The Malaysian cabinet and government declared last week that Malaysian Christians could no longer use the word “Allah”. Their rationale was based on the concern that the use of the word “Allah” by Christians in their religious messages could confuse some Muslims and hence could draw them toward Christianity.
It seems that the ban in Malaysia was placed 20 years ago but was never enforced until a few days ago.
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Malay Christians argue that the word “Allah” predates the time of Prophet Muhammad and thus predates Islam. They also contend that Christians who predated Islam used the word “Allah” to refer to “God”. |
In many regards, their argument is valid and factually correct. Both Arab Christians as well as other non-Christian Arabs actively used the term “Allah” as part of their religious beliefs and practices.
The most common example is that of Prophet Muhammad’s father who was named “Abd Allah” in the period before the dawn of Islam.
In another example, during the signing of the peace treaty of Hudaybiya in the prophet’s time, Suhail bin Amr was sent as the Makkan envoy representing the Quraysh in Makkah and Arabs. During the negotiations, dictating to Ali, the Prophet said: “Write, In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent.” Suhail objected by saying, “Do not write this. Instead, write, ‘In Thy name O Allah.‘” The Prophet in turn complied with his demand.
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This is because the words “the Most Merciful” (“Rahman” in Arabic), and “the Most Beneficent” (“Raheem” in Arabic) were revealed in Quran – something non-Muslim Arabs did not recognize at the time. |
Furthermore, there seems to be no proof that the Prophet forbade anyone (Christians, Jews, Pagans, etc.) from using the term “Allah”.
Regarding Christians, Allah says in the Quran:
“Surely, disbelievers are those who said: “Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).” But there is no ilah (god) (none who has the right to be worshipped) but One Ilah (God -Allah)………(Quran: Al-Maeda, Chapter 5: 73)
In line with the beliefs of Trinity, Arab Christians today use the terms “Allah al-ab” meaning God the father, “Allah al-ibn” meaning God the son, and “Allah al-ruh al koudous” meaning God the Holy Spirit. The Arabic Bible also uses the word “Allah” in its text.
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Here lies the dilemma: A number of Christian groups believe that the Muslims’ God is not the same as the “Christian God”. |
I attended an interfaith session where evangelical Christian leaders of a Church made it very clear that they did not believe that the God they believed in is the same as the Muslim God or “Allah”. On the contrary, in the same meeting the Muslim attendees made it clear that they believed that our God is the same – rather it’s how Christians attribute Eesa (Jesus) as son of God and other such beliefs that make the two religions different.
One of the evangelical Christian sites reflects the above attitudes when it states:
“The crux of the matter is what definition one gives to the word God in any language. That is, what are the theological ideas that someone has when they refer to God? The theology of the Arab Christian who uses the word Allah is completely different from the theology of the Muslim who also uses the word Allah.”
Some of the non-Arab evangelical Christians (I can’t say if it is all denominations of that group) assert that the Arab Christians using “Allah” is no more significant than Muslims using the word “God” when they speak in English. One of the Christian sites states:
“it could be said that Christians worship Allah, whose son is Jesus; and Muslims worship God, whose prophet is Mohammed.”
Another case in point. While Arab Christians freely use the word “Allah”, other versions of Bible do not use that word in their texts. For example, the English bible does not use the term “Allah”. The Persian bible uses the word “Khuda” in their texts. However, Malaysians in the case cited earlier may be an exception to that rule as they have insisted on the use of the word “Allah”.
This leads one to believe that Arabs using the word “Allah” is more of a linguistic issue than one based on theology. Many blasphemous statements by many Christians (especially by non-Arab Christians) over the past few years using the word “Allah” clearly demonstrates that their use of the word “Allah” is only linguistic – not the same case as Muslims who treat the word “Allah” with great respect for obvious reasons – the term “Allah” is used in the Quran – Arabic or otherwise.
Coming back to the Malaysian case, the latest update is that the Malaysian authorities have reversed their ruling. So, at least for now, Malaysian Christians can start using the word “Allah” again in their religious practices.
| This discussion is far from complete and does require the input of both Muslim and Christian scholars. Some of the questions that come to mind are as follows: |
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- Are there contrary proofs to the fact that Prophet Muhammad did not object to non-Muslims (especially Christians) using the word “Allah” (although it seems from the above that he never objected to it)?
- What specific reasons do Christians have for believing that the “Muslim God” is not the same as theirs?
- Why was the term “Allah” left out in subsequent Bible translations?
- What do Jews (Arab and others) believe about the term “Allah” and its use? Apparently, Arab Jews lived in Madinah at the time of Prophet Muhammad. How did they refer to “God” at that time?
- Finally, was the Malaysian government justified in banning Malay Christians from using the word “Allah” for the reasons mentioned above?
Share your thoughts and knowledge on the subject below!
— The IqraSense.com Bloogger
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THE WORD ALLAH SHOULD ONLY BE USED WHEN IT REFERS TO THE ONE GOD. NOT THE TRINITY GOD.
salam, Mohammad peace be upon him is not only for islam but for whoever wants guidance in his/ her life.
Assalamualaikum.
My opinion is that this fatwa can be given only by a true scholar of Islam..
nobody can own allahs names so it is not up to anyone to say how 1 can use his name we can only educate nonbelievers about what it means but not take away their right to use the name, that is arrogance.
Since we are obliged to adhere the sunna of our belloved prophet(p.B.U.H)If the prophet(p.B.U.H) didn,t forbade them, Generally,we shouldn’t ban them as a principle. But If they are using it in a way to mislead the muslims to their religion,it is not their problem !It is ours .we shouldn’t give a coverage for our weakeness.
Finally,I will say we should hear what the specific FATAWA is coming from our ULAMAS!
i dont mind christians using the word Allah .infact it gives me a great pride to feel that my riligion is the true religion and other religions will one day accept the fact that ALLAH is the only God and the Muslims are right in their belief and Muhammad pbuh was sent to correct the false beliefs.
Assalam alaikum,
this is surah fateha, the 1st aayah it (Alhamdu lillah hi Rabbil alameen) means he is the sustainer of the world.
Surah al Fateha:
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;
Most Gracious, Most Merciful;
Master of the Day of Judgement.
Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.
Show us the straight way,
The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.
as peR the above, the whole world can recite the neme of Allah Therefore, my opinoin is the Fatwa should not be an issue in this matter,
With respect to the Jewish religion, the Hebrew word for God has the same consonant letters as the Arabic – Alef (silent) – L – H – but the vowels are different (both languages have similar treatment for vowels). Eloha.
Those who believe God is beyond human understanding cannot have debates about his nature, because as limited humans, how can we debate what we cannot understand. Interfaith arguments are necessarilly limited to issues such as correct practice in this world etc.
If God is all powerful and almighty, infinite in every way, what more can humans say about the nature of our creator?
it should be noted that islam did not start with the prophethood of Muhammed. It was the religion of all prophets right from Adam till the coming of the seal of the prophets “Muhammed”. So therefore, using the word Allah should not cause any brouhaha among the various faithfuls. Each user in his mind knows who he is refering to at any particular mention of the word Allah. Only Allah knows his true worshippers.
ALLAH made everything, all praises belongs to ALLAH, everything in the worlds doing ALLAH’s worship, so why should christians not say ALLAH, in my opinion all human bieng should remember the name ALLAH, the Almighty, the sustainer the cherisher and creator.
The term “Allah” is for universal use and we may not object to the use of this term by Ahl Al Kitab. “Allah” is under use by Ahl Al Kitab right from the advent of our beloved Prophet of Islam. However, I expect that status quo be maintained in use of the term “Allah”, wherein the Arab Christians use the term “Allah” and the non Arab Christians use the term “God”.
I think this discussion relates to the concept of tolerance between people of different persuasions. If Allah almighty had planned that all people should be muslims then we would not have this debate. But Allah wanted diversity and pluralism both in nature and amongst humanbeings. We as muslims can choose between innumerable interpretations, however before doing this we need to think about whether we want peace, reconciliation, coexistence through tolerance or whether we want war, confrontation, segregation by behaving as masters. I recognize that the Malaysian government use the tool of political populism to further its own agenda on behalf of its minorities. However as a muslim and a humanbeing I dont condone its action which is counterproductive to peace, coexistence and tolerance between people of different persuasions.
Asalaam alaikum.
To my opinion ,i dont find any problem for any one to use this name though it depends on the context of the usage,and Allah is The All Knowing The Aware.
This is very interesting for me as a new convert to Islam. I have never heard the use of Allah except by Muslims, as far as I am aware the Jews and the christians have never in the west used this name. In truth I believe that their scriptures either avoid using a name for God, or use the name Jehovah or Yahew. The problem lies in the fact that as we know Allah is the singular name for God and not part of any trinity and if it is used in this context then it is wrong. However if it has been commonly used by Arabic Christians for the name of God then there is no reason why it can not be continued to be used. One final point here, most christians have not or do not read the bible, unlike all Muslims who read the Holy Qu’ran, so perhaps if it were shown to these the correct way to follow Allah then surely that would be a good thing
Any one who believes in one; that is almighty “Allah”, can use/ call….. to the creator of this universe as “Allah”. (It is proper name)
the holy quran says clearly in “al israa ” that every thing in the world is claming his name but none can understand
them speaking.
Allah is allah for every body despite everything and everyone.
Muslims, Christians and Jewish can pray Allah in any of his holy names.Allah will be Allah.
Lets not turn the most popular name for the Almighty into something as restrictive as the Tetragammatron “YHWH” in Judaism. The word Allah is sacred to us because of who we attach it to, not because of the word itself. Considering the pagan arabs used to use it for the head of the arabic pantheon of gods, who had 3 daughters: Lat, Mannat and Uza, we really shouldn’t even be debating this.
And as for anyone who gets confused if an arab-christian uses Allah… for God the father, may God/Allah/Elohim/Ahura Mazda/Khrishna/whatever help you in the quest of enlightment.
that was my 2 cents worth. (too lazy to quote Quran’s Ayah where He says that he has many beautiful names and He could be called by anyone of them)
i don’t think it is right to stop anyone from using the name Allah. The Holy QURAN and the Holy prophet preaches religious tolerance. The christians have their own relgion and we have our own. They have the right to practice their religion as long as it does not interfere with ours. Allah is for every one who believe in Him. Some muslims from other languages give Allah other names. Actions are judge by intention. I believe that the most important thing is how one defines the name Allah.
My Salaam,
Though “Allah” in arabic has the meaning of “God”, Non-Muslims tend to use the word “Allah” in the negative. For example:
1. Some stylists have had the word “Allah” in arabic printed on dresses of models, shoes, etc to make Muslims angry
2. Some Journalists use the word “Allah” to make negative comments on islamic practices.
3. Others use the word “Allah” to make reference to terrorists having nothing to do with Islam.
So, I’m of the opinion that the word “Allah” should be used by Muslims only and Non-Muslims should use the word “God”.
Ahad
Almost all the major religious scriptures of the world contain the word “Allah” as one of the names of God.
Dr. Zakir Naik, a dynamic international orator on Islam and Comparative Religion, has briefly explained on this topic. Anyone interested to read his answer to the question “Is this name “Allah” mentioned in other religious scriptures besides the Qur’an?” can go to the following URL.
http://www.ilovezakirnaik.com/misconceptions/c04.htm
The name Allah is an Arabic word meaning God, the interpretation depends on ones faith, and we can’t change the language, but intention is paramount here. As our noble prophet (SAW)said; Actions are judged according to intention.
The non-Muslims don’t say Arrahman, Al’aziz, … assabur, so it is language that translates God as Allah.
I don’t think the reason advanced is enough to ban christians from using the term Allah. Using the name may, make some of them to seek more knowledge about the religion Islam, and perharps accept it as the only path to kingdom of Allah, which all Muslims are working to achieve. May Allah continued to guide us all, Amen.
Salaam brothers and sisters,
Hamdu lillah, I agree with most of the responses above and find this ban to be preposterous and disturbing. Complementing the comments posted by Brother Najeem Ibn Idris, I will simply add that this ban is a clear manifestation of the personality-driven impositions that maintain disparities in our ability to have positive human relations. I further take great offense to the askewed parallelism the non-Muslim world makes with Jesus and Prophet Muhammed (p.b.u.h.). While there is a specific reason why we revere Prophet Muhammed (p.b.u.h.), we Muslims also acknowledge Jesus among other prophets who are commonly associated with Christianity. Will the Malaysian government next impose a ban on Christians referring to Jesus by his Arabic name Esa, or Moses’ by “Musa,” etc.? Or a ban on the publication and sale of English-Arabic translations of versions of the Bible in which “God” is written in English and “Allah” is written in Arabic? The ban may create a dangerous snowball effect that could thwart education and dialogue amongst Christians and Muslims. Masha Allah. Allah knows best.
Salaam,
When Arabic-speaking Christians use the word “Allah” to denote “God”, I believe it is more a reflection of language rather than theology. Ultimately, God is God, whatever we choose to call Him. I believe that the Prophet Mohammed (swt), being such a kindhearted person, would not object to this usage. Of course, the Christian idea of “Trinity” is wrong, but that is their belief. In’shallah, everyone should worship the God of their choosing in PEACE. This is not something that should be legislated; certainly it does not require a fatwa. We Muslims have enough trouble (I am an American Muslim) struggling against prejudice. I try to represent myself as an example of Islam – I try to be the very best person I can be. A ruling of this type, I am afraid, will just cause more discontent and fuel the fire against Muslims. We are a religion of PEACE; let us demonstrate that to everyone.
Assalaamualaikum,
From a Malaysian perspective, I tend to agree with the Malaysian government decision disagreeing to the use of Muslim god name “Allah” to be used by Christians. Unlike the Christian, their god “God” is associated with trinity, which is ‘shirik’ to the Muslim. But the Muslim Mukmins believe in only one god, “Allah” and hence, confined as the Eternal One true God.
The name “Allah” has been abused by Christians in Malaysia to reach the non-Christians, especially the Malays, in their outreaching propaganda. The impact can be very damaging per se.
gembara
Langkawi
i agree with the malaysia government on the issue.
if the christian want to make use of Allah they should refer to the oneness of
Almighty God and not three in one God (Trinity).
I think Christians should not use the word Allah. They misuse the word God with profanity. I believe they are confused on who their God really is, I was raised Christian and converted 4yrs ago because I believe in ONE God, Allah.
As salaamu alaikum all,
In my opinion, Allah is God. God is God. He is One. The Jews say, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” The theology of the trinity of God is the error, not the name of God. I agree with Lisa Ahmed’s comment. Frankly, in my opinion, this smacks of the controversy over the teddy bear named Mohammed.
THE NAME ALLAH SHOULD ONLY BE USED IF THE PERSON USING IT ACCEPTS THAT THE WORD ALLAH REFERS TO THE RABBIL-ALAMIN[i.e. the LORD OF THE ALAMIN (MANKIND, JINN AND ALL THAT EXIST)]. iF THE PERSON USING IT DOES NOT ACCEPT THAT ALLAH IS RABBIL-ALAMIN, THEN THEY SHOULD NOT USE IT AS SUCH. FOR IF ONE BELIEVES THAT ISA ( JESUS IS RABBIL-ALAMIN) this is Shirk!!! and I know because I was a Christian at one time. I do not know when or why Christians started calling Isa , (PBUH) Rabb. Because He was not. He was only a prophet and to do this is a terrible thing. ONLY ALLAH is the Supreme BEING!! ONLY ALLAH IS ALPHA/OMEGA. IF YOU CHOSE TO USE ALLAH, THEN KNOW THAT HE IS RABBIL-ALAMIN. LORD IS AS CLOSE AS ONE CAN GET TO DESCRIBE ALLAH IN ENGLISH THERE IS NO PROPER EQUIVALENT FOR RABB IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. ALLAH IS THE ONLY ,LORD OF THE UNIVERSE,ITS CREATOR,OWNER,ORGANIZER,PROVIDER,MASTER,PLANNER,SUSTAINER,CHERISHER,AND GIVER OF SECURITY.IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT AND BELIEVE THIS ABOUT THE WORD ALLAH , YOU SHOULD NOT USE IT.BUT THE QUESTION IS ,IF YOU REMOVE ALL LABELS FROM PEOPLE AND THERE ARE NO MUSLIMS, JEWS, HINDUS,OR CHRISTIANS AND YOU ONLY HAVE CHARACTER AND DEEDS WHO WILL BE ALIKE AND WHO WILL BE UN-ALIKE. FOR THE SUNSHINE SHINES ON ALL OF US. KNOW THAT ALLAH SEES ALL OF US.” WORDS MAKE PEOPLE, ” STATED BY IMAN W.D. MOHAMMED SO IF YOU HAVE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE ANYTHING AND ONLY YOUR CHARACTER AND DEEDS REMAIN WHO WILL BE MORE GOD LIKE IN THEIR BEHAVIOR? WHO WILL HAVE DONE THE MORE GOODNESS, SHOWN THE MOST COMPASSION?IT WON’T BE ABOUT THESE WORDS, IT ON A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL THAN THIS. DO NOT BE A POLYTHEIST, OR A NON- BELIEVER, BE A BELIEVER.THINK UNIVERSAL!!!!!!!
Dear All,
As long as the ‘Allah’ is referring to the One True God – I see no problem in allowing christians to use this. Following the recent ‘teddy bear’ debate, do we really need to start issuing bans like this? It is vital for muslims to educate non-muslims about our beliefs – not only with the intent of inviting all to Islam, but also to enhance understanding of this great religion. By spreading awareness of Islam, I believe more people will respect muslim people.
Each language has its word for God. If Allah refers to God in Arabic, then Arab Christians everywhere have the right to it, just as the Hausa in Nigeria use Allah for God.
I also believe that no one owns the name of Allah! If the christians wish to use the word instead of saying simply God that is there right. We are here to be a witness to Allah not to be judge and jury. Do any of us know what the exact will of Allah is? Do we know how and what Allah plan is? No we don’t. Muslims strong in there faith will not be waivered by what any Christian or Jews says. For those muslims who are pulled away from the path of Allah by this then they where not truly on the path anyway were they? Allah is All Knowing, but hey that is just my opinion
I am not born a muslim. It is in this regard that I still dont know a lot of things. I am a muslim-convert just recent and I am very proud of it. In my opinion, anybody can call God as “Allah” as long as this person respects Allah in the true sense, worshiping and praising Him, and not using His name for fun, jokes, and disrespects Him. True muslims are wise people, hence, they will not be diverted from this one and true religion easily.
I am a Christian. I do not believe that Christians should use the name allah when refering to God. It has nothing to do with whether God and allah are the same (God?), but rather, because it is a point of confusion. Consider: If a Muslim converts to Christianity, they risk total separation, ostracization and even death. Sorry, but this is not a “godly,” regardless what name you call him. God is loving, kind and forgiving and allows ALL of mankind to determine for him/herself whom they will serve. He does not judge prematurely and His people have not been assigned the duty to eliminate or persecute someone for converting from Christianity to another religion. This, in itself, is evidence that the God of creation deals with mankind differently and necessitates a differentiation between God and allah. They are two different entities. One accepts Jesus as a co-equal to God and the other declares that allah has no equal – Again this reveals the fact that God and allah are not the same entity.
I hold nothing against Muslims and have a number of friends who are Muslim. The one thing that differentiates Christians and Muslims is that Christians have a living Priest, Prophet, King and Savior who died for them and Muslims have only a dead prophet – no savior. My heart goes out to all Muslims and I hope that they will recognize this while there is still time to do so. Christ is coming again soon and they will be unprepared for His return.
Phil T
Asalamu alaikum,
From my point of view, I dont think that there should be a ban on anyone usling the term Allah(swt), as long as it is not used in a profane manner. How would we as Muslims feel if other religions tried to make us stop saying Allah(swt) and instead use the word God? Its not right no matter the religion to tell someone that they can not use the words Allah(swt) or God.
It is very unfortunate that some Muslims are allowing themselves to follow Christianity or other religions just on the fact that they hear the name Allah(swt) being used and follow that group of people. That comes from a lack of knowledge and studying because as Muslims, we should know when something doesn’t “sit right” and if people are using the name of Allah(swt) in reference to a trinity then we should know better and not accept it as clearly that is not part of our teachings. May Allah help and guide us all as he knows best. Ameen
I think that God is one, only, unique. I am a Christian woman and i say God…but when i talk to my partner who is an egyptian muslim man i say Allah…We don’t see problems in this. But i prefer to say Allah because for me Islam is true religion , it’s a way of life. maria
Assalamu Alaikum
We Muslim believe that no one has the right to be call with this name accept One God which is “Allah” the Lord of the worlds this is the unique name of God. Whether Christians, Pagans, Jews or anybody who calls that name we strongly believe that he or she refers to Allah. We know there is nothing in the heaven or in the earth that deserves to be call with that name. Allah knows best
Assalamu alaikum wrb,
Dear brothers & sisters,
I don’t think it is right to ban christians using word ‘Allah” as long as they refer to the true meaning of Allah in Arabic ie the only One true God , the creator & sustainer of heaven & earth , master of the day of judgement, who neither begets nor is He begotten.He is the absolute & eternal.Nothing is like unto Him.He is the one who sent all the prophets & Messengers from Adam till Mohammad throughout the ages,including Moses and Jesus (peace of Allah be upon all of them).He has no partner in His domain with Him nor He has a wife.He is genderless.He does not need any one.Neither hunger exhausts Him nor sleep or slumber overtakes Him for even a nanosecond. He has power over all things.No one is worthy of worship except Him. He is not one in three nor three in one.We as Muslims should convey these meanings of “Allah” to muslims and others including christians. It is we who are at fault.We should teach our fellow Muslims as well as Non muslims, as well-wishers & saviours from Hell fire, the true meaning of Allah the Almighty. Then we, surely will receive the blessings of Allah in the form of others respecting, loving and embrasing us Muslims. Insha Allah . Aameen!
Assalamu Alaikum.
Hebrew and Arabic are sister languages. Ilah in Hebrew equals Allah in Arabic. In both the languages the word refers to the “One and Only”, the word had no plural or sex and was unique to the two sister languages. no other language has an equal word to describe Him. The original Bible was given and compiled in Hebrew and the later versions were translations after the Roman take over of Christianity. Ther are unique words in every language which cannot be translated to convey their exact maening. History speaks volumes about how the later day Christians corrupted the translations to suit their end, which lead to corruption of the very spirit of the Bible. For example as in the Quran, the Bible also originally contained words like ” Khul” as in Khulhu wallahu Ahad, “Khala” and ” Kheela” which literally meant “Say” or “Said”. These words were commands to the Messenger to convey His words that followed. Addition of these words to the message clearly conveyed that the conveyer was only the Messenger and was not the Author. These words, when deliberately removed from the original text, tended to make the messenger himself the author. Even as per Bible, if you just add these words to the text that follows, there was only One worthy of worship. Trinity is a humbug that was invented later, i.e. at least 400 years after the ascention of Easa.
Ronnie Prabhu SJ
I am a Catholic Christian in India.
There is only one God, the Creator and Lord of all. There is no such thing as a Christian God, as different from a Hindu God or Muslim God. The God of the Moslems and the God of the Hindus and that of the Christians is one and the same.
Our understanding of this one God, however, differs. There is a Hindu understanding of God, a Christian understanding of God, and a Muslim understanding of God. But this is not something strange, because on almost everything each of us have our own views,our own understandings.
I have always understood the word ‘Allah’ as the Arabic word for the Supreme Being from whom all creation takes its origin; thus ‘Allah’ is the Arabic equivalent of the English word ‘God’ and of the Latin word “Deus’ and of the Kannada word ‘Devaru’. This is irrespective of whether I am a Hindu or Christian or Muslim.
When I communicate in the English language, then, I will refer to the Supreme Being as God, when I use Arabic I will refer to the same Supreme Being as Allah and when I communicate in Kannada I wll refer to the same Supreme being as “Devaru’.
Whatever be the way I understand this Supreme Being (as I said our understandings differ), we use the words given to us in our languages to refer to the Supreme Being.
Whether I am a Christian, or Hindu or Muslim,whether I believe in a unitarian supreme being or a triniatrian Supreme being, I use the word my language provides me to refer to the Supreme Being.
I understand that ‘Allah’, like ‘God’, like ‘Devaru’ or ‘Bhagwan’-words used to refer to the Supreme being- are not personal names of the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being is beyond all name and form. Now,
personal names do not normally get translated in different languages; they may get slightly modified but remain substantially the same whatever be the language we use for communication
But generic names do get translated and so normally in English the Supreme Being is referred to as God, in Arabic as Allah etc. Hence we must normally use the appropriate word for the Supreme Being which our language gives us.
But may one use the word ‘Allah’ to refer to the Supreme Being
while speaking in English -when I should normally be using the word ‘God’? My answer is Yes, so long as I understand that I am using the word of another language to express the same reality, and so long as I use that word with all the respect it deserves.
I am in a country where we use many languages. And while we normally use the appropriate word of the language we speak to refer to the Supreme Being (or any other reality), we also interchange words, use English words in other languages and other language words in English.This has a good unifying effect
Hence it is I am for Christians using the word ‘Allah’ for God more often, and Muslims in turn using the word ‘God’ more often, esp when speaking in English. This will unite us in what is common among us -our faith in one God.
I believe that the word Allah should be used by everyone, for He is the Creator of all, believers, unbelievers, and the whole of creation. If you do not use the word Allah, what other word do you use? Any other word or name would be a mistake. Also Allah is an Arabic word, a name, and cannot be translated. Allah has been popularized throughout the world for a very long time now, and I believe most people know this word, name and what it stands for. The use of Allah should not be the exclusive use of any one group. While no one has claim over Allah, Allah has claim over everyone.
I am a Catholic woman and I have begun to use the word ‘Allah’ instead of the word ‘God’. I am presently studying the Qur’an and it swiftly became plain to me that we are worshiping the same God. To debate over who should and who should not be using which word serves to create a division between faiths instead of a drawing together in peace and understanding.
I was born a muslim, and I think that the word Allah if said and viewed as the GOD of the universe should not post a problem. But if viewed as a different god then, I will say it should not be used. One day a co- worker of my said to me ”your Allah” which means another god according to my imagination, so I told her that is not my Allah but the God of all mankind. For body to say something like this, I think people need to be educated about Allah and God so they will know that Allah is simply an Arabic word for God.
I’m a revert alhumdulAllah, and I think that anyone should be able to use the word Allah to mean God, it is the best word to describe God that we human beings have available to us. If someone misuses the word then their punishment is with Allah (SWT). We shouldn’t restrict others who knows it may make people of other faiths more open minded to Islam and right guidance from Allah (SWT)
i believe that the word ALLAH is unique and beyond compare. it is genderless. unlike the word GOD, which is masculine and GODDESS if it’s feminine. ALLAH only refers to the ONE TRUE GOD and not one of the trinity. I am also against the banning of using the word Allah by the non-muslims because in the first place the word Allah can be found in the Bible before it was deleted by the so called DD’s “Doctor of Divinity” Quoting from the booklet of Ahmed Deedat “Now you see it…now you don”t. I think its time they will recognize that the proper name of God is ALLAH, the one and only, the cherisher and sustainer of the world.
Thank you, but the word ALLAH is an Arabic word meaning GOD. Muslims believe other prophets before Muhammad Alaihi Salam were on the right path too. Therefore they served and guided their people towards the same ALLAH. There are many other languages that call GOD as ALLAH too. Iwonder why anyone will opt to think of words rather than the mind and other more important issues.
Given the fact that Allah created everything, that in none of His revealed books that He sent to mankind so far as we know, and that none of His prophets forbade the use of His name for any reason. Given the fact that there is a hadith (that I heard just this past Ramadan recited by a Hafith from an Islamic School who was visiting and in the schools ‘alim program) that there was a man who everyday called upon the name of an idol and that Allah wanted to give him what he asked for but withheld it because the man refused to call upon Him by His name, and this went on for many years until one day that man slipped and by accident called upon one of Allah’s names instead of by the name of the idol he had been calling upon, and because of that one slip up on the part of the man, Allah gave him what he had asked for. It is my opinion, for what it is worth, that the name Allah should not be restricted to use by Muslims. Had Allah wanted that He could easily have found some place in the Qur’an to prohibit it’s use by non-muslims, or at the very least instructed His prophet to issue such a prohibition (neither of which occurred). This is simply another proof of Allah’s mercy even towards those who disbelieve in Him.
As far as non-muslims placing designs on clothing and such of Allah’s name, it must be remembered that Allah, unlike the Qur’an is simply a set of letters that happens to form Allah’s name. Allah alone is not the speech of Allah like the Qur’an, and most importantly, the word “Allah” is not (it must be remembered) actually ALLAH. The name and the physical form of the letters can be defamed, carried into unclean places, or whatever they want to do to it, however none of what can be done to the word “Allah” is actually done to Allah, the one to whom the name belongs.
As Muslims, we have a job and a duty to convey the correct message of WHO Allah is, and the Message that Allah sent. If we love Allah more than all else in His creation, then we will keep His instructions. THAT is what we are to defend. Allah is fully capable of punishing or forgiving any offense directed at Him. However the day we hold a written word “Allah” with more respect than we do the One to whom the name belongs, then we have created an ilah (idol) and have succumb to the depths of shirk (polytheism) and have been seduced into abandoning the instructions we had been commanded to obey, and defending an object of our desire that has no power over us whatsoever.
Reading my post, I want to clarify something. I am not saying it is ok to defame or carry the name “Allah” into unclean places etc. As Muslims we are supposed to hold Allah, his names, etc, with reverence and as Muslims, we have more respect than that. I was referring to (hopefully) non-muslims who do these actions and as I said any action taken by any Human or Jinn will be dealt with accordingly by Allah sooner or later. But it is Allah’s call how He is going to handle the situation, not ours.
Gembara (#25) and Sandra (#27) seem to believe in more than one God… They mention the Christian god as if there is a different god for each religion. There is only one god: the god of Abraham and there are as many names for god as there are languages. Should muslims in france be prohibited from referring to god by the word “dieu” because it is the word french christians use? I believe that Allah is most happy anytime anyone says his name with praise and respect. Words are human developments and Allah does not care who uses the words as long as he receives the praise. If the fear in malaysia is that christians will use the word Allah to win converts from islam then let them also be aware that there are many other ways christians will try to do this. The imams need to make sure the people are alert to the falsehoods of christianity
As salam,
Brothers and sisters.
Please dont give your personal opinon.Islam has nothing to do with personal opinon.Please give the opinon on ground of Quran and sahi hadith.
Answer to above question:
IF prophet Muhammad has not banned then we cant ban them.Please refer hadith
The Book Quran is Revealed for all mankind & every humanbeing has to beleive in it,so we cannot ban & nowhere has our Prophet (PBUH) had objected on this as per present hadeeth came to my Knowledge (Kindly give any authentic hadeeth if present ragarding banning if their & known by any one).
Malaysian Christians should not be discouraged from using the term “Allah” for two reasons. Firstly, in the days of the Prophet (SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam) there were non-Muslims whose name contained the word “Allah”, for example Abd Allah. That means that the word “Allah” was being used in pre-Islam days too. Secondly, people of different faiths have a right to call their deities with any name they prefer to use. In any case, the usage of the word “Allah” should satisfy us the Muslims that our point of view about the One and Only God is prevailing
I’am a Malaysian Muslim and I would like to explain the dillema my government is having in settling such a sensitive matter. Malaysia is a country diverse in race and religion and in the past we identify each race by its religion. Before, there was no Malay Christians but now there as many Malay Christians as there are Chinese orIndian Muslims. So that explains the fact that a rule made 20 years ago have just been enforced recently.
Regarding the matter, I think Malay Christians can use the word “Allah” as to define God but they should further think that by doing so…it is not like a trendy thing to do (like when the word “Mecca” suddenly used by everyone to refer to a gathering place)…and since the Bible which is read in English language in Malaysia, one should ponder the reason to use an Arabic word instead of just using the original word in English.
Well, I always feel greatly honoured when a non Muslim, to be precise, a christian mentioning the word “Allah” in the cause of his/her discussion. Whatever it is, the word “Allah” is always associated with Muslims anywhere in the world. Restricting a non muslim from the usage of the word will certainly not going to change anything beside, I doubt very much if it will be possible. In Nigeria for instance, muslim words such as Bismillah, Wallahi Tallahi, insha Allah, salam etc are commonly being used by non muslims. Equally too, you hardly find a muslim saying “Jesus” simply because he/she want to affirm his/her position on a thing. In any case they said “The pen is always mightier than the sword” Allah knows better.
I am a former christian till the age of 37. I’m just ten months muslim. I was born a Catholic and finished reading the New Testament at the age of ten. Converted to the Iglesia Ni Cristo (the most Biblical amongst the christians and the most influencial church in the Philippines) at the age of 16. I believe it’s correct to prohibit the christians to use the name of the Almighty because first of all christians did not open their minds to the truth that the last prophet is Mohammad (sas). Secondly, christians are not sincere and not careful in their recognition of the Almighty that’s why they did not dare to question the questionable doctrine of their religion, (worshipping idols, the deadly inquisition imposed by saddist popes, un-authentic scripts of the bible, etc.), therefore there’s a big chance of blasphemy by the christians in using the most Holy Name of the Almighty.
The Almighty Allah is the only sole Creator of all of us and things we see arround us or we are unable to see them.We have no right to stop any one saying the name of Creator as ALLAH regardless of their distortions inthe meanings of ALLAH since final judgement will be by ALLAH only at the time of DEE DAY(QAYAMAH).We are here to perform our ways of lives as we understand for us not forcing others to our patterns but leting them feel of it.Let Allah help all of us to perform as per directives of ALLAH.
I think that its all about love and respect – when the muslims say the word “ALLAH” they have a respect unconciously in there minds, they feel a confidence in there bodies and soul and feel relaxed, this word has a great power but you will also agree that when christians will say this word they will not have the feelings and respect like a muslim and might they can say this word at such occasion that a muslim can’t bear it, ALLAH KNows better. We can easily say “ALLAH IS GREATEST” (ALLAH-HO-AKBAR)
As Salaamu ‘Alaikum Wa RaHmatullaahi WaBarakaatuhuu Yaa Msulimeen
SubHaan Allaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen Wal Hamdulillaahi Katheeran Wa Shukrulillaah Wa Allaahu Akbaru Kabeeran
Ash Hadu Al-Laa Ilaaha Ill Allaahu WaHdahu Laa Shareeka Lahuu
Wa Ash Hadu Anna MuHammadan ‘Abduhu Wa Rasuuluhuu Sal Allaahu ‘Alaihi Was Sallam
Some man of Knowledge defend Al Haqq here please!
This website below is so extremely wrong I needed to protest, but I am finding it hard to continue a little (a very little actually, but the support of a truly knowledgeable Muslim is now sought!):
Please help stop this evil fool!
Im going to blot out the letters ‘silly’ with ‘*****’ , so replace them onto the url to reach this evil one’s blog, Wa Allaahu Akbar!!!!!
http://www.*****allah.com/?ext-ref=comm-sub-email
SubHaanAllaahi ‘Ammaa Yasifuun!!!
As Salaamu ‘Alaikum Wa RaHmatullaahi Wa Barakaatuhuu Ya Muslimeen.
Salam. May Allah SWT increase us in knowledege and may he guide us to the path of righteousness. Ameen.
In my own opinion, the word Allah is an Arabic word meaning God. There is no big deal in Arab chritians using the word because that is the word for God in their language. The issue is that muslims use the word ALLAH to signify THE ONENESS OF GOD but the Christians who use this word should be advised to use the Word as by adding the suffixes al ab, ibn and al-ruh-al koudous (meaning the father, the son & the holy spirit (A’UDHUBILLAH)) each time they are using the word Allah to signify their believe which is totally different from ours(muslims).
As for non Arab christians, they dont have any business with using the word Allah for God. They have their terminologies for God so they should use that and not be allowed to misuse the word.
May Allah forgive our mistakes for He is the Al Knowing.
Ma’assalam.
I find that a bit creepy, being an Arab and a Muslim myself I know that the word Allah has been used over the decades among all main religions! Now, who are the members of the board to make such a judgement? Are they some Islamic scholars, NO! I don’t understand why unqualified people who won’t even make the different of a share3ah principle and a kufr principle would be able to decide that themselves! pathetic!!! It is like saying to them, your God is not Allah, but only ours and it’s wrong! and one can not fall into these traps but I doubt this law has been only decided on the basis of Allah not Allah! there must be something in extra in there!
I agree with some people that if the word Allah is used by the Christians with respect and if it high lights the importance in the Oneness of God, i guess its ok, and our beloved prophet S.A.L. has not prohibited it, as far as MY KNOWLEDGE is concerned. Peace to all
If someone thinks that Christians should not use the name “Allah” when referring to God because it is a point of confusion, then maybe they should go back and study the scriptures again. The scriptures prove that there has been many, many prophets and messengers who have come to clarify this confusion. They all said “Worship your god, for He is One”. What is confusing about that? Allah does not “allow” mankind to determine whom they will serve. Again, that is why He sent so many prophets and messengers, so that we would not have to determine who, or what is better suited to be worshipped. The faulty reasoning of the average human being is how some came to worship fire, and the sun, and cows, and even other human beings. One of the ten commandments that Christians claim to believe in states that “Thou shalt have no other god before Me”. If Christians believe these to be the words of God, then how can Jesus be worshipped as co-equal with God. Where does God give the authorization for that? How can Jesus be co-equal to God when he depended on God? He had to eat, he got tired, he slept, he cried, he worried,etc,etc.etc.. These are all human characteristics that God or Allah does not have. There is nothing and no one like Him. This is Allah. This is God. There is only One. There is not a separate god for Christians, and another god for Muslims, or Hindus, or Jews, or Buddhists. There is only One God worthy of worship. We Muslims also believe in Jesus. And we, too, believe that he is coming back to play an important role in the Last Days. We also believe that he lives, not because he was resurrected, but because he was never killed in the first place. Muslims also have a savior- The One True God. The One that has created us is The One who we rely on to save us. Muslims are more prepared for Christ’s return than many Christians know. Peace to all Allah’s (God’s) creation!
It would be very sad if anyone were discouraged from saying ‘Allah’ because an expression of such magnificence and glory brings light, understanding and joy into the world. Jackie Rodzinski
We all know Allah (S.W) is for everybody. But Christians believe in trinity father, son, and holly spirit.
Definitely that TRINITY can not be Allah. If Christians decide to use the name Allah as reference to the almighty, the creator and the only one God who sent Jesus as his messenger then may Allah’s light be unto them. But if Allah is used to mean Jesus then we are obliged to educate them politely.
Allah is the Lord of universe. He creates everything, both brlievers and non-believers alike. Who uses the word – ALLAH should not be our concern, our concern should be on our struggle to remain steadfast, follow the footstep of our noble nabiyy and shun all forms of bid’aa.
This is a no brainer!!!! No they should not be forbidden from using the one true God’s proper name …Allah (swt). It is true that the name predates the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. Remember the first prophet was Adam. The name Allah is even in the Jewish Bible (the Old Testament) and since Jesus was a Jew (according to the Jews) you can bet your last dollar that he used it too. So what is their problem? Where did they all get their religious education? (Those who want to prevent God’s proper name being used) I think it is time to update those books and make religious education a required subject in all schools! Lets turn this problem into an opportunity to teach the about truth about Islam. (It is the one true religion chosen for us by Allah and has existed from the time of Adam. ) All prophets were Muslims and all believers in the One True God — Allah are also Muslims which mean they knew God’s proper name.
The word Allah is very precious and is the name for God and should be respected by all human regardless of their beleives. I have so many christians friends and co-workers and they use it a lot, because we muslems are using it almost in every thing we do. Some of them “Christians” says Al Hamd LLelah, Masha Allah as they here it from us a lot. I do not see any problem for them to use it and say it, but a formal FATWA should be seeked from ULAMAA. Also, the question should be clear.
From my own view any non-muslim can use the word,but it shouldnt be used as a word to mock islam.
ASSALAMWALAIKUM BROTHER’S,
THE WORD CAN BE USED BY ANY OF THE HUMAN BEING COZ ALLAH (SWT) IS THE CREATER OF EVERYONE N EVERYTHING.
Please understand; always mis-use leading to ban. if Malaysian Christians not misusing the word of “Allah” no need to ban using word of ” Allah ” and i hope if they used this word to introduce their god – atleast some of non-muslims will search what is exact meaning off Allah – . please read the below to understand what meant by ” Allah ”
Some of the biggest misconceptions that many non-Muslims have about Islam have to do with the word “Allah.” For various reasons, many people have come to believe that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews. This is totally false, since “Allah” is simply the Arabic word for “God” – and there is only One God. Let there be no doubt – Muslims worship the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus – peace be upon them all. However, it is certainly true that Jews, Christians and Muslims all have different concepts of Almighty God. For example, Muslims – like Jews – reject the Christian beliefs of the Trinity and the Divine Incarnation. This, however, does not mean that each of these three religions worships a different God – because, as we have already said, there is only One True God. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim to be “Abrahamic Faiths”, and all of them are also classified as “monotheistic.” However, Islam teaches that other religions have, in one way or another, distorted and nullified a pure and proper belief in Almighty God by neglecting His true teachings and mixing them with man-made ideas.
First of all, it is important to note that “Allah” is the same word that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use for God. If you pick up an Arabic Bible, you will see the word “Allah” being used where “God” is used in English. This is because “Allah” is a word in the Arabic language equivalent to the English word “God” with a capital “G”. Additionally, the word “Allah” cannot be made plural, a fact which goes hand-in-hand with the Islamic concept of God.
It is interesting to note that the Aramaic word “El”, which is the word for God in the language that Jesus spoke, is certainly more similar in sound to the word “Allah” than the English word “God.” This also holds true for the various Hebrew words for God, which are “El” and “Elah”, and the plural or glorified form “Elohim.” The reason for these similarities is that Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic are all Semitic languages with common origins. It should also be noted that in translating the Bible into English, the Hebrew word “El” is translated variously as “God”, “god” and “angel”! This imprecise language allows different translators, based on their preconceived notions, to translate the word to fit their own views. The Arabic word “Allah” presents no such difficulty or ambiguity, since it is only used for Almighty God alone. Additionally, in English, the only difference between “god”, meaning a false god, and “God”, meaning the One True God, is the capital “G”. Due to the above mentioned facts, a more accurate translation of the word “Allah” into English might be “The One -and-Only God” or “The One True God.”
More importantly, it should also be noted that the Arabic word “Allah” contains a deep religious message due to its root meaning and origin. This is because it stems from the Arabic verb ta’allaha (or alaha), which means “to be worshipped.” Thus in Arabic, the word “Allah” means “The One who deserves all worship.” This, in a nutshell, is the Pure Monotheistic message of Islam.
Suffice it to say that just because someone claims to be a “monotheistic” Jew, Christian or Muslim, that does not keep them from falling into corrupt beliefs and idolatrous practices. Many people, including some Muslims, claim belief in “One God” even though they’ve fallen into acts of idolatry. Certainly, many Protestants accuse Roman Catholics of idolatrous practices in regards to the saints and the Virgin Mary. Likewise, the Greek Orthodox Church is considered “idolatrous” by many other Christians because in much of their worship they use icons. However, if you ask a Roman Catholic or a Greek Orthodox person if God is “One”, they will invariably answer: “Yes!.” This claim, however, does not stop them from being “creature worshipping” idolaters. The same goes for Hindus, who just consider their gods to be “manifestations” or “incarnations” of the One Supreme God.
Before concluding… 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”[1], 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 the 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.
We would like to ask our readers about the motives of these people? The reason is that the Ultimate Truth of Islam stands on solid ground and its unshakeable belief in the Unity of God is above reproach. Due to this, Christians can’t criticize its doctrines directly, but instead fabricate things about Islam that aren’t true so that people lose the desire to learn more. If Islam were presented in the proper way to the world, it surely might make many people reconsider and re-evaluate their own beliefs. It is quite likely that when they find out that there is a universal religion in the world that teaches people to worship and love God, while also practicing Pure Monotheism, would at least feel that they should re-examine the basis for their own beliefs and doctrines.
Footnotes:
[1] Such as the claim propagated by Robert Morey in his work, The Moon-god Allaah in the Archeology of the Middle East.
faisalvk@inbox.com
concur with the statemt by brother Ibn Ahmed Al-Habeshiy )comment # 5) who said that:
January 16th, 2008 at 9:10 am
“But If they are using it in a way to mislead the muslims to their religion,it is not their problem !It is ours .we shouldn’t give a coverage for our weakeness.”
And my comment: This is the very reason why the Malay Christians in Malaysia are trying desperately to use the word ALLAH in their malay bible version, with the malicious intent to propagate, induce and to christianize the malays populace. That is their main ulterior motive of using the word ALLAH merely to divert malay muslims, especially the younger generation from the right path. Just unfortunate that another malaysian whose comment seems to agree that the malay christians should use the word ALLAH in whatever literatures or publications. Probably she is not too sensitive about the future implications that awaits the younger malay muslims in Malaysia.
The language of the original bible was not Arabic. It was Hebrew so why cant the christians use hebrew language to address their god? The Quran was revealed in Arabic so the word Allah (arabic) will not change.
Hi there, Salams. I’m a convert to Islam and I believe that none of us own the right to exclusively use the term “Allah”. I think we need to let the religion Islam be shared amongst everybody and if people want to refer to God as Allah, whether Muslim or not then I don’t see this as a problem. I believe there is one God – the God of us all and one of his names is Allah. I am not going to object to anybody using his name. We are all accountable for our own actions and intentions. If we start arguing and increasing division betwen Islam and other religions then we are only going to cause anger and fear and of course this is not going to attract people to turn to Islam.
Assalamu’alaikum..
First of all, I guest not all of you were Malaysian and didn’t know the situation in Malaysia and need to correct my brother ADZMI assidique that its wasn’t “Malay Christian” but “Malaysians Christian” (in Malaysia, all Malays are Muslim).In Malaysia, Malay language is the national language and English is the second language. Need to inform all of you that “Malaysia” was known as “Tanah Melayu” or “Land of Malay”. I love Islam and my country. Not saying that I hates non-Muslim or non-Malay but the truth is there are times that the non-muslim tried to provoke the Malaysian Muslim and this is one of them,the Malaysian Christian wanted to translate the English bible version into Malay bible version and not only the word “Allah” issue. I agreed with Janis, why don’t they use Hebrew language to address their God instead of Malay language. Looks like this is a way that they want to spread their religion to the Malays as well as other races. And as for now, the Malaysian Muslim youngsters (Malays in particular), they lives in very challenging world, this kind of action must to be taken by the Malaysian government to avoid any confusion between Islam and Christian and also the way to maintain the harmony of a multi-religion country. I’m not very sure about the other counties but I hope that all of you understand the situation in my country as I’m very concern about this issue will never end and ruined the Muslims in Malaysia. And to the Malaysian Muslims whose seems to agree with the Malasian Christian, please be more sensitive with this kind of issues.
Thank you.
Everyone should be encouraged to use the word Allah. Calling the name is an important step in accepting who bears the name. Then the person starts asking who is Allah?
There is no GOD worthy of worship except ALLAH swt, the one and only true GOD. The GOD of the universe. The GOD of all mankind, jinn and all that exists whether christians or muslims..Non muslims i trully believed should not be barred from using ALLAH in their religious beliefs.. Glory be to ALLAH swt! Allah knows best….
The answer to the question lies in the surah Al-Iqlaas. ALLAH is THE ONE, SUBLIME,SELF-SIFFICIENT WHO BEGETS NOT NOR IS BEGOTTEN AND THERE IS NONE LIKE UNTO ALLAH.
im Malaysian born as christian. I have 12 siblings in my family, 7 of us converted to Muslim. I have more than thousand friends who are Muslim all around this country. As i know, none of them converted to christian until today. The problem is not the misuse of the words, it is because of discourage, emptiness, lack of knowledge about their own religion, heartless, no one care, , , ………… also marriage… Others will care for them and bring their heart away from us.
my family of 12 face no problem by the use of the words Allah since we have different religion.. before we converted to Muslim, we use the words of Allah in the Bible (Indonesian version) more than 40 years ago…
ASlm alkm,
I think there is no need of this ban, because virtually the word ALLAH is maintained and recognised by the both religion (Muslim and Christians) as the name of the supreme being, the creator of the universe. Which in itself is an achievement on the part of muslims as it lower the da’awa burden to 50% level. The remaining 50% which is the association of that word ALLAH with son and holy spirit could be easily addressed by directing their thinking to understand that the word “ALLAH” in itself automatically negates what they attribute to it; son and holy spirit. “ALLAH means “the-only-one-worthy-of-worship” which by Christian’s conduct and usuage of the word negates the meaning of the word.
Interesting article and discussion.
My 2 cents is this:
No religion, no group, no government, no spiritual power, no army has any moral right to forbid or force any other person from using language to express their beliefs. Arabic is a language first and foremost, second of all, it is the language of people of different faiths. It’s a Semtic language as is Hebrew, Aramaic, Assyrian, Akkadian, Syriac and the other Arabic dialects. In Arabic, ???? Allah, refers to the the one all powerful, all knowing, all loving, ever present, creator of our universe. This is the name for Him in Arabic and Muslims do not have exclusive rights to the language nor do they have exclusive rights to the Holy name of God in Arabic. Nor do Muslims have any right to tell Christians they worship three gods. Christians worship one all powerful God. That is the belief and it holds firm in spite of all Islamic scriptures and booklets.
???? is not an Arabic word. The doubled lam and the “foreign” sound indicates that this word that came from Aramaic and existed in ancient Hebrew before that. The name of God “Elohim” is so Holy to the Jewish people they don’t know how to pronounce it in its original vocalisation as it’s always been forbidden from them to say it outloud. When Aramaic dominated the region we now call the Middle East and Northern Africa, the Christian faith dominated before the prophet Mohammed was born.
If I were argumentative I’d say a Muslim has no right to refer to Jesus ???? / ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ? ??????by His Holy Name unless that Muslim denied his/her faith and acknowledged the Lord Jesus’s divinity. But where would a silly black and white rule like that lead us?