INVESTIGATING ALLAH

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About the Author

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Contents

Introduction

Presentation of the situation

Investigation and Analysis:

• Prospective 1:
• Prospective 2:
• Prospective 3:
• Prospective 4:
• Prospective 5:

Reasons why we oppose the use of Allah as name for Yahweh God

Conclusion

Suggested readings

Questions and Answers

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Allah is the name of the Muslim god and according to Islam, the same god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Many comparative religious scholars have assumed that because Islam claimed that he is the same god as the Biblical god, that there is no reason to investigate the origin of him. There has been much archeological study and religious investigation upon the claim of whether Allah is the same god of the Bible. This book by Al Gharib is an excellent study for any religious student interested in learning how both Christianity and Islam views the name of Allah. This book clearly shows that it is unscholarly, logically flawed and religiously deceitful to promote Allah, as Muslims want him to be promoted without doing an in-depth study of the previous religions of Judaism and Christianity.

 

Muslims expect you to learn about Islam from the Muslim point of view, however they also want make you learn Christianity and Judaism from this same point of view. This isn't how religions are studied and after reading this book, you will have a totally different view on Allah and how historically, biblically, and logically his interrelation in religious history. Is Allah actually the same god of the Bible? Does the name of God change? According to previous religions that Islam claims to confirm, is it okay to call god whatever name you want, hence Baal, Zeus, etc? This book clearly addresses all of these subjects along with given a detailed linguistic anylazation of the name Allah and its relationship to the word "God". It is historically accurate and welled researched. Over 5 years of preperation was put into this 1st edition and the author is both multilingual and virtually an expert in Arab linguistics. Everything about Allah has always seemed to be taken from a Muslim point of view, however what does history and Non-Muslim evidence show about Allah? Read and find out. ----Mr. Gale

 

Introduction

Hos.4:6; Isa.2:6; Jer.11:13; Zep.1:4-5; Eze.44:23; Joh.8:32; Hos.2:16

 

My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans. The altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests, those who bow down in the roofs to worship the starry hosts, those who bow down and swear by Molech… And they (the faithful priests) will teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. On that day, you will call me Ishi, not anymore Baali, says Yahweh.

Biblical names and attributes, especially when they are used for the Creator and Author of the Scriptures, they are just coincidences but terms that have originally been very well and carefully selected to reveal to us the portray of Him in the most possibly accurate and clear statement….

Presentation of the Situation

When Christians started spreading toward the four corners of the earth and preaching the Gospel to various people, nations, and languages, one of the greatest challenges that faced them is the translation of God's name, Yahweh Elohiym. In fact till this present day, the matter is still causing the Church many controversies and even division. One of those critical and hot cases is regarding the name Allah, the name widely used among the Arabs and the Muslims for the divine. Thus, the Christian Church has separated itself into three main approaches. Each approach has its own arguments to defend its position and also to discredit the others.

The three main approaches:

Approach-A, Liberals: Allah and the God of the Bible are basically the same, except that pagan Arabs and Muslims who followed him see the same divine but from a different perspective due to their traditions and belief system. The following are two types of general comments they usually use:

1- The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I, R. Butin (Roman Catholics)

 

Allah is the name of God in Arabic. It is a compound word from the article, 'al, and ilah, divinity, and signifies "the-god" par excellence. This form of the divine name is in itself a sure proof that ilah was at one time an appellative, common to all the local and tribal gods. Gradually, with the addition of the article, it was restricted to one of them who took precedence of the others; finally, with the triumph of monotheism (Islam), He was recognized as the only true God… It is certain, however, that before the time of Mohammed, owing to their contact with Jews and Christians, the Arabs were generally monotheists. The notion of Allah in Arabic theology is substantially the same as that of God among the Jews, and also among the Christians, with the exception of the Trinity (Q.112). Let it be noted that although Allah is an Arabic term, it is used by all Moslems, whatever be their language, as the name of God.

2- Answering Islam.org, Jochen Katz (Ecumenical Evangelical)

 

The God (Allah) the Qur'an talks about is the same. And Muslims do worship this one and only Creator God. The question is not whether Muslims and Christians have the same God [there is only one Creator after all]… This posting was only to make clear that the God of the Qur'an and of the Bible can be the same and obviously are the same, yet nevertheless it can be true that one is true revelation while the other is not. Hearing a different description of God by Christians and Muslims, some come to the conclusion you must be talking about different entities and that is understandable. Others come to the conclusion that the entity is the same [because there is only one Creator God - and both agree that there is only one and hence they talk about this same one] but because of the differences one of them must have false information. At least SOME false information even though much of it is the same and probably true information.

This approach represents the majority of Christians, mainly the professing Christians, who belong to traditional churches, i.e. the Roman Catholics and also to the Ecumenical Evangelicals besides the Christian cults i.e. the New Age movement and the Masons. They emphasize the similarities between Allah and Yahweh, but they disregard the huge differences and dismiss the contradictions. From their prospective, as we have seen in the above arguments, Allah must be the true God since it is given attributes like creator, supreme, etc. They often do the same to other gods i.e. Buddha and Brahman.

Approach-B, Moderates: The god of the Quran and the God of the Bible are totally two different gods, but both of them share in the same Arabic generic name, speculatively and based on assumptions, is the term Allah.

Answering Islam.org, Sam Shamoun (Middle Eastern Evangelical Christian)

 

A brief examination of Allah as presented in the Quran leads us to conclude that he cannot possibly be the same God worshiped by Abraham and as described in the Holy Bible. The contradictions in attributes and nature between Yahweh and Allah are too numerous to pass over, and cannot be reconciled. We are well aware that the name Allah is used by Arab speaking Christians for the God of the Bible… As such, the Holy Bible uses the term as just one of the many titles for Yahweh, the only true God. Yet the problem arises from the fact that Muslims insist that Allah is not a title, but the personal name of the God of Islam. This becomes problematic since according to the Holy Bible the name of the God of Abraham is Yahweh/Jehovah, not Allah: God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD (YHWH) and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty; BUT BY MY NAME, YHWH, I did not make myself known to them." Exo.6:2-3. Therefore, Christians can use Allah as a title but not as the personal name for the God of the Bible.

Many Evangelical Christians, especially those working among the Muslims and also the traditional Arab Christians, hold into this approach and use of the name Allah, thus only as a generic name for God. They insist in using the name because they believe that it was originally introduced to the Arabs by the Bible believers and long before Muhammad made it the official name of his god. Most of those Christians reject Muhammad's version of Allah and consider and consider his god as a false one and an imitation.

Approach-C, Conservatives: The name Allah originates from paganism and became the official name of the false god of Muhammad, therefore it should not be associated with the God of the Bible.

Let Us Reason Ministries.org, (Conservative Evangelical group)

 

Allah is the name of the only God in Islam. It was also the name of the chief god among the numerous idols in the Kaaba in Mecca. Many believe the word was derived from the middle eastern word "el" which in Ugaritic, Caananite and Hebrew can mean a true or false God. According to the encyclopedia of Religion, Allah corresponded to the Babylonian god Baal, and Arabs knew of him long before Mohammed worshipped him as the supreme. Allah was the god of the local Qurish tribe of whom was Mohammed's tribe before he invented Islam to lead his people out of their polytheism. Allah was known as the Moon God, of which he had 3 daughters who were viewed as intercessors for the people into Allah. Their names were Al-Lat, Al-uzza, and Al-Manat, which were three goddesses. Hubal (Ba3l) was the chief God of the Kaaba among the other 360 deities. The Kaabah in Mecca is also named Beit-Allah (House of Allah). The Koran Tells us that Mohammed drove the other idols away; he made one God now the only god and he was its messenger. Mohammed used the name Allah, which was of a specific idol without ever distinguishing it from the idol the Meccans were already worshipping… These names show the devotion of Mohammed's pagan roots, and also prove that Allah was part of a polythiestic system of worship before Allah was made the supreme and only god from the other God's. This should be proof to the pre Islamic root of the name of Allah to the Muslim, remember they were pagans who use this name. The crescent moon was the symbol of the moon God Allah and is used as a symbol of Islam today. Today there is hardly a Muslim that knows it's origin. It was an ancient pagan fertility symbol that is found throughout the middle east. Mohammed made Allah into a single being who unlike the Bible's God has no son. This God has never revealed himself to man but revealed only his will. This God is so removed from man that it is impossible to know him in a personal way he relates to man only through his will and law. Muslims claim that the name Allah can be found in the Bible. Allah is not called Yahweh once in the Koran but neither is Yahweh called Allah in the Bible. So they can't be the same God. Neither is the word Elohim which is applied to Yahweh over 2,500 times used in the Bible. Neither is he called I Am, which he said would be his name forever to Moses. God is called the God of the Jews an impossibility with Allah. Nowhere is the name of Allah to be found in the Old or New Testament. Because of Islam's dominance Allah became the common name of God. The translators of the Bible gave in to the religious pressures and substituted Allah for Yahweh in the Arabic Bibles, but this is not the name of the God of the Hebrews nor of the creator who made heaven and earth because of its source in paganism.

Only a minority of Christians and Churches have been firm enough to stand on this position and refuse to allow the name of Allah to circulate among them as a name for God. The Southern Baptist Church of Russia for instance refuses to use any Christian literature, which uses the word Allah for God. Converts from Islam and several conservative Christians from different denominations are starting to join this minority and challenging the rest to reconsider their views and to remove the name of Allah from among the body of Christ, the elect of the God of Israel.

Why to bother investigate:

Most of Christians prefer not to touch this sensitive topic and argue that since Jesus Christ is the focus of our Christian faith so it doesn't mater which name we are to use for the Father. Some of them even contest that it is fine to refer to Him by names, which were formerly rejected or avoided by the writers of the Scriptures i.e. Ba3l and Zeus. From their view what really maters is the essence and not the words and what they may commonly mean. One of the main argument they use in support of it is the case of the Jehovah witness, whom though they use the accurate name of Yahweh in Greek/Latin, they actually worship a different god then the God of the Bible. But is such argument really biblical or is it just an excuse to avoid confronting the situation?

According to God’s commandments, His name should not be profaned or misused or associated with the names, concepts and rituals of false gods. In the O.T. any person among the Israelites who violates those commands was condemned to death. Although the meaning of the name Ba3l is Master in English, an appropriate attribute for God, Yahweh Himself rejected it, ridiculed and later on punished those who advocated it, even the whole nation for listning to them. Although Zeus was the most popular name of deity among the gentile Greeks and Romans and a partner in a trinity, both the writers of the Septuagint and the N.T. avoided it and used lesser popular terminologies, Theos for Elohiym and Kyrios for Yahweh and Adonay.

Biblically speaking, both the essence and the general meaning of words to be used for God are important and none of them is to be neglected. Therefore, this mater of selecting foreign names for the God of Israel is indeed worth to investigate and most importantly to bring once and definitely to a common decision and settlement among all the body of Christ. It is our duty to keep the name of our heavenly Father pure and holy and separate the name of His Son from false gods. Furthermore and according to the Lord's principles, if the church is divided among itself regarding the name Allah, how could it stand the Muslims invasion and evangelize them effectively instead? Therefore, we have no choice but to resolve this crucial matter and to stand all as one.

Whose responsibility it is to investigate?

There is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important task to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

We believe that we are trying to do something similar and yet different than Nobody in the parable. We are not taking care of the whole task, but only of a slight part of it. The task is actually huge, but our present assignment, the investigation of Allah, is only to give a kick of start and to send shock waves toward all sides. Then hopefully, other Nobodies, Anybodies, Somebodies and Everbodies will get involved and wouldn't stop until the whole task, regarding all of the unbiblical names is to be completed and exposed. In other words, our initiative is to rock the boat a little bit and hopefully to stern a revival to definitely separate between the God of the Scriptures and all of the pagan gods of the world.

While doing our investigation of Allah and to our surprise, we found out that there are certain areas and issues that have never been touched before at all. We believe that those long unchecked and neglected elements are specifically the keys to disclose the matter and hopefully to put an end to the long disputed matter. However, such can't be really accomplished except if all of the sides cooperate and set apart our opinions but let only God's word to be the measuring rod and standard for judgement.

What is the goal?

Lets suppose that all the Christians, we mean the elect, all come to one common decision regarding Allah, totally rejecting him as God and banning his name from being used for God in the Bible translations, Christian literatures, in evangelism and churches altogether! Wouldn't that be similar to striking Goliath right in his forehead or cutting a bull's head and separating it from the body? What would be the outcome after? Wouldn't Islam fall to the ground? Would Muslims have anything else to boast about and to legitimate their religion? Not at all! They may violently react like the wounded bull in the arena, but the resistance wouldn't last so long and Islam will be reduced to dust. What if the same thing is to be done to the other pagan deities? We are not speaking here mere ideas, we are speaking deep interpretation of the Bible prophecies and their spiritual fulfillment (Rev.8:3-5, 11:16-18, 16:19-20). It is not only a matter of technicalities but most importantly how to pray powerful and effective prayers, which are able to shake the principalities and powers of the heavens and the earth! Once they are accurately defined, stripped and exposed, they will be vulnerable to our strike in the heart and therefore they will fall and never to rise again and the way will be totally cleared and prepared before the coming of our Lord and His Kingdom…

Who is concerned?

…

Investigation and Analysis

1: Theological Comparison

 

Why Allah of the Quran is not the same as Yahweh of the Bible?

How to determine between the original and the counterfeit:

When comparing two money bills with the purpose of determining which is counterfeit and which is the genuine we should focus on the differences, not on the similarities. Upon examination, the true and fake bills may appear to be exactly the same, since counterfeit bills are meant to pass off as real ones. When examining the bills more closely, you will find that the small differences in the two bills are what will prove the original one from the imposter. A genuine bill conforms 100% to the norms and two genuine bills have no differences. If a bill lacks or differs only by a single character from the bank's standard of checking, that bill should be refused and even burned.

Our case with the being Allah is very similar. Allah claims to be the true God, the Bible God. So, it is simple! All we have to do is to take what we know about Allah from the Quran, his "revelation," and compare it with what we know about Yahweh in the Bible. If Allah is indeed Yahweh then the similarities must be absolute (100%), otherwise he is to be disqualified and no longer equaled with the true God, who never changes.

Unfortunately, the differences between Yahweh and Allah are not even a few but many. Some of them are very visible and clear, others are tricky and need extra and deep analysis. In this Chapter we are going to explore and investigate a few examples from each type.

The missing characteristics:

The Name:

When God revealed Himself to Moses He told him that His very personal and eternal name is YHWH (Yahweh/Jehovah). Later on, He emphasized the importance of using that very name, YHWH, if anyone claims to be a messenger from Him. YHWH, Hayah-[Asher]-Hayah, I AM, the LORD, the Eternal, all basically mean and stand for the same thing, God’s proper name, character and nature of being transcendent and infinite in time and space. Linguistically, Allah has no connection with those different expressions of God’s name.

OT: Exo.3:14-15; Jer.33:2; Mic.4:5

 

And God (Elohiym) said to Moses, "Hayah-Hayah (I Am/Who Is)”; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'YHWH (the Eternal) has sent me to you' … 'YHWH, the God of your fathers, the God (El) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial name to all generation…” Thus says Yahweh who made the earth, Yahweh who formed it to establish it, “Yahweh is His name.” …All the nations may walk in the name of their gods (elohiym); we will walk in the name of YHWH our God (Elohiynu) fore ever and ever.

 

NT: Mat.23:39; Joh.8:58; Rev.1:8-18 & 22:16;

 

For I (Jesus) say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord (Adonai/Yahweh)!’” …Jesus(Yehshua) said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM (YHWH)… I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come (Hayah-Hayah/Eternal), the Almighty,” says the Lord (Adonai/Yahweh) God… “I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore… I, Jesus (Yehshua: YHWH is Savior), have sent My angel to testify to you theses things… ”

When examining the Quran along with the Hadeeth we are unable to locate any trace of Yahweh, or even a close Arabic translation to it, i.e. “al-azaliy,” or “al-khalid,” or “al-‘abadiy” (the Eternal) or “al-Kaa’in” (I AM), being among any of the many names attributed to Allah. Whenever, Muhammad spoke, he did it in the name of Allah, which was the name of chief pagan deity of his people. What makes his case even more difficult is the fact that he claimed that Allaah (and Huw) is the very personal name of God, not even one of his common names. This was one of the primarily reasons why the Jews of Arabia rejected him as a prophet, based on Deu.13:1 and 18:20, which make of him as a false prophet. No Bible prophet has ever spoken in the name of Allah (a foreign god) as Muhammad and his followers claimed. In fact, Allah, was never been used in the Bible as God's name, even once, but rather as the term for oak trees, which God strictly commanded not to worship (Jos.24:26, Eze.6:13 and Hos.4:14). Moreover, Muhammad called his Allah several times by the term Hu, which sounds like the name of an Egyptian god, the god of witchcraft.

Q.20:14; 1:1-3; 112:1; 59:22-24; 28:70; 2:255; 4:87; 6:102

 

"I, Allah; there is no other god beside Me. You shall worship Me alone, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) to remember Me.” In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds (world and underworld)… Proclaim, "He is Allah, the One and only… He is Allah; there is no other god beside Him (Hu). Knower of all secrets and declarations. He is the Most Gracious, Most Merciful. He is Allah; there is no other god beside Him (Hu). The King, the Most Sacred, the Peace, the Most Faithful, the Supreme, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, the Most Proud. Allah be glorified; far above having partners. He is Allah, the Creator, the Initiator, the Designer. To Him belong the most beautiful names. Glorifying Him is everything in the heavens and the earth. He is the Almighty, Most Wise… He is Allah, there is no other god beside Him (Hu). To Him belongs all praise in this first life, and in the Hereafter. All judgment belongs with Him, and to Him you will be returned… Allah: there is no other god besides Him (Hu), the Living, the Self-Subsisting. Never a moment of unawareness or slumber overtakes Him. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth… Allah: there is no god except He (Hu). He will surely summon you on the Day of Resurrection - the inevitable day. Whose narration is more truthful than Allah's?…Such is Allah your Lord, there is no god except He (Hu), the Creator of all things. You shall worship Him alone. He is in control of all things.”

 

Fatherhood and sonship:

Yahweh in the Bible, both in the OT and NT, is called Father and that people (Israel/Believers) are His children. God's fatherhood stands for his character of being Creator, Sustainer and Discipliner of his creatures. We are not his children because He has sex with our mother as Muslims understand it but because He adopted us.

OT: Psa.68:4-5; Jer.31:7-9; Isa.63:16; Mal.2:10

 

Sing to God, sing praises to His name… A Father to the fatherless and a Judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation… Thus says the LORD, "…I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born." …You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name… Do we not have one Father? Has not one God created us?

NT: Mat.6:9; Joh.1:12; Rom.8:15

 

"Pray in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name (Yahweh).'" …As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God (the Father), even to those who believe in His name (Yehshua)… For you didn’t receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Allah in the Quran firmly denies fatherhood and considers it as a blasphemy, which he punishes, according to sharia, by death. Allah doesn't adopt, instead he forbids full adoption of children.

Q.19:35 & 88-92; 72:3

 

It does not befit Allah that He begets a son, be He glorified. To have anything done, He simply says to it, "Be," and it is... They said, "The Most Gracious has begotten a son"! You have uttered a gross blasphemy. The heavens are about to shatter, the earth is about to tear asunder, and the mountains are about to crumble. Because they claim that the Most Gracious has begotten a son. It is not befitting the Most Gracious that He should beget a son. Every single one in the heavens and the earth is a servant (slave) of the Most Gracious… And exalted is the majesty of our Lord. He has taken neither a wife nor a son.

Love (unconditional verses selfish):

The love of God for the sinner is not a reflection of anything here on earth. The love of God for the sinner did not come from the human experience, but through a revelation from above. The only God who is capable of loving the wicked is the Creator, the Most High and the true God. Such love is also the reflection of His heart and character of a Father. His love is not limited to His word but also equal with His actions throughout the whole history

OT: Deu.7:7-8; Isa.54:10

 

The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loves you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers… “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

NT: Joh.3:16-17; Rom.5:6-8; 1Jo.4:8-10

 

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” …While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in the while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us… For God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

The love of Allah for the sinner and the ungodly is totally missing from the Qur'an because it is the most difficult, and even an impossible thing to copy. Allah’s love appears very similar to creatures love rather than God’s (Mat.6:46). It is very selfish and self-centered and limited to those who love and fear him first.

Q.3:31-32; 7:55; 61:4

 

Proclaim: "If you love Allah, you should follow me." Allah will then love you, and forgive your sins. Allah is Forgiver, Most Merciful. You shall obey Allah and the messenger." If they turn away, Allah does not love the disbelievers… You shall worship your Lord publicly and privately; He does not love the transgressors (sinners)… Allah loves those who fight in His cause united in one column, like the bricks in one wall.

Contradictions:

Personal versus Impersonal (abstract) in relationship:

Yahweh is a personal God, who desires to have an intimate relationship with humans. It is always Him who takes the initiative in relationships with humankind. His relationship with people was always personal and intimate, like the case with Adam, Abraham, Israel, Moses, David, the Apostles and Paul. Furthermore and till these days, all true Christians have a personal relationship with Him. Mostly in the OT God is portrayed as the Angel of Yahweh and in the NT as Jesus. The personal relationship which God desires to have with us is as close a relationship between a father and a son, a husband and a wife and a friend to friend.

OT: Exo.33:11 & 34:5-9; Zec.2:10

 

The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend… The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him (Moses) as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him… And he (Moses) said, “If now I found favor in Thy sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst.”… “Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD. “Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD.

NT: Joh.1:1-11; Mat.17:2-9 & Joh.14:8-9

 

In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God and the Word was God (Elohiym)… He was in the world, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him… He (Jesus) was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light… And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man (Him) has risen from the dead.” …Philip said to Him, “Lord show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me. Philip? He who has seen Me (Jesus) has seen the Father (Yahweh); how do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

On the contrary, Allah is an impersonal, abstract and untouchable god, who can't be approached at all. All he wants is to be worshipped. In exchange, he promises some benefits. A relationship with Allah is more like a distant business relationship, or what psychologists call co-dependent relationship, merely based on mutual interests. No Muslim, not even Muhammad himself has been able to directly encounter Allah. Everything seems to be done through some mysterious angel (Jibriel), in the dark. Perhaps the accurate description of Allah is that it is a pseudonym god, who never existed as a being, but was made up to serve others purposes! That is why, it was always referred to as “him” (Hu) to emphasis its impersonality.

 

Q.59:22; 28:70; 2:255; 4:87; 6:102

 

He (hua) is Allah; there is no other god beside Him (Hu)… Such is Allah your Lord, there is no god except He (Hu), the Creator of all things. You shall worship Him alone. He is in control of all things.”

Meekness versus Pride:

Yahweh is a meek God, who loves and promotes humility but hates and condemns pride in its all forms. God’s meekness we see it in the person of His Son Jesus, who was born in manger, grew up in a poor family, lived a simple life and even accepted to die in a very humiliating manner, despite the fact that He was King of kingly and divine origin. Pride or haughtiness in the Bible is mainly associated with Satan and wickedness. It was never associated with God.

OT: Pro.6:16-17 & 8:13; Isa.14:12-14; Eze.28:2-17

 

There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are abominable to Him: Haughty eyes… The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate. “How you have fallen from heaven, O Haylel (Shiny star/King of Babylon/Satan), son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High… Because your heart is prideful and you have said, ‘I am a god’, I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas… Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart became proud because of your beauty… I cast you to the ground, I put you before kings, that they may see you.”

NT: Mat.11:28-29; Phi.7:5-8; Jam.4:6

 

“Come to Me (Jesus), all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.” …Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross …That is what the Scripture says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

One of Allah's 99 attributes is “al-mutakabbir” (the prideful or most proud). Although he claims to discourage certain sorts of pride among his slaves, he still confesses that one of his descriptions/names (sifat/asma’) is pride. The most serious thing about this is the fact that the Bible (as above) tells us that the reason why Satan fall from heaven was due to his pride. His lust to be worshipped as if he is God (Mat.4:8-10) reveals and expose his obsessive pride.

 

Q.59:23; 7:55; 20:14

 

He is Allah; there is no other god beside Him. The King, the Sacred, the Peace, the Faithful, the Supreme, the Almighty, the Powerful, the Prideful. Allah be magnified; far above having partners… You shall worship your Lord publicly and privately… “I, Allah; there is no other god beside Me. You shall worship Me alone, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) to remember Me.”

Triune versus Unitarian/Singular (the Sonship/divinity of Christ):

Throughout the whole Bible, Yahweh Elohiym is portrayed as a triune God who reveals Himself in three persons, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, which Christians refer to as the Holy Trinity. God’s revelation about His multi-person is recorded, beginning from the first three verses of the O.T.

OT: Isa.9:6-7; Zec.2:5-11

 

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this… For thus saith the LORD, “I will be unto her a wall of fire (Holy Spirit) round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. Come forth, and flee from the land of the north, for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven. After the glory hath He sent Me unto the nations which spoiled you, for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts (Father) hath sent Me (Jesus). Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion for I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be My people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent Me unto thee.”

NT: Mat.3:16-17 & 28:18-20; Joh.15:26-27; 1Jo.2:22 & 5:9-11

 

And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And a voice from heaven (the Father), saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” … And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and I am with you always, even unto the end of the world… But when the Comforter is come, whom I (Jesus) will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.” …Who is the liar? It is the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ (Son of God). Such a person is the antichrist. He denies the Father and the Son…If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.

In his Quran, Allah totally denies and rejects the trinity and regards it as idolatry and as an unforgivable blasphemy punishable by death.

Q.4:171; 5:72-75 & 116; 112:1-4

 

O people of the scripture, do not transgress the limits of your religion, and do not say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was a messenger of Allah… You shall not say, "Trinity." You shall refrain from this for your own good. Allah is only one god. Be He glorified; He is much too glorious to have a son. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. Allah suffices as Lord and Master… Pagans indeed are those who say that Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. The Messiah himself said, "O Children of Israel, you shall worship Allah; my Lord and your Lord." Anyone who sets up any idol beside Allah, Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and his destiny is Hell. The wicked have no helpers. Pagans indeed are those who say that Allah is a third of a trinity. There is no god except the one God. Unless they refrain from saying this, those who disbelieve among them will incur a painful retribution. Would they not repent to Allah, and ask His forgiveness? Allah is Forgiver, Most Merciful. The Messiah, son of Mary, is no more than a messenger like the messengers before him, and his mother was a saint…” Allah will say, "O Jesus (3isa), son of Mary, did you say to the people, `Make me and my mother idols beside Allah?' " He will say, "Be You glorified. I could not utter what was not right. Had I said it, You already would have known it. You know my thoughts, and I do not know Your thoughts. You know all the secrets… Proclaim, "He is Allah the One and only (Singular), Allah, the Absolute. Never did He beget (no Father), nor was He begotten (no Son), none equals Him (no Holy Spirit)."

False similarities:

Creator:

God in the Bible is clearly the One and only Creator. Genesis account shows that He was there all the way from before the world existed and that He was the master of keeping history during the time where humans weren’t able to write yet. The account of creation has been a mystery to scientists and only recently some of them have started to understand what God was saying about how he formed this physical world. We also know that Yahweh is the Creator according to His divine laws and love and care for what His hands have made.

OT: Gen.1:1 & 26

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth... So God created man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them…

NT: Rev 4:11

 

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Allah of the Qur'an is referred to as being the creator, but according to his accounts and laws (sharia) we can prove that he is a pretender, even a destroyer. His Islamic law concerning hand cutting coupled with the unnatural treatment of women, and the permission of pleasure marriage are diametrically opposed to the character of the Creator, Yahweh. It is important to notice that the Creator have never ordered in his laws to cut people’s bodies and to crucify them. Those where pagan practices such as the Babylonians and the Romans, whose kingdoms symbolize Satan. Furthermore, One of the strangest things about Allah in the Quran is his claim to be the best of the creators.

Q.23:14; 5:33; 17:16

…Most blessed is Allah, the best of Creators… The just retribution for those who fight Allah and His messenger, and commit horrendous crimes, is to be killed, or crucified, or to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or to be banished from the land. This is to humiliate them in this life, then they suffer a far worse retribution in the Hereafter... And when We desire to destroy a city, We command its men who live at ease, and they commit ungodliness therein, then the Word is realized against it, and We destroy it utterly

Mercy and Justice:

Yahweh, the Creator showed His mercy to people in many passages of the OT, like in his encounter with Hagar, redemption of Isaac, answer to Hannah, healing of Assyrian officer, etc. His justice we see it in exposing Abrahams lies, Jacob’s treachery, David’s iniquity and murder, etc. But the full extend of His mercy and justice, He have shown it at the cross through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

OT: Psa.89:14 & 145:8; Isa.30:18 & 45:21; Zep.3:5

 

Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne, mercy and truth shall go before thy face… The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy… And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you, for the LORD is a God of judgment, blessed are all they that wait for him… Have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me… The just LORD [is] in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity, every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

NT: Luk.6:27-28; Mat.9:13

I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you… Go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance… The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Despite the fact that Allah is referred to as the Most Merciful, his words and law demonstrate otherwise.

Q.5:33; 9:84 & 80

 

The just retribution for those who fight Allah and His messenger, and commit horrendous crimes, is to be killed, or crucified, or to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or to be banished from the land. This is to humiliate them in this life, then they suffer a far worse retribution in the Hereafter…You shall not observe the funeral prayer for any of them when he dies, nor shall you stand at his grave. They have disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and died in a state of wickedness... Whether you ask forgiveness for them, or do not ask forgiveness for them - even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times - Allah will not forgive them. This is because they disbelieve in Allah and His messenger. Allah does not guide the wicked people.

All-knowing:

It is obvious that the most modern science and man’s intelligence is till far away behind to comprehend how God has created the world and how He is making it to function. However, according to history, archeology and scientific discoveries, we have started to have evidences that this Bible God is the God who has been able to make astonishing statements, which were totally true and would have been impossible for men to know them by themselves. One of those examples is about the earth and its form. Thousands of years before man could build satellites and communication and visual technology, this marvelous God told us, through His prophets, that earth is round and that it is hung in the space. This God and only Him have been able to tell us what has happened in the past and what was to happen in the future. World events, day after day, prove the fact that such a God knows everything and is present everywhere and that he has met His own challenge and proved Himself true and accurate.

OT: Job.26:7; Isa.40:22 & 44:7

 

He (God) stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing… It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in… Who then is like Me (Yahweh)? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come, yes let him foretell what will come.

According to the Quran, the “all-knowing Allah” confused between Mary and the Holy Spirit and mistakenly accused all Christians of worshipping three gods, among whom Mary is one as a partner and a goddess (Q.5:116). In his knowledge he erroneously stated that earth is flat and that the sun set during the evening in a lake. In his Quran, he also mixed up between historical and biblical personalities and the eras of their existence and locations and he never gave any information about the future as Yahweh challenges. So, was Allah all-ignoring or all-deceiving? Besides, by permitting the hand cutting was he aware of the after-effects of such atrocity, which results in psychological and social devastation or was he showing of his nature of a destroyer?

Q.18:86 & 90; 88:17-20

When he reached the far west, he found the sun setting in a muddy spring, and found people there. We said, "O Zul-Qarnain, you can rule as you wish; either punish, or be kind to them." When he reached the far east, he found the sun rising on people who had nothing to shelter them from it… Why do they not reflect on the camels and how they are created? And the sky and how it is raised. And the mountains and how they are constructed. And the earth and how it is flattened.

 

Differences in action and behavior:

Swearing and praying:

Yahweh never swore by anything except His own name because there is nothing that can be higher or equal to Him.

OT: Gen.22:16-17

 

And said, "By Myself I have sworn,” declares the LORD, “because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you…”

NT: Heb.6:13-16

 

For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, …For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.

Allah in the Quran swears by almost everything, stars, planets, people, beasts, demons, objects, etc. That's not all! Allah also prays to Muhammad and the prophets. Whenever a Muslim uses the statement “salla allahu 3ala muhammad” or writes “PBUH” that is supposed to mean Allah prayed upon Muhammad. Being aware of it now and that it isn’t correct, Muslims have changed the meaning of salla from prayed to blessed. But this is only a twist from the real meaning of the verb, since "blessed" in Arabic is actually “baaraka” not “salla” Even though Jesus was God's own Son, nowhere in the Bible or any Christian sources can we see the Father praying to the Son.

Q.36:1-2; 52:1-7; 95:1-4; 53:1-2; 85:1-5; 74:32-34; 79:1-5; 91:1-8; 86:1-4; 89:1-5

 

Y. S. and (I, Allah, swear by) the Quran that is full of wisdom… Mt. Sinai. The recorded scripture. Published in books. The frequented Shrine. The exalted ceiling. The sea that is set aflame… the fig and the olive. Mount Sinai. And this honored town (Mecca)… the stars fell away… the sky and its galaxies. The promised day. The witness and the witnessed… Absolutely, (I swear) by the moon. And the night as it passes. And the morning as it shines… By the sun and its brightness. The moon that follows it. The day that reveals. The night that covers. The sky and Him who built it. The earth and Him who sustains it. The soul and Him who created it… the (demons who) snatch (the souls of the disbelievers) forcibly. And those who gently take (the souls of the believers) joyfully. And those floating everywhere… the sky and Al-Taareq. Do you know what Al-Taareq is? The bright star (Haylel/Satan)… the dawn. And the ten nights. By the even and the odd. By the night as it passes. A profound oath, for one who possesses intelligence.

Performing miracles:

The first time Yahweh revealed Himself to Moses and Israel, before He brought to them the commandments and asked them to worship Him as the One True God, He performed awesome miracles in their midst to demonstrate to them His mighty power and infinite abilities. Most of the miracles he performed no other power has been able to duplicate or prevent. In fact, that same God never stopped performing miracles throughout all Israel and the Christian Church history even to this present day. The rise of Israel in 1948 and the rise of churches in several parts of the world, especially the Muslim one, where churches have been erased for centuries are proof of God’s miraculousness and power to act throughout history and everywhere.

OT: Exo.34:10; Deu.26:8

 

Then God said, "Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.” … The LORD brought us(Israel) out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders;

NT: Act.10:38 & 19: 11-12; Heb.2:4

 

You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him… God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out…. God also testifying with them (Apostles), both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

When Allah sent his Quran's revelations to Muhammad, he never performed any miracles, which would prove his claim. According to the Quran, Allah’s only and greatest "miracle" was the actual revelation of the Quran. When we examine the book and what Allah claims about it, we find that this boast is actually fraudulent. Allah challenges all people and demons that they can't produce such kind of literature, but reality proved the opposite. Mere humans have been able to defeat the Quran's so called eloquence and throughout the centuries. Mere men have been able to expose Allah’s orthographic and grammatical mistakes and to show the correct ways of writing and saying them. If we use Allah’s method to prove his divinity, many men deserve to be deified as well, such as al-Mutanabbi, Voltaire, Shakespeare…!

Q.29:51; 18:2; 17:8; 2:23; 59:21; 85:21-22

Is it not enough of a miracle that we sent down to you this book, being recited to them? This is indeed a mercy and a reminder for people who believe... A perfect (scripture) to warn of severe retribution from Him, and to deliver good news to the believers who lead a righteous life, that they have earned a generous recompense… If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all and their strength in aiding one another… If you have any doubt regarding what we revealed to our servant, then produce one sura like these, and call upon your own witnesses against Allah, if you are truthful… If we revealed this Quran to a mountain, you would see it trembling, crumbling, out of reverence for Allah. We cite these examples for the people that they may reflect… Indeed, it is a glorious Quran. In a preserved master tablet.

Challenges to the miracle:

 

* Satanic verses in the Quran itself (Q.53:19-22): “Have ye thought upon al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other? These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries), whose intercession is to be hoped for.”

* The disputed Shi3i surat, called al-wilaaya: “On the name of the all merciful Allah. You who are believers, believe in the prophet and the saint, which is Ali Bin Abi Taleb, Mohammed cousin, which we sent, they will guide you to the strait path. A prophet and a saint belong to each other, and I am the all knowing, the experienced. Those who do obey God's covenant they deserve comforting paradises. And those who if it read to them our verses, they contradict it. They have a great big place in Hell, if they called in the day of judgement: where is the unfair, the contradictory for the messengers ?! The messengers don't leave them without the truth, and Allah will not allow them to win (appear, show) till a short time. Praise your lord and thank him, and Ali, Ali Bin Abi Taleb, Mohammed cousin one from the witnesses.”

* Musaylima’s imitation: “Allah has been gracious to the pregnant woman; He has brought forth from her a living being that can move; from her very midst.”

Notes:

• It is better to compare the original Arabic text to see their closeness and similarity with the Quran’s style.
• Regarding Yahweh’s challenge, see chapter E, God’s challenge to any god, which claim to be God.

 

Revelation:

The way Allah "revealed" his book to Muhammad is very different from the way Yahweh communicated His word and message to all the prophets throughout the generations. Allah's method of transmission, however, is very similar to the manifestations of psychics and mediums. According to Muhammad's own companions and their witness, whenever he received a revelation in front of them, his face twisted, his voice changed and an atmosphere of terror filled the place. In other words, the picture portrayed in their accounts is much like what we know to be demonic manifestation such as in several pagan practices where they invoke evil spirits for fortune telling or consultations.

Other distinctions:

Allah offers salvation to demons (jinn) and encourages people (mainly Muslims) to cooperate with them (Q.55:33). He exhorts men and demons to cooperate to find an exit from the present earth and heaven in hope to escape judgment. He is tolerant of superstition and certain forms of witchcraft. He is to be worshipped by facing some specific directions and objects (Ka3ba/Mecca and some starry hosts). He is the author of evil, the one who harms (aldhar), the oppressor (almuhaymin), and the one who leads astray and deceives (al-maakir). He hates the Jews and calls to exterminate them. He puts a lot of emphasis on the works of the flesh and the self-righteousness in his laws (Q.6:160), however he doesn't guarantee a sure salvation even to Muhammad. His religious rituals and practices have a lot in common with the heathen's rather than the biblical priesthood. He promotes violence (jihad) and has no patience to wait until the judgement day (Q.2:190). His heaven is a resort for satisfying the desires of the flesh, especially for men, rather than the fulfillment of everlasting righteousness and holiness (Q.55:56-57). He often changes his mind and abrogates his word and laws (Q.2:106). His laws (shari3a) and history shows that he is a master destroyer and a bloodthirsty dictator… Many of those descriptions are abominable for Yahweh and the rest have no place to fit with Him, but perfectly match with Satan's biblical description and of his demons.

Further Scriptural comparisons:

* Yahweh hates deception, Allah boasts about it:

Psa.5:4-5; Pro.6:16-18; Hab.1:13; Jam.1:13-14; Mat.24:4

 

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him… a heart that devises wicked schemes… You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell… Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong… When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragued away and enticed… Jesus answered, “Watch out that no one deceives you.”

Q.3:54; 8:30

 

And (the unbelievers) schemed and planned, and Allah schemed also, and the best of schemers (almaakiriyn/deceivers) is Allah… Remember how the unbelievers schemed against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or to slay thee, or get thee out. They scheme and plot, but the best of schemers (almaakiriyn) is Allah.

 

* Yahweh seeks to pull people out of darkness, Allah leads them astray and then blames the responsibility on them:

Eze.33:11; Jer.18:7-10; Jon.3:10

 

Say to them: "As I live", says the Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?… The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and plant it, if it does evil in My sight, so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I would benefit it…” Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. "

Q.17:16; Q.14:4; 4:87 & 90

 

And when We desire to destroy a city, We command its men who live at ease, and they commit ungodliness therein, then the Word is realized against it, and We destroy it utterly… Allah leads astray whomsoever He will and guides whomsoever he will… Whomsoever Allah guides, he is rightly guided, and whom He leads astray, they are the losers! We have created for Hell many Jinns and men... Do ye desire to guide him whom Allah led astray? Whom Allah leads away, you will find no way for him."

* Yahweh never changes His mind, Allah finds pleasure in forgery:

Num.23:19; Mal.3:6; 2Tim.2:13; Heb.13:8; Mat:24.35

 

God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?…For I, Yahweh, do not change… If we are faithless, he remains faithful; he cannot deny himself... Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever… Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass.

Q.2:106; 16:101

 

None of Our revelations do we abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We substitute something better or similar- Knowest thou not that Allah has power over all things?… When We substitute one revelation for another and Allah knowest best what He reveals - They say, "Thou art but a forger"; But most of them understand not.

* Yahweh promotes love for all people, Allah saws hate between those who oppose him:

Pro.6:16-19; Mat.5:43-45 & 18:7

 

There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers… You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven… Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man (person) through whom they come!

Q.5:14 & 64

 

Also from those who said, "We are Christian," we took their covenant. But they disregarded some of the commandments given to them. Consequently, we condemned them to animosity and hatred among themselves, until the Day of Resurrection. Allah will then inform them of everything they had done... For certain, your Lord's revelations to you will cause many of them to plunge deeper into transgression and disbelief. Consequently, we have committed them to animosity and hatred among themselves until the Day of Resurrection. Whenever they ignite the flames of war, Allah puts them out. They roam the earth wickedly, and Allah dislikes the evildoers.

* Yahweh’s punishments are just and divine and reflect His nature of a Creator and Father, Allah’s punishments are harsh, originate from paganism and reflect his character of a destroyer:

Exo.22:3; Lev.6:4-5; Eph.4:28

 

A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft… When he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering… He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Q.5:38

 

The thief, male or female, you shall cut their hands as a punishment for their crime, and to serve as an example from Allah. Allah is Almighty, Most Wise.

Summary (A):

Christians, should be very careful in discerning between the two beings and not claiming they are one under any excuse. What is genuine and true remains always 100% that way regardless of time or space. No matter how close similarities might be, a 1% difference is very enough to rise all sorts of doubts and very crucial for making the differentiation. In Jesus’ temptation we see that Satan’s greatest desire is to be worshiped and adored as if he is God. To reach that aim and temporal glory, he can get it only through using treachery and deceit. Paul in 2Cor.11:14, warns us that Satan masquerades himself to look like God. So, those assumed similarities should not astonish and lead us to confusion, but rather soberness and cause us alarm.

From the multiple differences, which we have explored above, it is impossible for the Muslims’ Allah to be the same as Yahweh, the God in both the OT and the NT. The differences between the two beings/Gods are numerous and sharp, even to the point where we can confidently state that Allah of the Quran is a replica of Satan of the Bible. Therefore, from a theological stand point Allah must not be associated with Yahweh as being the same God.

Section II : Linguistics

Introduction:

There is a language gap in between Christians and Muslims in the use of theological terminology. That gap is causing misunderstanding and cross communication and confusion to both sides. In regard of bridging it, in this chapter (article), we are going to investigate and analyse the name Allah and compare it with other terms that are used to refer to the divine from a linguistic approach. We are to go beyond the scripts and sounds and focus instead on the linguistic technical aspects. We are to find out how each side think and what they exactly mean when they use those different terms and also how others receive and understand them. We have to draw a line between the similarities in regard of making a sound judgement about the use of Allah as name for God.

1. Contextual analysis and comparison of scriptures:

1.1. The Quran:

1.1.1. A look into English translation and the original terms with lexical application:

[1:1-3] In the name of Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) Most-Gracious, Most-Merciful. Praise be to Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) the-Lord (rabbi) of the worlds, Most-Gracious, Most-Merciful.

Allah = allaah = n. (noun) pr. (proper), dei. (deity), Lord = rabb = n. m (masculine). s. (singular)

[2:26] Surely Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) is not ashamed to set forth any parable-a gnat or any thing above that; then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their-Lord (rabbihim), and as for those who disbelieve, they say: What is it that Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) means by this parable…

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., Lord = rabb = n. m. s.

[2:163] Your-God (‘ilaahukum) is the only one-God (‘ilaahun); there is no god (‘ilaaha) but He…

God/god = ’ilaah = n. m. s.

[7:85] And to Madyan their brother Shu’aib. He said: O my people! Serve Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) you have no god (‘ilaahin) other than Him; clear proof indeed has come to you from your-Lord (rabbikum)…

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., god = ’ilaah = n. m. s., Lord = rabb = n. m. s.

[9:31] They have taken their doctors of law and their monks for lords (arbaaban) besides Allah, ( q_^||‘| ), and the Messiah son of Mariam and they were enjoined that they should serve God (‘ilaahan) only, there is no god (‘ilaaha) but He; far from His glory be what they set up.

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., lords = arbaab = n. m. pl., God/god = ’ilaah = n. m. s.

[11:53~56] They said, “O Hood, you did not show us any proof, and we are not abandoning our-gods (‘aalihatinaa) on account of what you say. We believe that some of our-gods (‘aalihatinaa) have afflicted you with a curse.” He said, “I bear witness before Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) and you bear witness as well, that I disown the idolaters… Surely I rely on Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) my-Lord (rabbiy) and your-Lord (rabbikum); there is no living creature but He holds it by its forelock; surely my-Lord (rabbiy) is on the right path.

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., gods = ’aalihat = n. m. pl., Lord = rabb = n. m. s.

[12:39~41] O my two mates of the prison! Are many lords (arbaabun) better or Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) the One, the Supreme?… "O my two companions of the prison! As to one of you, he will pour out the wine for his-lord (rabbihi) to drink: as for the other, he will hang from the cross, and the birds will eat from off his head.

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., lords = arbaab = n. m. pl., lord = rabb = n. m. s.

[16:51] Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) has proclaimed: “Do not worship two-gods (‘ilaahayni); there is only one-God (‘ilaahun)…”

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., God = ’ilaah = n. m. s., gods = ’ilaahyn = n. m. du. (dual number)

[18:15] Here are our people setting up gods (‘aalihatan) beside Him… Who is more evil than the one who fabricates lies and attributes them to Allah, ( q_^||‘| )?

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., gods = ’aalihat = n. m. pl.

[21:22] If there had been in them any-gods (‘aalihatun) except Allah, ( q_^||‘| ), they would both have certainly been in a state of disorder; therefore glory be to Allah, ( q_^||‘| ), the-Lord (rabbu) of the dominion, above what they attribute.

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., gods = ‘aalihat = n. m. pl., Lord = rabb = n. m. s.

[22:34] For each congregation we have decreed rites whereby they com- memorate the name of Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) for providing them with the livestock. Your- god (‘ilaahukum) is one-God (‘ilaahun)…

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., God/god = ’ilaah = (indef.) n. m. s.

[29:46] … and our-God (‘ilaahunaa) and your-God (‘ilaahukum) is one…

God = ’ilaah = n. m. s.

[38:5] Did he make the-gods (al-‘aalihata) into one-god (‘ilaahan)?…

gods = ‘aalihat = n. m. pl., god = ’ilaah = n. m. s.

[40:28] A believer, a man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had concealed his faith, said: "Will ye slay a man because he says, 'my-Lord (rabbiya) is Allah, ( q_^||‘| )?- when he has indeed come to you with Clear signs from your-Lord (rabbikum)? and if he be a liar, on him is his lie: but, if he is telling the Truth, then will fall on you something of the calamity of which he warns you: Truly Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) guides not one who transgresses and lies!

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., Lord = rabb = n. m. s.

[73:8-9] And remember the name of your-Lord (rabbika) and devote yourself to Him with devotion. The Lord (rabbu) of the East and the West-there is no god (‘ilaaha) but He-therefore take Him for a protector.

god = ‘ilaah = n. m. s., Lord = rabb = n. m. s.

[81:29] And you do not please except that Allah, ( q_^||‘| ) please, the-Lord (rabbu) of the worlds.

Allah = allaah = n. pr. dei., Lord = rabb = n. m. s.

[114:1-3] Say: I seek refuge in the Lord (rabbi) of men, King of men, God (‘ilaahi) of men

God = ‘ilaah = n. m. s., Lord = rabb = n. m. s.

Remarks:

From the above Quranic examples and lexical contexts of terms used for deities, we notice that:

• allaah (Allah) was used uniquely for the Quran-God and always as his very personal name (noun proper masculine singular).

• ‘ilaah (God/god) was used in various forms as a noun (common name or title) to either refer to the Quran-deity or to other deities.

• rabb (Lord/lord) was used in various forms as a noun (common name or tittle) to either refer to Quran-deity or other deities or even men (i.e. Pharaoh).

• ‘ilaah nor rabb, as singular nouns, have never been used once with the definite article al (the) in the original Arabic.

• For reference and extra verification, check the recognised English translations of the Quran, i.e. the versions of Yusuf Ali, Marmaduke Pickthall, Shakir, Zohurul Hoque, Taqiuddin Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan.

1.1.2. A Look into different translations of the Quran:

* allaah (Q.1:1):

Arabic: bismi allaahi arrahmaani arrahiymi.

Turkish: Rahman ve Rahim olan Allah'in Adiyla

English: In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

French: Au nom d'Allah, le Tout Miséricordieux, le Très Miséricordieux.

German: Im Namen Allahs, des Gnädigen, des Barmherzigen.

Spanish: En el nombre de Alá, el Compasivo, el Misericordioso!

* ‘ilaah (Q.2:163):

Arabic: wa ‘ilaahukum ‘ilaahun waa7idun laa ‘ilaaha ‘illaa huwa

Turkish: Sizin ilahiniz tek bir ilahtir; O'ndan baska ilah yoktur;

English: And your-God is One God. There is no god but He,

French: Et votre-Dieu est un dieu unique. Pas de dieu à part lui,

German: Und euer-Gott ist ein Einiger Gott; es ist kein Gott außer Ihm,

Spanish: Vuestro-Dios es un Dios Uno. No hay más dios que Él,

* rabb (Q.37:126):

Arabic: allaaha rabbakum wa rabba ‘aabaa’ikumu al’awwaliyna.

Turkish: Allah ki, sizin de Rabbiniz, önceki atalarinizin da Rabbidir.

English: Allah your-Lord and the Lord of your fathers of old.

French : Allah, votre-Seigneur et le Seigneur de vos plus anciens ancêtres?

German: Allah, euren-Herrn und den Herrn eurer Vorväter?

Spanish: a Alá, Señor-vuestro y Señor de vuestros antepasados?

Remarks:

From the above examples of the various translations of the Quran into different languages we notice that:

• allaah was never translated into common/generic names of deities but simply transliterated (i.e. Allah or Alá).

• ‘ilaah in its various forms was always translated into the respective synonyms or common names of deities in those other languages. When the synonyms for ‘ilah referred to the Quran-deity they were capitalised (i.e. God or Dios), but when they were used to refer to other deities they were not capitalised (i.e. god or dios).

• rabb in its various forms is always translated into the respective synonyms or titles in those other languages. When the synonyms for rabb referred to the Quran-deity they were capitalised (i.e. Lord or Herrn), but when they were used to refer to other deities they were not capitalised (i.e. lord or herrn).

 

1.2. The Bible:

1.2.1. A look into Arabic translation (romanized) and the original terms with lexical application:

* Old Testament:

[Gen.1:1] fee al-bad'i khalaqa allaahu ( ‘elohiym ) as-samaawaati wa al-arda.

allaah = ‘elohiym = n. m.

[Gen.2:4] hada wasfun mabda’iyyun li assamaawaati wa al’arda yawma khalaqahaa arrabbu ( YHWH ) al’ilaahu ( ‘elohiym )

al’ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Gen.14:19] wa baaraka abraam qaa’ilan: li takun 3alayka ya abraamu barakatu allaahi ( ‘el ) al3aliyyi maaliku assamaawati wa al’ardi."

allaah = ‘el = n. m. s.

[Gen.41:38] wa qaala fir3awnu li3abiydihi: “hal najidu nadhiyra hada rajulan fiyhi rou7u allaahi ( ‘elohiym )?”

allaah = ‘elohiym = n. m. pl.

[Exo.20:2-3] ‘anaa arrabbu ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahukum ( ‘elohiym ) alladiy ‘akhrajakum min misra min bayti al3uboudiyyat. laa yakun lakum ‘aalihatun ( ‘elohiym ) ‘ukhraa ‘amaamiy.

‘aalihat = ‘elohiym = n. m. pl., ‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Exo.3:14-15] fa'ajaabahu allaahu ( ‘elohiym ): ’ahyah alladhi ‘ahyah ( hayah-hayah ) {wa ma3naahaa alkaa’in alladiy kaa’in} wa adaafa: "hakada taqoulu libani ‘isra'ela: yahwah ( YHWH ) howa alladi arsalani ilaykum." Wa qaala aydan limousaa: "haakadaa taqoulu lil’isra’eila: alkaa’inu ( hayah ), ‘ilaahu ( ‘elohiym ) ‘aabaa’ikum, ‘ilaahu ( ‘elohiym ) ‘ibraahiyma wa ‘ilaahu ( ‘elohiym ) ‘is7aaqa wa ‘ilaahu ( ‘elohiym ) ya3qouba qad ‘arsalani ‘ilaykum. hadaa huwa al’ismu alladi ‘ud3aa bihi min jiylin ‘ilaa jiylin”

allaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., ‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., yahwah = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Exo.6:3] wa qad dhahartu li-‘ibraahiyma wa ‘is7aaqa wa ya3qouba ‘ilaahan ( ‘el ) qadiyran 3alaa kulli shay’in. ‘ammaa bi-‘ismiy yahwah ( YHWH ) falam ‘u3raf 3indahum.

’ilaah = ‘el = n. m. s., yahwah = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Exo.15:3-4] arrabbu ( yahh ) quwwatiy wa nashiydiy wa qad saara khalaasiy. haadaa ‘ilaahiy ( ‘el ) fa’umajjiduhu. ‘ilaahu ( ‘elohiym ) abiy fa’uraffi3uhu. arrabbu ( YHWH ) rajulu al7arbi. arrabbu ( YHWH ) ‘ismuhu

‘ilaah = ‘el = n. m. s., ‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Exo.18:11-12] "al’aana a3lamu ‘anna arrabba ( YHWH ) huwa ‘a3dhamu min jamiy3i al’aalihati ( ‘elohiym ), li’annahu 3aamalahum bimithli maa baghou bihi." wa qaddama yathrounu 7amou mousa mu7raqan wa dhabaa’i7a li-‘ilahi ( ‘elohiym ) wa ja’a harounu wa jamiy3u shuyoukhi ‘isra’ila liya’kulou ta3aaman ma3a 7amiy mousa fi 7adhrati allaahi ( ‘elohiym ).

al’aalihat = ‘elohiym = n. m. pl., allaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Exo.34:6] fanazala arrabbu ( YHWH ) fi assa7aabi. fawaqafa 3indahu hunaaka wa naadaa bismi arrabbi ( YHWH ). fa’jtaaza arrabbu ( YHWH ) quddaamahu wa naadaa: “arrabbu ( YHWH ) arrabbu ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahun ( ‘el ) ra7iymun wa ra’oufun batiy’u alghadabi wa kathiyru al’i7saani wa alwafaa’i.

‘ilaah = ‘el = n. m., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Deu.6:4-5] isma3ou ya baniy ‘israa’iyla: arrabbu ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahunaa ( ‘elohiym ) arrabbu ( YHWH ) waa7idun. Fa’a7ibbou arrabba ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahakum ( ‘elohiym ) min kulli quloubikum wa nufousikum wa quwwatikum.

‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Deu.10:17] li’anna arrabba ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahukum ( ‘elohiym ) huwa ‘ilaahu al‘aalihati ( ‘elohiym ‘elohiym ) wa rabbu al’arbaabi ( ‘adown ‘adown ) al’ilaahu ( ‘el ) aljabbaaru almahiybu alladhiy la yu7aabiy wajha ‘a7adin, wa la yartashiy.

al’ilaah/’ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., al’aalihat = ‘elohiym = n. m. pl.,

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei., rabb = ‘adown = n. m., al’arbaab = n. m. pl.

[Deu.18:15~21] yuqiymu laka arrabbu ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahuka ( ‘elohiym ) nabiyyan min wasatika min ‘ikhwatika mithliy lahu tasma3ouna… wa ‘ammaa ‘annabiyyu alladiy yutghiy fayatakallamu bi-‘ismiy kalaaman lam ‘uwsihi ‘an yatakallama bihi ‘awi alladiy yatakallamu bi-‘ismi ‘aalihatin ( ‘elohiym ) ‘ukhraa fayamuwto dhalika annabiyyu. wa ‘in qulta fiy qalbika kayfa na3rifu alkalaama alladhiy lam yatakallam bihi arrabbu ( YHWH ). Famaa takallama bihi annabiyyu bi-‘ismiy arrabbi ( YHWH ) wa lam ya7duth wa lam yasir fahuwa alkalaamu alladhiy lam yatakallam bihi arrabbu ( YHWH ) bal bitughyaanin takallam bihi annabiyyu fala takhaf minhu.

‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., ‘aalihat = ‘elohiym = n. m. pl., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[1Sam.12:22] li’annahu laa yatruku arrabbu ( YHWH ) sha3bahu min ‘ajli ‘ismihi al3dhiymi.

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Psa.110:1] qaala arrabbu ( YHWH ) li-rabbiy ( ‘adonay ) ijlis 3an yamiyniy 7attaa ‘adha3a ‘a3daa’aka mawti’an liqadamayka.

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei., rabb = ‘adown = n. m. s.

[Psa.115:18] laysa al’amwaatu yusabbi7ouna arrabba ( yahh ) wa la man yan7adiru ‘ilaa ‘ardhi assukouti. ammaa na7nu fanubaariku arrabba ( yahh ) mina al’aani wa ‘ilaa addahri. hallilou-yaah ( yahh )

arrabb = yahh = n. pr. dei.

[Jer.10:10-11] ‘ammaa arrabbu ( YHWH ) fahuwa al’ilaahu ( ‘elohiym ) al7aqqu al’ilaahu ( ‘elohiym ) al7ayyu, wa almaliku assarmadiyyu… wa hadaa maa taqoulounahu lahum: "’inna al’aalihata ( ‘elaahh ) allatiy lam tasna3i assamaawaati wa al’arda…"

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei., al’ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., al’aalihat = ‘elaahh = n. m. pl.

[Isa.12:2] huwa dhaa allaahu ( ‘el ) khalaasiy fa’atma’innu wa la ‘arta3ibu li’anna yaaha ( yahh ) yahwaha ( YHWH ) quwwatiy wa tarniymatiy wa qad saara liy khalaasan

allaah = ‘el = n. m. s., yaah/yahwah = yahh/YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Isa.26:4] tawakkalou 3ala arrabbi ( YHWH ) ‘ila al’abadi li’anna fiy yaaha ( yahh ) arrabbi ( YHWH ) sakhra adduhouri

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei., yaah = yahh = n. pr. dei.

[Dan.6:20] falammaa danaa minhu naadaa daaniy’ala bisawtin 7aziynin qaa’ilan: "yaa daaniy’alu, 3abdu allaahi ( ‘elaahh ) alhayyi, hal ‘ilaahuka ( ‘elaahh ) alladi ta3buduhu da’iman istataa3a ‘an yunajjiyka mina al’usoudi?"

allaah = ‘elaahh = n. m. s., ‘ilaah = ‘elaahh = n. m. s.

[Dan.9:3-4] fattajahtu binafsiy ‘ilaa allaahi ( ‘elohiym ) arrabbi ( ‘adonay ) ‘abtahilu ‘ilayhi bissalaati was attadharru3aati wa assawmi wa irtidaa’i almas7I wa atta3affuri bi arramaadi. wa sallaytu ‘ilaa arrabbi ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahiy ( ‘elohiym ) wa i3taraftu qaa’ilan: ‘ayyuhaa arrabbu ( ‘adonay ) al’ilaahu ( ‘el ) al3adhiymu almahoubu, 7afidhu al3ahdi wa arra7mati limu7ibbiyhi wa 3amiliy wasaayaahu.

al’ilaah = ‘el = n. m. s., allaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. m., arrabb = ‘adonay = n. m. s.

[Hos.13:4] ‘anaa huwa arrabbu ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahuka ( ‘elohiym ) mundu ‘an kunta fi diyar misra, wa lasta ta3rifu ‘ilaahan ( ‘elohiym ) ghayriy, wa laa munqida laka siwaaya.

arrabbu = YHWH = n. pr. dei., ‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m.

[Mic.4:5] li’anna jamiy3a asshu3oubi yaslikouna kullu waa7idin bismi ‘ilaahihi ( ‘elohiym ) wa na7nu nasliku bismi arrabbi ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahinaa ( ‘elohiym ) ‘ilaa alddahri wa al’abadi.

Arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei., ‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m. s.

[Mal.2:16] wa yaqoulu arrabbu ( YHWH ) ‘ilaahu ( ‘elohiym ) ‘isra’ila: ‘inniy ‘amqutu attalaaqa wa ‘amqutu ‘an yughattiya arrajulu zawjatahu bijawrihi kamaa yughatti huwa bithawbihi…”

‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

* New Testament:

[Mat.4:7] fatal lahu yasou3: wa qad Kayaba ‘aydhan: la tujarribi arrabba ( Kurios : YHWH ) ‘ilaahaka ( Theos : ’elohiym ) [in reference to Deu.6:16]

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei., ‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. pr. m.

[Mat.22:37] fa’ajaabahu: ’a7ibba arrabba ( Kurios : YHWH ) ‘ilaahuka ( Theos : ‘elohiym ) bikulli qalbika wa kulli nafsika wa kulli fikrika. [in reference to Deu.6:5]

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei., ‘ilaah = ‘elohiym = n. m.

[Mat.22:44] qaala arrabbu ( Kurios : YHWH ) li rabbiy ( Kurios : ’adown ): “ijlis 3an yamiyniy 7attaa adha3a ‘a3dhaa’aka mawtinan liqadamayka.” [in reference to Psa.110:1]

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei., rabb = ‘adown = n. m. s.

[Mat.23:39] fa’inni ‘aqoulu lakum ‘innakum lan tarawniy mina al’aana, 7atta taqoulou: mubaarakun al’aatiy bi’ism arrabbi ( Kurios : YHWH ) [in reference to Psa.118:26]

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Luk.1:30-32] fa qaala lahaa almalaaku: “laa takhaafee, yaa maryam, li-annaki qad wajadti ni3matan 3inda allaahi ( Theos ) wa haa ‘anti sata7baliyna wa talidiyna ibnan wa tusammiyhi yasou3a. ‘innahu yakounu 3adhiyman ibnu al3aliyyi yud3aa wa yamna7uhu arrabbu ( Kurios ) al’ilaahu ( Theos ) 3arsha daawuda ‘abiyhi.”

al’ilaah = theos = n. m. s., allaah = theos = n. m. s., arrabb = kurios = n. m. s.

[Luk.6:5] thumma qaala lahum: “li’anna ibna al’insaani huwa rabbu ( Kurios ) assabti.”

rabb = kurios = n. m. s.

[Joh.10:34-36] …fa qaala lahum yasuo3u: "’alaysa maktoubn fi shariy3atikum: ‘anaa qultu innakum ‘aalihatun ( theos : ’elohiym )? fa’idaa kaanati ashshariy3atu tad3ou ‘uolaa’ika alladiyna nazalat ‘ilayhum kalimatu allaahi ( Theos ) ‘aalihatan ( theos ) a alkitaabu laa yumkinu ‘an yunqada fahal taquolouna liman qaddasahu al’abu wa ba3athahu ‘ilaa al3aalami: ‘anta tujaddifu, li’annaniy qultu: ‘anaa ‘ibnu allaahi ( Theos )?… [see Psa.82:6]

‘aalihat = ‘elohiym/theos = n. m. pl., allaah = theos = n. m. s.

[Joh.20:28] fahatafa toumaa: “rabbiy ( kurios ) wa ‘ilaahiy ( Theos )”

‘ilaah = theos = n. m. s., rabb = kurios = n. m. s.

[Act.2:21] wa yakuwnu kullu man yad3ou bi’ismi arrabbi ( Kurios : YHWH ) yakhlusu. [in reference to Joe.2:32]

arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Act.17:23-24] …wajadtu ma3badan maktouban 3alayhi: “li-’ilaahin ( theos ) almajhoulin” fabihaadaa al’ilaahi ( theos ) alladiy ta3budounahu wa laa ta3rifounahu, ‘anaa ‘ubasshirukum. ‘innahu allaahu ( theos ) alladiy khalaqa alkawna wa kulla maa fiyhi. huwa rabbu ( kurios ) assamaawaati wal’ardi…

al’ilaah/’ilaah = theos = n. m., allaah = theos = n. m. s., rabb = kurios = n. m. s.

[1Cor.8:4-6] na7nu na3lamu ‘anna assanama laysa bi ’ilaahin ( theos ) mawjoudin fi alkawni, wa ‘annahu la wujouda illaa li ‘ilaahin ( theos ) waa7idin. 7attaa law kaanati al’aalihatu ( theos ) almaz3oumatu mawjoudatun fi assamaa’i ‘aw 3alaa al’ardi wa maa akthara tilka al’aalihata ( theos ) wa al’arbaabi! falaysa 3indanaa na7nu ‘illaa ‘ilaahun ( Theos ) wa7idun huwa al’abu alladiy minhu kullu shay’in, wa na7nu lahu, rabbun waa7idun huwa yasuo3u almasiy7u alladiy bihi kullu shay’in wa na7nu bihi… ‘illaa ‘anna atta3aama laa yuqarribunaa ‘ilaa allaahi ( Theos )

al‘aalihat = theos = n. m. pl., ‘ilaah/allaah = theos = n. m. s.,

[1Cor.10:26] fi’inna al’arda wa kulla maa fiyhaa li-rrabbi ( Kurios )

arrabb = kurios = n. m. s.

[Rev.4:8] …quddousun quddousun arrabbu ( Kurios : YHWH ) al’ilaahu ( Theos : ‘el ) alqaadiru alladiy kaan wa alkaa’inu ( ho on : hayah ) wa alladiy ‘aatiy. [in reference to Exo.3:15 & 6:3]

al’ilaah = theos/’el = n. m. s., arrabb = YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Rev.11:17] na7maduka ‘ayyuhaa al’ilaahu ( Theos : ‘el ) alqadiyru alkaa’inu wa alladiy kaana ( ho on kai en : hayah hayah ), li’annaka al’aana qad taqalladta quwwataka al3udhmaa wa baasharta mulkaka.[in reference to Exo.3:14 & 6:3]

al’ilaah = theos/‘el = n. m. s.

[Rev.19:5-6] wa kharaja mina al3arshi sawtun yaqoulu: "sabbi7ou ‘ilaahanaa ( Theos : ‘el ) yajamiy3a 3ibaadihi alladhina yattaqounahu sigharan wa kibaaran!”... hallilou-yaah ( allelu-ia : hallel-yahh ) fa’inna arrabba ( Kurios : YHWH ) al’ilaaha ( Theos : ‘el ) alqadiyra 3alaa kulli shay’in qad malaka, [see Psa.150 & Exo.6:3]

al’ilaah/’ilaah = theos/’el = n. m. s., yaah/arrabb = yahh/YHWH = n. pr. dei.

[Rev.19:16] wa qad kutiba 3alaa thawbihi wa 3alaa fakhdhihi: maliku almulouki wa rabbu alarbaabi ( Kurios kurios : ‘adown ‘adown ) [see Deu.10:17]

rabb = kurios/‘adown = n. m., alarbaab = kurios/’adown = n. m. pl.

Remarks:

From the above examples of the Arabic translation of the Bible and original lexical contexts of terms used for deities, we notice that:

• ‘ilaah was used as a generic name for both the Bible-deity and the other deities as well. Under several forms it was used as synonym for ‘el, ‘elohiym, ‘eloah, ‘Leah and theos, in the same way the English translations, for example, used god and God.

• for some “convenience” purposes, allaah was used as a variation of al-‘ilaah. Both allaah and al’ilaah were used as common nouns or generic names or titles for the Bible-divine.

• in no circumstance allaah was used in the Arabic Bible as personal name for the Divine, as synonym for YHWH.

• at least in two occasions, Gen.41:38 and Act.17:24, allaah was used in a context which could refer either to the Bible-deity (God) or to false-deities (gods). The same comment can be made about al’ilaah in Act.17:23-24.

• rabb was used as an attribute (descriptive name) for both the Bible-deity and other deities. Under several forms it was used as synonym for ‘adown, ‘adonay and kurios, in the same way the English translations, for example, used lord and Lord.

• arrabb as a defined singular noun was used only for: 1- God the Father and as a substitute/render for His pronoun and covenant name, YHWH (Jehovah). 2- Jesus as His title.

• YHWH is the only proper name the Bible-deity has, which is unique to Him and which the Bible does not attribute to any other being or thing.

• For reference and extra examination, check the Van Dyke and the Book of Life Arab translations of the Bible.

 

1.2.2. A look into different translations of the Bible:

* YHWH the name (Exo.6:3):

Hebrew: ra’ah ‘abraham yitschaq ya3qob ‘el shadday shem YHWH yada3

Greek: kai ofthen pros Abraham kai Isaak kai Iakob Theos on ayton kai to onoma mon YHWH ( Kurios )…

Latin: qui apparui Abraham Isaac et Iacob in Deo omnipotente et nomen meum Adonai (YHWH) non indicavi eis

English: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah…

French: Je suis apparu à Abraham, à Isaac et à Jacob comme le Dieu Tout-Puissant, mais mon nom de Yahvé…

German: Ich bin Abraham, Isaak und Jakob erschienen als Gott, der Allmächtige; aber mit meinem Namen Jahwe…

Spanish: Y aparecí á Abraham, á Isaac y á Jacob bajo el nombre de Dios Omnipotente, mas en mi nombre Jehova…

Arabic: dhahartu… ‘ilaahan qadiyran 3alaa kulli shay’in. ‘ammaa bi-‘ismiy yahwah falam ‘u3raf 3indahum.

* YHWH (‘adonay) - ‘adown (Mat.22:44):

Hebrew: YHWH ( ‘adonay ) na’um ‘adown yashab yamiyn shiyth ‘oyeb ladom regel

Greek: YHWH ( Kurios ) epo mou-kurios kathemai ek mou delixios…

Latin: dixit Iehovae ( Dominus ) Domino-meo sede a dextris meis donec…

English: Jehovah ( the-LORD ) said unto my-Lord, Sit thou on my right hand…

French: le-Segneur ( Yahvé ) a dit à mon-Seigneur Siège à ma droite…

German: Der-Herr ( Jahwe ) sprach zu meinem-Herrn Setze dich zu meiner Rechten…

Spanish: Dijo el-Señor ( Jehova ) á mi-Señor Siéntate á mi diestra…

Turkish: Rab Rabbime dedi ki, Ben düþmanlarýný senin…

Arabic: qaala arrabb ( yahwah ) li rabbiy: ijlis 3an yamiyniy…

* YHWH (’adonay) ‘elohiym (Deu.6:5 & Mat.22:37)

Hebrew: ‘ahab YHWH ‘elohiym lebab nephesh ma3od

Greek: agapao Kurios ( YHWH ) sou-Theos en holos sou kardia kai en holos sou psuche kai en hols sou dianoia

Latin: Diliges Dominum Deum-tuum ex toto corde tuo et in tota anima tua et in tota mente tua

English: Thou shalt love the-LORD ( Jehovah ) thy-God with all thy heart, and with all thy sou…

French: Tu aimeras le-Seigneur ( Yahvé ) ton-Dieu de tout ton cœur, de toute ton âme et de tout ton esprit

German: Du sollst den-Herrn ( Jahwe ), deinen-Gott, lieben mit deinem ganzen Herzen…

Spanish: Amarás al-Señor ( Jehova ) tu-Dios de todo tu corazón, y de toda tu alma, y de toda tu mente.

Turkish: Tanrýn olan Rabbi bütün yüreðinle, bütün canýnla ve bütün aklýnla sev.

Arabic: ’a7ibba arrabba ( yahwah ) ‘ilaahuka bikulli qalbika wa kulli nafsika wa kulli fikrika.

* ‘elaahh (Dan.6:20):

Hebrew: … daniy’el 3abad chay ‘elaahh ‘elaahh palach tadiyra’…

Greek: …Daniel o doulos tou theou tou zoulos o theos-sou o su latreuis endelechos…

Latin: …Daniel serve Dei viventis, Deus tuus, cui tu servis semper…

English: …O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy-God, whom thou servest continually…

French: …Daniel, serviteur du Dieu vivant, ton-Dieu que tu sers avec persévérance…

German: …Daniel, Knecht des lebendigen Gottes, hat dein-Gott, dem du ohne Unterlaß dienst…

Spanish: …Daniel, siervo del Dios viviente, el-Dios-tuyo, á quien tú continuamente sirves…

Arabic:…yaa daaniy’alu, 3abdu allaahi alhayyi, hal ‘ilaahuka alladi ta3buduhu da’iman…

Remarks:

God’s proper name:

• Hebrew Tetragrammaton, YHWH, is the personal name of the God of the Hebrews. It is also called the covenant name of the Divine Almighty. Only the God of Israel can have it but no one else.

• Latin Jehovah is a hybrid name, combining the vowels of ‘adonay with the consonants of YHWH. The people who produced this name were medieval Christian Hebrew scholars.

• In the old translations YHWH is either kept intact or transliterated, but rarely substituted with the attributes, synonym to Lord.

• Hebrew 'adown and its plural ‘adonay, mean one possessed of absolute control, majesty, owner(s) or ruler(s). From a superstitious reverence for the name YHWH, the Jews, in reading their Scriptures, whenever that name occurred, always pronounced it 'adonay as a verbal substitute.

• Greek kurios, which means supreme master, is invariably used for YHWH and 'adonay in the Septuagint (LXX.) The New Testament writers also followed on it. However, in some as early Septuagint manuscripts, the Tetragrammaton YHWH have been kept intact in Hebrew. The only difference is that when readers come across it they read kurios instead and therefore follow the Jewish tradition.

• For language convenience purposes in addition to the tradition, YHWH and Jehovah has been rendered in the new English Bible LORD. ‘adown, ‘adonay and kurios have been translated into Lord. However, those titles are never meant to officially replace the Divine name. When a Christian or Jew use one of those titles, in his mind He knows that he is referring to YHWH and the same is for his Christian or Jewish audience

• Arabic rabb (arrabb) is the translation/synonym of lord, kurios, ‘adown. The definite article al plays a similar role as the capitalisation in Roman scripts so that it can be distinguishable as Lord and LORD. In other words, arrabb is used as a substitute for YHWH only out of tradition purposes. It is never meant to be a synonym of YHWH.

• In new translations, the form YHWH (Jehovah) is often retained in Ex. 6:3, Psa.83:18, Isa.12:2 and Isa.26:4 so that God’s name won’t be undermined. The Arabic bible translators have kept that principle too.

 

God’s common names (titles):

• Hebrew ‘el, ‘eloah and ‘elohiym are common names for the divine. They might be derive from the same Semitic root ‘el, which means power or might. The three forms are used both for YHWH and for idols of paganism.

• Aramaic ‘elaahh is probably a derivation form ‘el or more likely the transliteration of ‘eolith. It is used also for both YHWH and idols.

• Out of the four terms, ‘elohiym is used the most in the Old Testament as noun referring to YHWH. ‘elohiym is a plural noun. Some Bible scholars (Christians) argue that the reason for using this plural form gives a strong hint about the Trinity. Others (Jews) argue that the plurality is simply a form of plural majesty that isn’t literally to be taken as referring to more than one person.

• Greek theos, which means deity or supreme divinity, is invariably used for ‘el, ‘eolith, ‘elohiym and 'elaahh in the Septuagint (LXX.) The New Testament writers also followed on that principle.

• When Paul visited Athens and preached to the Areopagus, he purposely used theos as term for the Divine, which was a common noun for all the deities, but avoided to use Zeus, which was considered as the name of highest peculiar deity among the Greek. Zeus was never used in the New Testament.

• Those common names of the Bible-deity have been translated to deus-Deus (Latin), dieu-Dieu (French) gott-Gott (German), god-God (English), tanri-Tanri (Turkish), etc.

• In the Arabic versions of the Bible, ‘ilaah, which mean the worshipped one or deity, have been used as translation for God and idols common names and as a synonym for ‘el or god. Meanwhile, al-‘ilaah has been purposely used as a synonym for ‘eolith/God to distinguish between the true God and false gods, and ‘elohiym/allaah as a synonym for GOD to emphasise the majesty of God. There was another factor involved as well and that has to do with the grammars and where each of those terms can technically fit the best. It is more of a matter of convenience more than anything else.

• The first time the name allaah was canonised by the Church as name for YHWH was during the 8^th century AD when Christians in Muslim occupied territories (i.e. Egypt and Syria) were forced to use Arabic as official language and allaah as name as well.

• Using allaah as name for God in the Bible and Church is becoming the more a controversial matter in Arab and Muslim countries. For example, Persian Christians are now shifting to khouda, Turkish to tenri and Malay to tuhan rather than allaah.

 

Additional notes:

1. Before the “revelation” of the Quran and the victory of Islam, Allah was a familiar deity’s name among the Arabs and one of his main attributes rabbu al-bayti (lord of the house/kaaba), which was preserved in the Quran (Q.106:3). Allah, the lord of the Kaaba, was also known by the name of Hubal.

2. The reason why Muhammad picked up Allah as name for his “God” is because he noticed that the monotheists in Arabia used it commonly as name for their highest deity(s). He also promoted it from a common name to the personal name of his god, which became the official name of him in the Quran.

3. God’s biblical unique personal name, YHWH (the covenant name) has never been mentioned in the Quran, although Muhammad claimed to have received his “revelation” from Him and to “confirm” the Bible. In fact, one of the main reasons why the Jews and Christians refused to support Muhammad’s message is because he failed to mention or know the proper name of the divine, YHWH, which is one of the essential requirement for a true prophet to know and use (Deu.13:1-3, 18:20-22). Instead, he kept insisting that Allah is the name, which contradicts the Bible.

4. Christians, who translated the Bible into Arabic, used Allah as generic name for Jehovah based on the pre-Islamic context of its use and tradition of Christians and Jews who were living in Arabia before the rise of Islam. In other terms, they use it in its pagan (Jahiliya) context not its Islamic one, which prevailed and almost destroyed the oldest meaning.

5. In the Bible, God’s names are divided into three categories:

• Generic names or titles: 1-‘el, ‘elohiym, ‘eolith, ‘elaahh and theos, which are variable and translatable and can be used for any other deity. Their Arabic synonym is [al]‘ilaah. Those titles are family or category titles, i.e. Man, Animal, Tree, Aeroplane, State… 2- ‘adown, ba3l (in early Hebrew) and kurios, which are also variable and translatable and can be used as titles for other deities or men. Their Arabic synonym is [al]rabb. Those are titles of honour, i.e. Sir, Excellence, Majesty…

• Attributes: shaddai / Almighty / qadiyr, qadush / Holy / qudduws, ‘ab /Father / ’ab, rachuwm /gracious / ra7iym, channuwn / compassionate / ra’uwf, etc., which are variable and translatable and can be used for other deities or men. Those are terms, which express/portray the character and nature of the Divine.

• Personal name or the-Name: YHWH (the tetragrammaton), which is sacred and unique and fix. Its abbreviation (in compound names) and poetic form is Yahh. YHWH can only be transliterated but it can’t be literally translated. In Arabic YHWH is transliterated as YHWH (unchanged) and pronounced yahwah. The closest translation of it can be something like al-kaa’in (the One who Is forever) or al-khaalid (the-Eternal) or al-khaaliq (the-Creator). Those translations though are only to help us to understand the original meaning of the word YHWH but not to replace it. In the Bible only the Creator is referred to with such name. Here are some Forms of YHWH in different languages: Awabakal - Yehóa, Bugotu - Jihova, Cantonese - Yehwowah, Danish - Jehova, Dutch - Jehovah, English - Jehovah, Fijian - Jiova, Finnish - Jehova, French - Yahvé, German - Jehova, Hungarian - Jehova, Mandarin - Yehohwa, Maori - Ihowa, Motu - Iehova, Nembe - Jihova, Polish - Jehowa, Portuguese - Jeová, Sotho - Jehova, Spanish - Jehová, Swahili - Yehova, Swedish - Jehova, Tagalog - Jehova, Venda - Yehova, Zulu - uJehova.

It is important to notice that Allah was used in the Arabic Bible translation as a second category name or title, a fact that Muslims ignore or try to avoid and undermine, because there is where their grave is dig!

1.3. Allah according to Muslims:

1.3.1. The Orthodox view:

Muslims see Allah as the unique and proper name of the Quran-deity. It is very sacred to them and it should not be used for any other deities. For Muslims, Allah occupies the same place as the Tetragrammaton YHWH (Jehovah) occupies among the Jews and Christians. The only reason why Muslims allow Christians and Jews to use Allah as name for the Bible-deity is because they believe that Muhammad preached to them a message from the same divine being (Q.29:46). However, only as long as the Bible Believers would not contradict what Muslims believe about their Allah as Muhammad proclaimed it in his Quran. According to Islamic laws, if a Bible Believer would state that Allah is a father or that he has a son in contradiction to Quran (i.e. Surat 112), he can be executed for “blaspheming” Allah. Muslims would never allow someone like a Buddhist or a Hindu to use Allah as name for his supreme deities. From the Islamic view, it is impossible that there are two distinct Allahs (Q.16:51). Only their deity can have such “privilege” name (Q.3:2 & 18).

The following are two orthodox Muslim definitions of Allah, which emphasise the most common understanding:

"Who is Allah?" World Assembly of Muslim Youth (III&E Brochure Series, no.2)

It is a known fact that every language has one or more terms that are used in reference to God and sometimes to lesser deities. This is not the case with Allah. Allah is the personal name of the One true God. Nothing else can be called Allah. The term has no plural or gender. This shows its uniqueness when compared with the word god, which can be made plural, gods, or feminine, goddess. It is interesting to notice that Allah is the personal name of God in Arabic. Allah is a reflection of the unique concept that Islam associates with God. To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, who is similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to Him.

Another Muslim statement copied from a Muslims web site

According to Islam, the personal name of God is the Arabic word Allah. Personal name means that it is the name, which refers only to Him, and to Him rather than to any particular quality that He possesses. The word Allah denotes that God is the One who possesses all the perfect attributes. The Quran itself gives this meaning when it says: "Allah has the most excellent names (or qualities)." (Q.7:180). The names of God in other languages, such as God in English, or Khuda in Urdu, only convey some particular attribute of the Divine Being, and they are also used for those other than God (as in god, gods, goddess, etc.). Allah, however, has only ever been applied to God (of Islam) Himself.

The following are two other examples of statements by Orthodox Muslims, which try to explain clearer and in detail why Allah can’t be used in any other context or defined rather than the personal name of their Quran-deity:

Muhammad’s Allah: ALLAH is not a GOD, by Ahmad Hulusi

It is "ALLAH," not "God!" Yet, it is never a name for a god!… There is no god to be worshipped, there is only ALLAH! This statement also reveals that: "ALLAH is not a GOD…" Nobody can comprehend what the "Religion of Islam" is about and why it has ever come, unless one fully understood the difference in meaning between a concept of "god" and the name "ALLAH" signified. Due to this, one can keep misinterpreting the matter of religion (Islam)!… I have tried to make it clear that any idea that the word "god" implies is completely different in meaning than the name "ALLAH" implies. These are two different words with completely different meanings... The word "god" is a common adjective, yet "ALLAH" is a proper noun for a unique essence… The original Religion of Islam" in effect is fully based on the meaning implied by the name "ALLAH."

Koran Interpretation, by Hamdi Yazir of Elmali (Religious Affairs Directory, Vol.1, p.24-25)

The word ALLAH has never been applied to any other than ALLAH, neither in proper form nor in common. Take the names such as "ilah" and "huda," for example; none of them is a proper name as "Allah." They imply a concept of "god" or "lord." It has been said "gods" as the plural form of "god," "lords" as for "lord," etc. Unlike, it has never been said "Allahs" and can never be so… So, the common name God is not synonymous for the proper noun "Allah," and is not an equivalent for "Allah." "God" is a very common name! Therefore one should never translate the name "Allah" as "God."

In all the contexts of application of the term allaah, it is always used as a proper name for the Muslims deity. There is not even one Quranic example where it was used as a common noun. Meanwhile the term ‘ilaah is the term that was always applied for common nouns for all deities. Despite the fact that the Bible clearly states that God’s name is Yahweh, orthodox Muslims insist that only Allah is the valid and personal name for the Divine as the Quran and Muhammad claimed. Yahweh is not even accepted as one of Allah’s names. It doesn’t figure out among the 99 Muslim names for Allah. Furthermore, when a person converts to Islam and no matter what language would be his, he should make the confession of faith in Arabic and states that there is no god but Allah. It is out of question to replace it by any other name and most of all by Yahweh.

1.3.2. The radical view:

When Muslims started targeting the West and trying to islamise it, they were compelled to review their orthodox concepts and make some compromises so that their message would be heard and be received. One of the major changes they had to make is concerning the definition of Allah. They needed to westernise it and to make it conform the maximum possible with the biblical teachings and terminology for the Divine.

The following example is a Muslim propagandist’s argument where he attempts to prove that Allah is the same as Yahweh (God) and where he also tries to undermine the orthodox view:

Submission.org, the word “ALLAH” by Abu Iman Robert Squires

The linguistic breakdown of Allah is "The/Al God/Lah"… I've come across some Arab brothers who insist in using only the word "Allah". Most of the translations and writings done back in the 1940's and 1950's used the word "God", which is a perfectly good translation of the word Allah in Arabic. M.M. Pickthall being the main exception, since he seemed to have used "Allah" in all of the translations that I've seen. The change came, I believe, as a result of Nasserite Arab Nationalism. Many Arabs I know over here still don't know the difference between Islam and Arab Nationalism! They seem more interesting in defending their pride heritage than really spreading the message. But this is in no way limited to Arabs, I've dealt with Pakistanis, Malaysians, Turks and Afghanis that have the same hangup.

Nevertheless, only for tactical and political reasons this type of Muslims they preach such sermons… When it comes to conversions, they will act in the same way as the orthodox and wouldn’t accept any other name but Allah from the new convert. Theologically, they are obligated to have the convert recite the confession in Arabic and use Allah as name. Only a Muslim who knows nothing about Islam and who belongs to a radical cult would dare to take such risk, i.e. a member of the Nation of Islam or the Ahmadia sect.

1.3.3. The orthodox reaction to the radicals:

No matter what excuse propagandists use to justify their tactics in regard to the name Allah, the orthodox Muslims, even the non-Arab ones, are not quiet happy with those changes, but they re-insist that Allah’s name can never be interchanged with any other name. They go as far as sharply condemning such radical propagandists and their "Islamically" heretical claims and teachings, as in the following statement:

Muhammad’s Allah: ALLAH is not a GOD, by Ahmad Hulusi

A group of people who deliver theories about the "Religion" based on their hearsay and false information, have been employing the word "GOD" instead of the name "ALLAH," being unaware of the mater and thinking that these words both carry the same meaning, and also relating it with their patriotism according to their whims…

Note: Both, Helusi and Yazir are Turks and are in agreement with the Turkish Religious Affairs, which is one of the very authoritative non-Arab Islamic organisms and who have a long Islamic heritage. The Muslim Turks are not very pro-Arabs or supporters of Arab nationalism. Instead, they are against such movements and they are generally very resentful toward the Arabs and their culture. However, they insist that the name Allah can’t be translated to any other common name, including their national Turkish noun for deity, Tanri. If Allah is only a common noun in Islam as Squire claim, those Turks would have been among the first Muslims to translate it into Turkish and encourage non-Arabs to do the same, and according to their respective languages. They oppose its translation, because they believe that it is the very personal name of their deity, the deity of Islam.

1.3.4. The secular view:

In the Arabic dictionaries and encyclopedias the word allaah is defined as the personal and unique name of the Divine. Meanwhile al-‘ilaah is defined as a synonym of the term deity or god. In the other hand, the name YHWH, which is the biblical personal name of the Divine is often or perhaps never mentioned at all. Not only that, but even the closest Arabic translations of Yahweh, i.e. alkaa’in or addaa’im or alkhaalid or al’azaliy are never used to refer to the name.

The following are extracts from al-munjid, one of the most famous and recognised Arabic dictionaries in the whole Arab world:

Al-munjid fi allugha wali3laam, p.16, p.243

allaah (q_^||‘|): ‘ismu addhaat alwaajib alwujoud. [1]

al-ilaah (q_\| ,||‘|): alma3boud mutlaqan. [2]

arrabb: assayyid, almaalik, min asmaa’i allahi ta3aalaa. [3]

(Translation: [1] The name of the physic and the obligatory presence of the divine or the absolute name of the divine. [2] The supremely deified or the-god or God. [3] The master, the king, one of the almighty Allah’s names.)

In al-munjid dictionary YHWH is not even mentioned once and arrabb is viewed only as one of a title attributed for the Divine. It says nothing about why and how Christians use it as a substitute for YHWH. In other words, the name allaah is somehow technically regarded as an equal term for Yahweh, but not as a synonym of ‘elohiym or God!

1.4. Allah according to Christians:

To the majority of Christians the name Allah is no more than a “special” common name or title for the Divine in Arabic. It is not sacred or inapplicable for other deities. For more detail about the three different main Christian approaches about Allah, see the former chapter, “What Christians believe about Allah.”

1.5. Exposing the gap of misunderstanding:

Very often both Muslims and Christians do not see and understand the difference in context (definition) and application of the term Allah, which is really important and crucial. Here is an example, which shows that the Muslim apologist is either totally confused or purposely playing a crafty and deceitful tactic:

The Word ALLAH in the Arabic Bible, by Abu Iman Robert Squires

The images below, with the exception of the first image, were taken directly from a translation of The Holy Bible in Arabic. Referred to in Arabic as "al-Kitaab al-Muqaddas," this is the scripture, which is used by Arabic-speaking Christians (of which there are still about 15 to 20 million in the Middle East). So that those unfamiliar with Arabic script have something to compare these images with, the first image below is a verse from the Qur'an - which is the Muslim scripture. In the images, the Arabic word "Allah" is underlined in red so that it can be easily identified. Upon comparing the images, one should be able to clearly see that the word "Allah" appears in both the Qur'anic verses and Bible verses. Indeed, the word "Allah" appears throughout Arabic translations of the Bible, since it is simply the Arabic name for Almighty God. The examples below will help quell the doubts of those who have been duped into believing that "Muslims worship a different god" - either by the hostile media or by Christian missionary propaganda. We hope that this serves as enough documentation for those who still have doubts about this. We could think of no other way to prove this point, except to encourage everyone to do further critical and open-minded research on their own.

[Gen.1:1] "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth . . . "

"Fee al-badi' khalaqa Allahu q_^||‘| as-Samaawaat wa al-Ard . . . "

[Joh.3:16] "For God so loved the world, that He gave . . . "

"Li-annhu haakadha ahabba Allahu q_^||‘| al-'Aalama hataa badhala . . . "

[Luke 1:30] " . . . Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God."

" ...Laa takhaafee, yaa Maryam, li-annaki qad wajadti ni'amat(an) 'inda Allahi q_^||‘|."

[Luk.3:38] " . . . the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God."

" . . . bini Anoosha, bini Sheeti, bini Aaadama, abni Allahi q_^||‘|."

[Mat.19:17] " . . . there is none good but One, that is, God"

" . . . laysa ahadun Saalihaan illa waahidun wa huwa Allahu q_^||‘|"

[Q.1:1] "In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate"

"Bismi Allahi q_^||‘| ar-Rahmani, ar-Raheem"

This argument above is displayed in several Muslim web sites (i.e. submission.org) and often used by internet Muslim propagandists in their attempt to convince Western Christians to believe that Allah and Yahweh are basically the same God, since Arab Christians use the term Allah in the Arabic Bible.

Now lets read a portion of the rebuttal of those claims by a Christian who is probably very familiar with those kind of Muslim arguments, based on twisting words and contexts:

Answering-Islam site, a response to Abu Iman, by Andrew Vergo

Abu Iman 'Abd ar-Rahmaan Robert Squires attempt to convince us, for reasons unknown, that the God of the Bible and Qur'an are the same since both Muslims and Arab Christians use the word "Allah" to address God. This is partially true. In Arabic, the word Allah (or the (al) - God (`ilah)) is the masculine form of the noun for the name of God. The feminine form is al-`ilat. The noun "Allah" predates Islam and comes to the Arabic language from Syriac… Our Arab Christian brothers and sisters use the name "Allah" for the God of the Bible. Once again, Allah is simply the Arab word for god. In the Arabic Bible, the Word Elohim (Hebrew for God) or Theos (Greek for God) is always translated as Allah. Incidentally, the Arab Christians called God "Allah" LONG BEFORE THE BIRTH OF MUHAMMAD AND ISLAM! The author is confusing terms and concepts. There is no doubt, or argument, that the Arabic word "Allah" means God! Before the advent of Islam, the Arabs referred to Pagan deities, such as Hubal (the major god of the Kaa'bah and the city of Mecca), as "allah". Hubul, however, WAS NOT the same "Allah" preached by Muhammad. Likewise, the English term "god" can refer to the God of the Bible or to other deities such as Brahma, Osiris, Shiva, or Krishna who ARE NOT the same as the God of the Bible. The problem raised by this discussion is that the God (or Allah) of the Bible has radically different attributes and gives mankind a completely different message than the God (or Allah) of Islam. Therefore, in spite of a common name, they cannot be the same! The God (or Allah) of the Bible revealed His message of salvation and love, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to humankind and, as it is often said, God knows best!

 

From this response we can clearly notice that the Christian concept of the term Allah among Christians has a different meaning then the Muslims, both theologically and linguistically. The Muslim apologist above failed to notice that God’s personal name, Yahweh, in that same Arabic translation he used for his argument has never been translated or substituted with Allah. He and his friends must have no clue regarding the different types of names that the Bible-deity has, unless if they are deliberately using that as a snare of deception! Nevertheless, both sides seem to agree on at least one point, and that is allaah and al-‘ilaah are basically the same word. Unfortunately that is not linguistically and etymologically correct. It is a trap where the majority from both sides stumble and fall and miss two key points:

• When Islam rose it didn’t only revolutionised religious believes in Arabia but the whole language.

• allaah and al’ilaah are simply homonyms but not synonyms.

Those two key points will be explored and in detail later on in this analysis.

 

1.6. The source of the Muslim Christian differences:

1.6.1. Divine origin:

In their main approach, Muslims put all their emphasis on the Islamic theology/doctrine for defining Allah without caring much about the secular approaches except when they suit them and serve their interests. For them, Allah is a name, which was given by “Divine” to Himself and which was revealed by Him to men. They consider it as a name of heavenly origin. The followings are the main arguments on which they usually base their claim that Allah is the proper name of “God”:

• The Quran (i.e. Surat al-faatihah or al-'ikhlaas),

• The opening verse (basmalah): “In the name of Allah, the merciful and compassionate.”

• The creed of confession (shahadah): “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.”

Whenever a rational approach and no matter how correct it might be contradicts their claims, they simply reject it and turn to the Quran as “proof” to undermine it. Often Muslims refuse to admit that Allah’s name goes back to the Arab age of ignorance (Jahiliya) and that Muhammad hired it from the pagans. Even when Arab tradition tells us that Muhammad’s own father’s name was Abdu-Allah (slave of Allah) they still deny it. In other words, Muslims put truth after claims of the Quran and Islamic traditions and refuse it whenever it goes against those claims or challenge them.

1.6.2. Human origin:

Christians base their definition of Allah on secular/rational means, i.e. linguistics, etymology and archaeology. But the main problem, there is a lack of evidence to accurately trace back the original root of the word Allah. That lack of strong evidence pushes Christians to often turn toward developing speculative theories, which very often lead them to contradict each other’s views. However, they all agree that basing Allah‘s definition only on what the Quran and Muslims claim is not authoritative enough and is in violation of some foundational biblical principles and history. They simply see Allah as a name or title which men developed and then assigned for the Divine, a mere name of earthly origin.

Partly because of the bold claims by the Muslims and the weak and controversial secular arguments by Christians that the Muslims approach prevailed and almost totally undermined the Christians, especially among the Muslims. As we already shown, even in Lebanon (a 50-50% Muslim-Christian nation), where al-munjid was produced, we notice that the Muslims approach had the last word!

 

2. Analysing the speculations:

2.1. A technical note regarding transliteration:

For technical reasons and clearer accuracy in this linguistic chapter, we use an uncommon method of transliteration, but which is closer to the reality of the Arabic scripts and sounds.

2.1.1. Characters:

a: fatha (a: short vowel)