Who is 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 proper name of our creator, sustainer and the king of the Judgement Day and he is only One.
As mentioned in the Holy Quran: Say,
“He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah , the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets
nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent.” Quran: Surah Ikhlas – 112
Let there be no doubt and made clear that Muslims worship the sameDeity “Allah” which all the prophets Nuh (Noah), Ibraheem (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Dawood (David) and Isaa (Jesus) – peace be upon them all had worshipped. However, it is certainly true that Jews, Christians and Muslims all have different concepts of their Deities and methods of worship. For example, Muslims– reject the Christian and Jewish beliefs of the Trinity and the Divine Incarnation. Hence we say that there is only One True Deity – Allah. “Indeed, We have revealed (Quran) to you, [O Muhammad], as We revealed to Nuh (Noah) and the prophets after him. And we revealed to Ibraheem (Abraham), Ismaeel (Ishmael), Yakub (Isaac), Jacob, the Descendants, Isaa (Jesus), Ayub (Job), Yunus (Jonah), Haroon (Aaron), and Suleimaan (Solomon), and to Dawood (David) We gave the book [of Psalms].And [We sent] messengers about whom We have related [their stories] to you before and messengers about whom We have not related to you. And Allah spoke to Musa (Moses) with [direct] speech.” Quran: Surah Nisaa–163-164
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 their Deities 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 or feminine, a fact which goes hand-in-hand with the Islamic concept of 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 –ilah- which means “to be worshipped.” Thus in Arabic, the word “Allah” means “The One 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 SupremeGod.
“It is Allah who made for you the night that you may rest therein and the day giving sight. Indeed, Allah is full of bounty to the people, but most of the people are not grateful. That is Allah , your Lord, Creator of all things; there is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded? Thus were those [before you] deluded who were rejecting the signs of Allah .It is Allah who made for you the earth a place of settlement and the sky a ceiling and formed you and perfected your forms and provided you with good things. That is Allah , your Lord; then blessed is Allah , Lord of the worlds. He is the Ever-Living; there is no deity except Him, so call upon Him, [being] sincere to Him in religion.
[All] praise is [due] to Allah , Lord of the worlds.Say, [O Muhammad],
