THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORD ALLAH

Posted by Tayyeba Bashir on August 21st, 2019

The word Allah  takes shape with the combination of the basic roots Alif, Lam and Ha. It is a proper noun and its application is restricted to the following attributes: 

1-     Identifies an entity that exists by itself and is recognized as the Supreme Being.

2-     There is nothing like it and all human beings look up to it, when in trouble.

3-     The grandeur of whose creation is simply breathtaking.

4-     Whose sovereignty is eternal and encompassing the entire cosmos and beyond.

5-     Whose code and commandments are eternal and obeyed?

6-     Who is everywhere, but still eludes the human perception. 

7-     The term Allah does not give any indication of gender; does not demonstrate a singular or a plural form; does no reflect any culture and is not a human creation. 

8-     Allah is beyond the confines of space and time and the terms like, the first and the last, are hollow adjectives to define infinity.

9-     The expression ‘Allah’ is not a derivative of al-ilah [a pre-Islamic Arabian idol]. It is altogether a different entity, having totally different roots.

10-Allah is the epitome of perfection and thus is free of all conceivable defects.

Allah is beyond the perception of human mind. No living person has ever seen him over millennia and He has not directly talked to any one, not even his chosen Messengers. However, the concept of Allah does not change from place to place, nation to nation, and tribe to tribe. But, it is not at all right to say that god of all religions are the same; there is a distinct difference between Ram and Raheem and they are not one and the same. The ‘Father’ of Christians, the ‘Judeo or God’ of Jews, the ‘Ishwar’ or ‘Parmaatma’ of Hindus and ‘Armazd’ of Zoroastrians are totally different from one another, because their attributes are world apart. Many gods of antiquity are dead now. A god dies, when it loses its following. Amen Ra of Egypt, Greek Jupiter, Baal of Babylonia, and Zeus of Rome are all dead Gods, as they have lost their worshippers.

Nevertheless, there are numerous other gods, besides Allah existing in this world. According to the Encyclopedia of Religion, there are some 2,500 gods representing ten thousands religions. It means that the religious leaders have chopped up one God into thousands of lesser gods, or in other words similar and dissimilar gods.