Allah

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Allah

Allah , [Arab.,=the God]. Derived from an old Semitic root refering to the Divine and used in the Canaanite El, the Mesopotamian ilu, and the biblical Elohim, the word Allah is used by all Arabic-speaking Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others. Allah, as a deity, was probably known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Arabic chronicles suggest a pre-Islamic recognition of Allah as a supreme God, with the three goddesses al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat as his "daughters." The Prophet Muhammad, declaring Allah the God of Abraham, demanded a return to a strict monotheism. Islam supplements Allah as the name of God with the 99 most beautiful names ( asma Allah al-husna ), understood as nondescriptive mnemonic guides to the Divine attributes.

Bibliography: See S. Friedlander, Ninety-Nine Names of Allah (1978).

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"Allah." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Allah

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Allah. An Arabic word used as the name of God by all Muslims and in some circumstances by Arabic-speaking Christians.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Allah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Allah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (November 28, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Allah.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Allah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Allah.html

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Allah

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Allah One and only God of Islam. His name is probably derived from Arabic al-Illāh, meaning ‘the God’. Allah is the omnipresent and merciful rewarder, the creator and judge of all. Unreserved surrender to Allah, as preached in the Koran, is the very heart of the Islamic faith.

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