".
The very next ayah reads
Say "Praise be to Allah, who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory!"
I posit that it is more important to understand and comprehend these facts, than to use the Arabic term 'Allah' or 'Al-Ra7maan'. Are you suggesting that people should walk around saying 'Al-ra7maan' when speaking another language, simply because of this passage?
I dug this up from google
As Muslims, we think that it is unfortunate that we have to go into details on such seemingly minor issues, but so many falsehoods have been heaped upon our religion, that we feel that it is our duty to try to break down the barriers of falsehood. This isn't always easy, since there is a lot of anti-Islamic literature in existence which tries to make Islam look like something strange and foreign to Westerners. There are some people out there, who are obviously not on the side of truth, that want to get people to believe that "Allah" is just some Arabian "God", and that Islam is completely "other" - meaning that it has no common roots with the other Abrahamic religions (i.e. Christianity and Judaism). To say that Muslims worship a different "God" because they say "Allah" is just as illogical as saying that French people worship another God because they use the word "Dieu", that Spanish-speaking people worship a different God because they say "Dios" or that the Hebrews worshipped a different God because they sometimes call Him "Yahweh". Certainly, reasoning like this is quite ridiculous! It should also be mentioned, that claiming that any one language uses the only correct word for God is tantamount to denying the universality of God's message to mankind, which was to all nations, tribes and people through various prophets who spoke different languages.?
From http//www.godnames.org/godnames.php?f=WhoIsAllah
Thanks Alen for your answer. I have not been formally educated in the religion (other than what they teach you at school, which hardly counts), and was uncertain whether or not there is a command in the Quran or Hadiths to use the term Allah specifically that I wasn't aware of, and that is why I asked the question.
Edit
I think Shakir's usage of the term "Call upon Allah or call upon, the Beneficent Allah" is important. He did not translate al-Ra7maan as 'The Beneficent'. He translated it but kept the word Allah in Arabic. I find that really odd and it's obvious that he is intentionally using Allah as a name. Perhaps he knows something we don't. -
I just discovered this on wikipedia, which is something I noticed a few years back!
From http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Yusuf_Ali
Modern editions of his work remain in print, but with modifications such as "God" altered to "Allah" and with controversial modifications of the opinions that Ali expressed in footnotes and of short historical articles that were included with the original text. For instance, Ali's liberal views on credit and interest do not appear in some editions, as they are considered to run contrary to some schools of Islamic economic thought. Wikisource is using a "modern edition" with the name of Allah for God.
I realized before that in my own copy he uses 'God' and in newer versions I've picked up the word Allah is used instead. I mused about it at the time but it's funny to find it here.
The wikipedia entry has no source. -
in Arabic is an Imperative Verb, Second Person; Maculine, Singular. English word "Say" does not translate .
Yes Mazhar but you can't take things so literally. The Quran uses in plenty of places.
Examples
Say "It is Allah I serve, with my sincere (and exclusive) devotion
If they do wrangle with thee, say, "Allah knows best what it is ye are doing."
Say "It is Allah that delivereth you from these and all (other) distresses and yet ye worship false gods!"
Say "Who gives you sustenance, from the heavens and the earth?" Say "It is Allah; and certain it is that either we or ye are on right guidance or in manifest error!"
And there are many many more.
Surely you don't think that just because it says 'Qul' that you have to literally say those words in Arabic?
I have to go back to the surah you posted (17) and find out whom God is addressing in that specific surah.I think this is a non sequitur (a recent interest of mine is logical fallacies)
- All the Ayahs in the Quran are in Arabic
- The specific Ayah says to say something
- The specific Ayah says to say something in Arabic.
The logic in the 3rd statement does not follow the premise.
If we take your logic and apply it to all the places that say "Qul", then non-Arabic speakers will have a rough time with this religion indeed. -
And don't you think there are hundreds of things mentioned in Qur'aan which Allah has translated in Arabic to convey it to the Messenger whose mother language is Arabic?
The basic principle of translating a Book of some language into another language is that maximum effort should be made to convey the complete perception of the words of the original language being translated, otherwise We will never get nearer to that which that book is saying.
Just have another look on the translation you have pasted under an Arabic sentence, and then only read Arabic words as an Arab and translate yourself by conveying exact meanings and connotations of each word whereby you will find the big difference.
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Say "Praise be to Allah, who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory!" -
And don't you think there are hundreds of things mentioned in Qur'aan which Allah has translated in Arabic to convey it to the Messenger whose mother language is Arabic?
Yes of course...and I'm not trying to convince people to neglect the Arabic Quran by any means. All I'm trying to do here is find the answer so that I may stop noticing it everywhere, and so far I find no logical reason for people speaking a language other than Arabic to use the word Allah.
I think that it is very clear what people must call Him when speaking Arabic, but in other languages I think people should be able to use whatever their word for God is, and not be pressured into Arabizing their habits and language. The message is universal, not only for Arabic speakers.The basic principle of translating a Book of some language into another language is that maximum effort should be made to convey the complete perception of the words of the original language being translated, otherwise We will never get nearer to that which that book is saying.
I completely agree. So what is the problem with translation Allah to God?
Just have another look on the translation you have pasted under an Arabic sentence, and then only read Arabic words as an Arab and translate yourself by conveying exact meanings and connotations of each word whereby you will find the big difference.
Say "Praise be to Allah, who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory!"
To be honest I think parts in red and blue have been translated pretty well. I personally can't think of a better way to translate it than "who begets no son". has a bit of a different meaning in Arabic, something to the effect of 'to take', like "he didn't take a son"...but to convey the meaning best in English "begets no son" is probably best, or at the very least adequate.
And I don't really understand the point of this little exercise.
