The personal name for God preferred by Islam is Allah. This name predates Islam. However, Islam has given a specific connotation to this name to such an extent that in an ambience of polytheism or Trinity the use of this name will sound odd. Further Islam has popularised this holy name on a global scale. Non-Muslims think that Allah is either a new Arab God or a God for Muslims alone. Both impressions are wrong. According to Islam, there is only one God for the whole universe and there is no other God beside Him. He alone is God for all human beings, including Muslims.
Allah is an Arabic word to denote the singular and unique Deity of all the worlds. The Hebrew words for God “El” and “Elah” are closer and similar to Allah. One can address God by any beautiful name whose connotation should be in sync with the majesty and glory of the Most High. In Islam there are ninety-nine names of God. Allah and Ar-Rahman are the foremost among them.
One school of etymology holds the view that Allah is a complete word per se. Another school thinks that the name Allah was originally a combination of Al, (meaning The Only) and ‘ilaha’ (meaning God) which in course of time collapsed into one word – Allah, meaning The One and Only God without a Second. (He is not assisted in His supremacy by any one, second, third or fourth, nor by any fifth, sixth or seventh, nor even by any eighth, ninth, or tenth. He is the One circumscribing, the One above. This one ought to know. (Atharva Veda, Vol-13, Section-4, Verses 16-18. Quoted by Dr B.N Singh, The Creator, p. 62) From this perspective Allah is a denotative term, specific to one Identity.
In the pronunciation of the word ‘Allah’ certain sensations are aroused. Frederick T. Wood says, “When one lifts the arm to point upwards, the tongue also rises so that the tip of it points towards the top palate. In this position it readily produces the sound al, and as it happens this syllable is a basic one, in a number of ancient languages in words expressing the idea of up or of height.” (An Outline History of the English Language, Second Edition, pp.7 and 8).
So, when a Muslim proceeds to pronounce the name Allah, the first syllable gives him a sense of elevation, as though his soul soars heavenward for a spiritual experience in the celestial regions. God seems to draw the Muslim towards Himself. The first step is enough for the Muslim; distances are covered in a trice; and the union of the tip of the tongue with the alveolar ridge that takes place during the articulation of the voiced alveolar lateral /l/ is indicative of the union between the seeker and the Object that he seeks.
If a worshipper takes the initiative in remembering his Lord, the Lord draws near His devotee in the twinkling of an eye. The spiritual experience is dramatically enacted in the pronunciation of /l/ is very significant. When the articulation of the lateral consonant is prolonged, it indicates the prolongation of the spiritual union. The prolongation in its turn is indicative of the bliss that the seeker and the Lord experience. The worshipper is pleased with the Lord, and the Lord is pleased with the worshipper. This pleasure is not short-lived but prolonged. The lateral consonant undergoes a change during the gemination. The first /l/ is after a central vowel and the second /l/ is before a back vowel. In the pronunciation of the first /l/ the blade of the tongue takes up a different shape because /l/ is final here in the first syllable, it is dark or neutral /l/. The second /l/ is before a back, long and open vowel /a:/ and so is articulation of /l/ from a dark variety to a clear variety is reflective of a mobility from darkness to clarity or light. When the tip of the tongue returns to its resting place, the vowel that is articulated is the back, open and unrounded vowel. /a:/ produces a sense of largeness. In the word ‘large’, the same vowel is the nucleus, producing a peak of sonority. A feeling of towering largeness, of transcendence is the gift from the prolonged union between the tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge. And the last phoneme in the name ‘Allah’ is /h/ which is a glottal fricative mirroring a sense of relief, relaxation, calmness and serenity.
The utterance of the name of Allah has an emotional impact. The name is an example of sound and sense going hand in hand. The phonemes are five – a central vowel (schwa) + dark lateral+ clear lateral+ back/broad/ dark vowel+ glottal. If the back, half-close and rounded vowel /u/ is added, the phonemes will be six in the word ‘Allahu’. As the last phoneme is usually dropped in ordinary conversation, stress is laid upon the sequence of the five phonemes.
In the area in the mouth where all vowels originate, the first phoneme occupies the central position and is a central vowel. The centrality of the name of Allah is thus stressed. In combination with /l/ the central vowel stirs up a sense of sublimation. The lateral phoneme produces a sense of union and harmony between the two articulators – the tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge. The gemination of /l/ produces a melodious state of bliss. The long back vowel /a:/ produces a sense of triumph and transcendence and the glottal /h/ brings a sense of relief. The sequence of these feelings has a therapeutic effect when the holy name is uttered slowly and repeatedly. V.C. Nadkarni lists five healing sounds – Aum, Amen, Shalom, Hu, Allah. (Times of India, June 6, 2010, p.13) ‘Hu’ is there in ‘Allahu’ too.
Dr A Pandurange Rao makes a comprehensive analysis of Aum (OM) – Pranava in his translation of Srimad Bhagavatham (pp.515-522). He writes, “This Aum is symbolic of the entire existence-phenomenal as well as noumenal. It is considered as the fitting designation or the signifier of the infinite Supreme Divine Deity and is held to be the holiest name”. (P.515)
In another place, he explains, “A is the abbreviation of Adimatva (primary stage). Adi actually denotes birth… The letter U represents the state between birth and death… M is an abbreviation ‘Mana’ (measure or dimension) and denotes the measure known as Laya (union, fusion, dissolution). (P.521)
Some scholars spell AUM as OHM. Some scholars relate Aum to ‘I am’ of the Bible; and some other scholars connect it with Alif Laam Meem of the Qur’ān 2:1.
Another name the Upanishads have made famous for God is Brahman. There are, however, two versions of Brahman – Nirguna and Suguna, one almost excluding the other. One version for the highly evolved souls and the other version for the rest. The Pure Being becomes almost Nothing, The Nirguna concept of God gives importance to Sat, Chit, and Ananda which correspond respectively to Permanence/Truth, Consciousness/ Knowledge, and Bliss. In Islam, there are no two versions of Allah as the duality of the Deity is a taboo in Islam. (16:51)
A more popular name often repeated by the clerics and the laity is Narayana. About this name, John Dowson has this to say in his monumental book, A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, “(2) The creator Brahma, who, according to Manu, was so called because the waters (nara) were his first ayana or place of motion. The name is found for the first time in the Sathapatha Brahmana. The name as commonly used applies to Visnu, and is that under which he was first worshipped.”(P.229)
This name, Narayana, was first used for Brahma and is now used for Vishnu. The same idea has been given on p.60 of his book; on the same page he says, “The Mahabharata represents Brahma as springing from the navel of Vishnu or from a lotus which grew thereout.” The question whether Narayana refers to Brahma or Vishnu is not so important as the etymology of the name Narayana. This etymological association of God and the waters is reflected in both the Bible and the Qur’ān. “And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. (Genesis, 1:2) “And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days – and (before that) His Throne was upon the water.” (The Qur’ān, 11:7) Dr M K Srinivasan and K S Rajan give another interpretation for the word ‘Narayanan’ in their book on Srivaisnavism, p.16.
A special name of God was revealed to Moses. According to Exodus, chapter 6, “And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them”. (Verses 2 and 3)
The name “Allah” is not an idle name for a mythical object like centaur or Minotaur. Prophet Joseph decries the practice of worshipping fabulous and fabricated names. “Those whom you worship and serve beside Him are merely idle names that you and your fathers have fabricated, without Allah sending down any sanction for them.” (Qur’ān 12:40)
Allah is the most beautiful name for God Who is Most Beautiful. The name has infinite power. In a prayer, a Muslim seeks protection against the accursed Satan through the potency of His name. God revealed His name to Moses. When the name is applied to the earth, the earth becomes steady, and when applied to the heavens, they are held high without visible pillars, and when applied to the Majestic Throne (Arsh) the Throne becomes static. The holy name has the power to make the day bright and to make the night dark. A Muslim invokes the holy name to allow the holy Qur’ān to permeate his physical being and to lead his life in the light of the Qur’ān. (Al Hizbul Azam, p.45)
It seems that on the sun are imprinted eight names of Allah. ( ibid., p.48) A Muslim invokes those names in order to make the Qur’ān fill his heart with the cheer of the spring and purge it of all grief. “Allah has the most excellent names. So call on Him by His names and shun those who distort them.” (7:180)
“Say to them (O Prophet): Call upon Him as Allah or Call upon Him as ar-Rahman: Call Him by whichever name you will, all His names are beautiful.” (17:110)
“(O Muhammad), when My servants ask you about Me, tell them I am quite near; I hear and answer the call of the caller whenever He calls Me.” (2:186)
“Indeed My Lord is near, responsive to prayers.”(11:61)
How the name ‘Allah’ helped the Prophet is narrated by his companion, Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) vide Sahih Bukhari, 5/52-54. While returning from a military expedition, the Prophet and his companions rested in a valley during an afternoon. The Prophet (May Allah bless and greet him) left his sword dangling from a low branch of a babool tree and lay down for a siesta in the shade of the tree. The companions went to sleep too in the shade of other trees. Their sleep was suddenly disturbed as they heard the Prophet calling them. They rushed to his side and found a bedouin seated. The Prophet pointed to the bedouin and narrated how when he was asleep, the bedouin had come and seized his sword with the intention of killing him, how fortunately he woke up and how the bedouin asked him who could save him from his imminent attack. The Prophet told them that his reply was “ALLAH!” The bedouin was awe-struck on hearing this name and let the sword fall. There was a dramatic turn in the situation in favour of the Prophet. Peace and blessings of Allah to the Prophet who did not punish the bedouin after overpowering him.
Islam popularised the name of Allah throughout the length and breadth of the world. In the call for prayers, given five times a day, the muezzin invokes this name eleven times per call. However, one has to note a radical difference between the concept of Allah in pre-Islamic times and the same concept after the advent of Islam. Allah was one of the many gods in the times before Islam. Islam presented Allah as the one and only God, without any equal or rival. “Allah Himself bears testimony that there is no other God but He; and likewise do the angels and those possessed of knowledge bear witness in truth and justice that there is no other God but He, the All-Mighty and All-Wise.”(3:19) “Allah has commanded: Do not take two gods; for He is but One God. So fear Me alone.”(16:51) “They say: Allah has taken to Himself a son? Glory to Him! Nay, whatever is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him; to Him (only) all pay obeisance.”(2:116)
The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that Allah had daughters. “In ignorance they impute to Him sons and daughters. He is Holy and Exalted far above that which they attribute to Him. He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. How can He have a son when He has had no mate? He has created everything and He has full knowledge of all things.”(6:100,101)
The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that Allah had two daughters and it was His habit to stay in the elder daughter’s house during the first half of the year and to shift to the younger daughter’s house during the rest of the year. The worshippers could get their wishes fulfilled and problems solved in the first half of the year by approaching the first daughter for help and recommendation by offering worship to her. They should ignore the first daughter and approach and worship the second daughter if they ran into some trouble and needed Allah’s help during the second half of the year. Allah was supposed to follow this pattern of relocation year after year without any change and He could be approached through one of the daughters only. Islam nullified this belief. “They assign daughters to Allah – glory be to Him – whereas they assign to themselves what they truly desire.” (16:57) “Behold, it is one of their fabrications that they say: ‘Allah has begotten? They are liars!”(37:151,152) “Say: He is Allah, the One and Unique; Allah Who is in need of none and of Whom all are in need; He neither begot nor was He begotten, and none is comparable to Him.” (114:1-4)
The name of Allah is in harmony with uncompromising monotheism, as a consequence of the efforts of Islam. These efforts will come to nought if we start re-using this holy name in the context of Trinity or polytheism.
However, it has to be borne in mind that the Qur’ān and the Bible are inter-related, just as their meanings are inter-related. The Qur’ān means reading; the Bible means the Book. Only when we read a book, it comes alive. The Bible talks of God who created the world in six days, (Genesis, 1:31) The Qur’ān says that Allah created the heavens and the earth (46:33) and He did so in six days. (7:54) This specific number of days with regard to the creation common to the Qur’ān and the Bible, makes it abundantly clear that Allah and the Biblical God are one and the same. Just as the Qur’ān set right the concept of God which prevailed at the time of its revelation, in the same way it denied certain details the Bible attributed to God. For example, the Bible says that God took rest on the seventh day after the task of creation was over. The Qur’ān says, “Creating them (the heavens and the earth) did not wear Him out,”(46:33) “Their upholding wearies Him not.”(2:255)
The basic fact remains, in spite of the Qur’ānic denial of a few details that the Bible contains about God, like God having one Begotten Son or God walking covering His face with His hand before Moses (Exodus 33), the Qur’ān makes the basic fact explicit. “Say to them: “We believe in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to you. One and the same is our God and your God; and we are those who submit ourselves to Him.”(29:46) It is the same God who gave Moses the Torah, David the Psalms, Jesus the Injeel, and Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) the Qur’ān. It is to the same God (Allah) that all, whether believers or non-believers, will return.