Ilah
ʾIlāh(Arabic:إله;plural:آلهةʾālihat) is anArabicterm meaning "god".In Arabic, ilah refers to anyone or anything that is worshipped.[1]The feminine isʾilāhat(إلاهة,meaning "goddess"); with the article, it appears asal-ʾilāhat(الإلاهة). The Arabic word forGod(Allāh) is thought to be derived from it (in a proposed earlier formal-Lāh) though this is disputed.[2][3]ʾIlāhiscognatetoNorthwest SemiticʾēlandAkkadianilum.The word is from aProto-Semiticarchaic biliteralʔ-Lmeaning "god"(possibly with a wider meaning of" strong "), which was extended to a regulartriliteralby the addition of ah(as in Hebrewʾelōah,ʾelōhim). The word is spelled eitherإلٰهwith an optional diacritic alif to mark theāonly inQur'anictexts or (more rarely) with a fullalif,إلاه.
The term is used throughout theQuranin passages discussing the existence ofGodor the beliefs in other divinities by non-Muslims. Notably, the first statement of thešahādah(the Muslim confession of faith) is "There is no god (ʾilāh) except the God (Allāh). "
See also[edit]
- Arabian mythology
- El (deity)
- History of Arabia
- Religions of the ancient Near East
- Yahwism
- Historical Vedic Religion
Sources[edit]
- Georgii Wilhelmi Freytagii,Lexicon Arabico-Latinum.Librairie du Liban, Beirut, 1975.
- J. Milton Cowan,The Hans WehrDictionary of Modern Written Arabic.4th edn. Spoken Language Services, Ithaca (NY), 1979.
- References
- ^Wehr, Hans (1979).A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic.Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.ISBN978-3-447-02002-2.
- ^ Zeki Saritoprak (2006)."Allah".In Oliver Leaman (ed.).The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia.Routledge. p. 34.ISBN9780415326391.
- ^Vincent J. Cornell (2005). "God: God in Islam". In Lindsay Jones (ed.).Encyclopedia of Religion.Vol. 5 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA. p. 724.
External links[edit]
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