Allah is the Arabic word for God and is used predominantly in Islam to refer to the one, all-powerful, all-knowing, and merciful deity who created and governs the universe.
Here are some key points to understand who Allah is:
🔹 In Islamic Belief:
- Monotheism (Tawhid): Allah is one and unique. There is no deity or being worthy of worship except Allah.
- Eternal and Uncreated: Allah has no beginning or end, and was not created.
- Creator and Sustainer: Allah created everything that exists and continually sustains it.
- All-Knowing and All-Powerful: Nothing happens without Allah’s knowledge or permission.
- Merciful and Just: While Allah is just and holds people accountable, He is also extremely merciful and forgiving.
🔹 Names and Attributes:
Muslims believe Allah has 99 names (known as Asma’ul Husna), each reflecting a different aspect of His nature, such as:
- Ar-Rahman – The Most Merciful
- Al-Alim – The All-Knowing
- Al-Hakim – The Most Wise
- Al-Khaliq – The Creator
- Al-Adl – The Just
🔹 In the Qur’an (Islam’s holy book):
- Allah is mentioned over 2,500 times.
- The first verse of every chapter (except one) begins with “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful” (Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim).
- The Qur’an is believed to be the word of Allah, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ï·º.
🔹 Other Religions:
However, the Islamic concept of Allah differs in some theological ways from the Christian or Jewish understanding of God (e.g., God has no son, no partners, and no incarnations in Islam).
Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews also use the word “Allah” to refer to God, as it’s the Arabic equivalent of “God”.
