Christians and la ilaha illallah

[Morgo]

Many Muslims say this short little prayer - la ilaha illallah, “there is no god but God” - often. I’m wondering if it would be okay for me, a Christian, to pray those words, since Muslims don’t believe God is a trinity. Would a Christian who says “la ilaha illallah” be denying that God is triune, and thereby deny that Jesus is God? I think what this question might come down to is whether the title Allah can include Jesus.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am told that Arab Christians, including Catholics, pray to “Allah”, since “Allah” in Arabic simply means “God”. I am also informed the Muslims aren’t too keen on their doing it.

 

[Bluegoat]

I don’t think “There is no God but God” would in any way contradict the Trinity.

 

[Dale_M]

I am told that Arab Christians, including Catholics, pray to “Allah”, since “Allah” in Arabic simply means “God”. I am also informed the Muslims aren’t too keen on their doing it.

The same is true in Malaysia and Indonesia, on both counts.

 

[Ahimsa]

Many Muslims say this short little prayer - la ilaha illallah, “there is no god but God” - often. I’m wondering if it would be okay for me, a Christian, to pray those words, since Muslims don’t believe God is a trinity. Would a Christian who says “la ilaha illallah” be denying that God is triune, and thereby deny that Jesus is God? I think what this question might come down to is whether the title Allah can include Jesus.

One could even recite this: La ilaha il Allah wa Isa un ibn Allah (No god but God, and Jesus is the Son of God).

 

[Thoma25]

I wouldn’t advise you to say this prayer. While it seems perfectly fine when we take it at face value, there is a great amount of underlying Islamic theology that is incompatible with orthodox Christianity.

The problem is that this creed advances a specific form of monotheism, called Tauheed. It teaches that there is no God but God, which exists as an ultimate unity. There is no division of persons within it, as with the Trinity. Furthermore, it is considered a sin to claim that Jesus is anything other than a prophet. He can not be associated with Allah in any sense, because this would constitute “shirk,” which is setting up partners with Allah.

As you can see, this is not only incompatible with the Truth of the Trinity and the Divinity of Christ, but seems to have its source in earlier Christian heresy.

It is best to stick to formulations of your own true Faith.

 

[Davidcameron]

Many Muslims say this short little prayer - la ilaha illallah, “there is no god but God” - often. I’m wondering if it would be okay for me, a Christian, to pray those words, since Muslims don’t believe God is a trinity. Would a Christian who says “la ilaha illallah” be denying that God is triune, and thereby deny that Jesus is God? I think what this question might come down to is whether the title Allah can include Jesus.

The word allah is NOT a Title. It is a NAME.

The phrase la ila ha il allah means, There is no GOD but allah. But let’s look at it CLOSELY.

Firstly - La ila ha il allah contains only 1 noun - The word ILA, which means God.
Secondly - that naturally means the word allah is not the regular noun for that same meaning of God. Otherwise the entire phrase would need to be changed to “la ila ha il ila” or “la allah ha il allah”
Thirdly, the Quran declares the word ‘allah’ as a name.

Now, is it right for Christians to call God, as allah? NO!.

The Holy Bible offers the name of God as Yah-weh (exodus). In the New Testament, we have Jesus as Yah-shua. Now…where would the name of allah come from? Well, it comes from a babylonian stone idol -

This might come as a shock to many, but see this:

biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm

• Today’s allah is the same ancient babylonian idol previously known as baal.
  .

 

[Ahimsa]

Now, is it right for Christians to call God, as allah? NO!.

You are incorrect, sir.

The generic Arabic word for ‘a god’ is ilah. This is cognate to the most common Semitic word for a god and is thus related to the Hebrew *Elohim *(and possibly El), the Syriac/Aramaic Alaha, and the Old South Arabian 'lh– so basically all the Semitic languages outside of Ethiopia. *Ilah *is used by Christian Arabs in compounds like walidat al-ilah (the Theotokos) and ilahu abaina (God of our Fathers).

The Arabic word for the one God, in the use of any Arabic-speaking religion, is of course Allah. This word either comes from a contraction of *ilah *with the definite article, al-ilah, or is a borrowing from the Syriac Alaha (the latter opinion is sustained by early 20th century scholars like von Gruenbaum, Cheikho, Mingana, and Jeffery). It could just as easily be the mutual influence of the two, as the line between borrowings and cognates among Semitic languages is notoriously hard to determine.

*Allah *was of course used by the pre-Islamic pagans of Arabia, at least those whose cult center was Mecca. For them, Allah was the supreme god and was worshipped at the Ka’ba with his three daughters Allat (fem. of Allah), Manat, and 'Uzza. As far as I know-- and I say this without having the labyrinthine works of Irfan Shahid in front of me-- we do not have any extent literary or epigraphic texts from pre-Islamic Christian Arabs.

We do have pre-Islamic poems composed by poets from Christian tribes and transmitted orally until written down in the early Islamic period. (And whose authenticity, of course, has been much-debated). They make very rare mention of any religious theme, but do sometimes use the word Allah.

However, we can turn to the Qur’an as evidence for pre-Islamic use of the word *Allah by Christians and Jews. That is, the Qur’an was not composed in dialogue only (and I would argue even chiefly) with the pagans of Mecca. Rather, Muhammad was much more interested in delivering his message to the Jews (primarily) and to some degree Christians. Since Allah is used of God in Qur’anic passages like Surat al-Ikhlas which are addressed specifically to Christians, it seems that Muhammad assumed that the Christians he was addressing would understand Allah to mean their own God, since it was almost certainly the word they used themselves for Him. (A possible case where the Qur’an actually does co-opt a foreign word for a god is the epithet ‘al-Rahman’, which was likely the name of the chief god among the South Arabians).

At no point in the literary history of Christian Arabic am I aware of any word other than ‘Allah’ used for God (that is, where Greek would use ο θεος). Nor am I aware of it having been controversial among Christian Arabs or non-Arab Christians who came in contact with the usage. After all, Byzantine refutations of Islam talk about what the blasphemies Muslims say about ο θεος, not what they say about αλλα…

 

[pnewton]

This might come as a shock to many, but see this:

biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm

• Today’s allah is the same ancient babylonian idol previously known as baal.
  .

Understand if I do not trust any website that says:

Satan has been working on women ever since, causing those he can deceive to ruin men, and causing the spiritual woman or second Eve, the Roman Catholic church, to destroy billions of souls.

[biblebelievers.org.au/bb000415.htm#The Woman Clothed with the Sun](The Woman Clothed with the Sun, Revelation 12 Woman Clothed with the Sun)

The word “Allah” is not more associated with the moon god than “Elohim” is taken from the Canaanite god. That is just the way language works. “Allah” is simply the word for God, nothing more.

 

[Davidcameron]

Ahimsa,

your argument in favor of using the name - allah to literally mean god stems from your ‘common knowledge’. If we step back and think about how easy it is to swap a name for a noun by using it frequently enough we will realise that as long as the word is commonly used, the majority of people will come to believe in its legitimacy. And many will use it synonymously - A very terrible and unfortunate error of course.

To understand why the word al-ilah, a common noun should never be used to refer to God, we need to see the calligraphic version of that name (word), from which we can see that its origin (and from which you argue that it is merely an ‘abridged’ from of the word for God, is thoroughly flawed).

See this: arabbible.com/t-Allah.aspx

.

 

[Sam_777]

Many Muslims say this short little prayer - la ilaha illallah, “there is no god but God” - often. I’m wondering if it would be okay for me, a Christian, to pray those words, since Muslims don’t believe God is a trinity. Would a Christian who says “la ilaha illallah” be denying that God is triune, and thereby deny that Jesus is God? I think what this question might come down to is whether the title Allah can include Jesus.

Dec. 14 2009:

*"Malaysia’s high court began hearing legal arguments Monday over the use of “Allah” by Christians as a translation for God.

While the Catholic Church in Malaysia insists that the word “Allah” is not exclusive to Islam and has been used by Christians and Muslims in Arabic-speaking countries for centuries, Senior Federal Counsel Datuk Kamaluddin argued otherwise, saying that the word is exclusive to Islam and that its sanctity must be protected.*"

Furthermore, it is considered a sin to claim that Jesus is anything other than a prophet. He can not be associated with Allah in any sense, because this would constitute “shirk,” which is setting up partners with Allah.

, you have a good Islamic info…

 

[Ahimsa]

Ahimsa,

your argument in favor of using the name - allah to literally mean god stems from your ‘common knowledge’. If we step back and think about how easy it is to swap a name for a noun by using it frequently enough we will realise that as long as the word is commonly used, the majority of people will come to believe in its legitimacy. And many will use it synonymously - A very terrible and unfortunate error of course.

To understand why the word al-ilah, a common noun should never be used to refer to God, we need to see the calligraphic version of that name (word), from which we can see that its origin (and from which you argue that it is merely an ‘abridged’ from of the word for God, is thoroughly flawed).

See this: arabbible.com/t-Allah.aspx

.

For more than a thousand years, Syriac Orthodox Christians have been using (and still do use) “Allah” as their word for God, since most of them speak Arabic. St. Peter founded the Syriac Church when he went to Antioch, and the Syriac Orthodox still use the Syriac language (related to the Aramaic spoken by Jesus) in their liturgy.

The idea that “al-ilah” was abbreviated as “Allah” is a common idea, but it lacks support. There is no evidence (as far as I know) of any similar abbreviations involving “al” occurring in Arabic. In addition, “al-ilah” is not a name; it is a title – “the God”. Yet, “Allah” is used in the Qur’an as a Holy Name, as in “Ya Allah”, “O Allah!”.

The evidence points to “Allah” as being related to the Aramaic/Syriac “Alaha/Eloha”.

“Yahweh” is derived from the Hebrew root “h-y-h”, “to be”. The Arabic cognate is “h-y-y”, which is found in one of the Names of Allah in the Qur’an, “al-Hayy”, “the Living One”. Thus, “Yahweh” is found in the Qur’an.

 

[Kadaveri]

Christians can’t say* la ilaha illallah* because its true meaning is that there is no object of worship rather than God. Although they are technically monotheists Christians worship God as three persons and distinguish them, so contradicting Islamic monotheism.

*Allah *is simply the Arabic word for God, it’s not the name of god and has nothing to do with Baal or any moon deity. There are also serious gramatical and phonological problems with the theory that *Allah *is a derivative from al-ilah. It’s more likely the word is an Arabised version of the Aramaic/Syriac word for God Alaha/Aloho.

 

[jimmy]

The word allah is NOT a Title. It is a NAME.

The phrase la ila ha il allah means, There is no GOD but allah. But let’s look at it CLOSELY.

Firstly - La ila ha il allah contains only 1 noun - The word ILA, which means God.
Secondly - that naturally means the word allah is not the regular noun for that same meaning of God. Otherwise the entire phrase would need to be changed to “la ila ha il ila” or “la allah ha il allah”
Thirdly, the Quran declares the word ‘allah’ as a name.

Now, is it right for Christians to call God, as allah? NO!.

The Holy Bible offers the name of God as Yah-weh (exodus). In the New Testament, we have Jesus as Yah-shua. Now…where would the name of allah come from? Well, it comes from a babylonian stone idol -

This might come as a shock to many, but see this:

biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm

• Today’s allah is the same ancient babylonian idol previously known as baal.
  .

That is nonsense. The word allah was in use by Christians to refer to God long before the muslims were in existence. It is the Syriac word for God, and Syriac has been a language for Christian theology since the very beginning of Christianity. It means God and nothing else.

 

[Ahimsa]

Christians can’t say* la ilaha illallah* because its true meaning is that there is no object of worship rather than God. Although they are technically monotheists Christians worship God as three persons and distinguish them, so contradicting Islamic monotheism.

From a Muslim perspective, I can imagine your point as being accurate.

But, for a Christian, since all three Persons are one God, why would saying La ilaha il Allah be a problem?

 

[barnesms]

I must agree with those who state that Allah is simply Arabic for God. The speaker defines the doctrine or definition. When a Syriac Christian says God, the Christian listner know exactly what is meant.

I know Muslims do not like anyone to use the term Allah except fellow Muslims. Indonesia is having problems regarding this issue currently.

Should you use the same prayer as the Muslims? It may be better to use the enourmous variety of other prayers available to you in Arabic that come from your church. However, I pray the Divine Liturgy as a LDS and I derive benefit from it. Follow the Spirit and you will be fine.

Don’t seek the exception to the rule; to be safe stay in the rule. Does that make sense to you?

 

[Davidcameron]

The entity - allah was one of 300 over idols worshipped in the Kaaba. This is an undeniable fact pointed out even by Karen Armstrong.

When the muslims wanted to establish the religion of islam, they vehemently insisted, that these other idols are not gods, and that only their specific ‘allah’ was a god. Which resulted in the statement - la ilaha ill allah.

It is therefore not difficult to see (provided you’re not spiritually blinded) that the word allah is a specific NAME for an entity. The other glaring point is that, although there are equivalents to the regular noun for God - eg. Theos or Elohim or Eli or ilah, there is NO equivalent for the arabic word - allah.

What this points out is that allah is not the right arabic word to use when referring to the title of God. Unless YOU want to make allah your god. Which is an argument separate from the topic.

The God of the Jews (and hopefully Christians) declared His ONE and ONLY Name as Yahweh in the book of Exodus 3:15. Since islam’s allah declares its name as allah in the Quran, there is no doubt then that the 2 are NOT the same.

.

 

[Davidcameron]

I must agree with those who state that Allah is simply Arabic for God. The speaker defines the doctrine or definition. When a Syriac Christian says God, the Christian listner know exactly what is meant.

That’s why it is sad that many people who call themselves Christians do not even know their God. Yahweh.

“Allah” was a being worshipped at the Kaa’ba in Mecca by Arabs prior to the time of Mohammed. It was formerly the name of the chief god among the numerous idols (360) in the Kaaba in Mecca before Mohammed made them into monotheists. Historians have shown that the moon god called “Hubal” was the god to whom Arabs prayed at the Kaa’ba and they used the name “Allah” when they prayed.]

*** Just because for thousands of years people have been referring to McCain as President doesn’t make McCain President. ***

 

[Morgo]

Don’t seek the exception to the rule; to be safe stay in the rule. Does that make sense to you?

Everything else you said makes sense, but what do you mean by this part?

 

[jimmy]

The entity - allah was one of 300 over idols worshipped in the Kaaba. This is an undeniable fact pointed out even by Karen Armstrong.

When the muslims wanted to establish the religion of islam, they vehemently insisted, that these other idols are not gods, and that only their specific ‘allah’ was a god. Which resulted in the statement - la ilaha ill allah.

It is therefore not difficult to see (provided you’re not spiritually blinded) that the word allah is a specific NAME for an entity. The other glaring point is that, although there are equivalents to the regular noun for God - eg. Theos or Elohim or Eli or ilah, there is NO equivalent for the arabic word - allah.

What this points out is that allah is not the right arabic word to use when referring to the title of God. Unless YOU want to make allah your god. Which is an argument separate from the topic.

The God of the Jews (and hopefully Christians) declared His ONE and ONLY Name as Yahweh in the book of Exodus 3:15. Since islam’s allah declares its name as allah in the Quran, there is no doubt then that the 2 are NOT the same.

.

And the term ‘El’ or ‘Elohim’ was also a pagan god that is applied to God in the OT.

Allah is not an exclusively Arabic word as has already been pointed out. It is Aramaic, and the Aramaic term was in use by Christians long before the muslims came into existence. The fact is that Jesus Himself probably referred to God with the term. In the Aramaic text (the Peshitta) of Luke 18:19 the word alaha is used to refer to God. Was Jesus referring to a pagan god, or to God? I can’t cut and paste the Aramaic text but you can check it out at this site.

peshitta.org/