Ilah
Arabic word for god
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ʾIlāh (Arabic: إله; plural: آلهة ʾālihat) is an Arabic term meaning "god" or deity, refers to anything or anyone that is worshipped.[2] The feminine form is ʾilāhat (إلاهة, meaning "goddess"); with the article, it appears as al-ʾilāhat (الإلاهة).[3] The word is spelled either إلٰه with an optional diacritic alif to mark the ā only in Qur'anic texts or (more rarely) with a full alif, إلاه.
Etymology
The Semitic root ʾlh (Arabic ʾilāh', Aramaic ʾAlāh, ʾElāh, Hebrew ʾelōah) may be ʾl with a parasitic h, and ʾl may be an abbreviated form of ʾlh. In Ugaritic the plural form meaning 'gods' is ʾilhm, equivalent to Hebrew ʾelōhîm.[4] (see: Allahumma)
Although the word Elohim is plural (eg.majestic plural) form, in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity, particularly but not always the God of Judaism. In other verses it takes plural agreement and refers to gods in the plural.
Cognate forms of El are found throughout the Semitic languages. They include Ugaritic ʾilu, pl. ʾlm; Phoenician ʾl pl. ʾlm; Hebrew ʾēl, pl. ʾēlîm; Aramaic ʾl; Akkadian ilu, pl. ilānu.
Current usages
The Arabic word for God (Allāh) is thought to be derived from it (in a proposed earlier form al-Lāh) though this is disputed.[5][6] The term is used throughout the Quran in passages discussing the existence of God in the context of oneness of Allah also to refer the beliefs in other divinities by non-Muslims. Notably, the first statement of the šahādah (the Muslim confession of faith) is "There is no god (ʾilāh) except the God (Allāh)", which declares belief in pure monotheism.[7]
