My Operawhy do Muslims call God, Allah?
Friday, July 28, 2006 12:07:11 PM
THE ANSWER IS GIVEN BY DR.ZAKIR NAIK
(Q) I am Mrs. Sarla Ramchander. I would like to ask why do Muslims call God, Allah?
(Ans.)(Dr. Zakir naik) The question posed by the sister is why do Muslims call God as Allah? During my talk, I had given the definition of Allah (SWT) from the Qur’an, from Surah Ikhlas, Ch. No. 112, which says...(Arabic)... ‘Say he is Allah, one and only’ ...(Arabic)... ‘Allah, the absolute, the eternal’ ...(Arabic)... ‘He begets not nor is he begotten’ ...(Arabic)... ‘And there is nothing unto him like in this world’. But the Qur’an also says in Surah Isra, Ch. No. 17, Verse No. 110, it says...(Arabic)... ‘Say you call upon him by Allah or by Rahmaan. By whichever name you call upon him, to him belongs the most beautiful names’. The same message that to Allah belongs the most beautiful names, is mentioned in the Surah Araf, Ch. No. 7, Verse No. 180, in Surah Hashr, Ch. No. 59, Verse No. 24, as well as in Surah Ta Ha, Ch. No. 20, Verse No. 8, it says... ‘To Allah belongs the most beautiful names’. But the name should not conjure up a mental picture. It should be a beautiful name. Why do Muslims prefer calling God Almighty as ‘Allah’ then the English word God, because the Arabic word ‘Allah’ is a pure word. The English word God, it can be played around with. If you add an ‘s’ to God, it becomes ‘Gods’, ‘plural of God’. You can not add an ‘s’ to Allah. There is nothing like plural Allah. Allah is one...(Arabic)... ‘Say he is Allah one and only’. If you add a ‘dess’ to God, it becomes ‘Goddess’, ‘a female god’. There is nothing like female Allah or male Allah. Allah has got no gender. If you have a god with a capital ‘G’, it becomes true God. If you have a god with a small ‘g’ it becomes fake god. In Islam we have only one true Allah. We do not have any false Allah, only true Allah. If you add father to god, it becomes ‘godfather’. He is my godfather. He is my guardian. You can not add an abba to Allah or a father to Allah. There is nothing like ‘Allahabba’ or ‘Allahfather’ in Islam. If you add a mother to god, it becomes Godmother. You can not add a mother to Allah or an ‘ammi’ to Allah. There is nothing like ‘Allahammi’ in Islam. If you put a tin before God, it becomes ‘Tingod’, ‘fake God’. In Islam there is nothing like ‘Tin Allah’. Allah is pure. It is unique, you can call him by any name, but it should be a beautiful name. I hope that answers the question.
(Q) I am Mrs. Sarla Ramchander. I would like to ask why do Muslims call God, Allah?
(Ans.)(Dr. Zakir naik) The question posed by the sister is why do Muslims call God as Allah? During my talk, I had given the definition of Allah (SWT) from the Qur’an, from Surah Ikhlas, Ch. No. 112, which says...(Arabic)... ‘Say he is Allah, one and only’ ...(Arabic)... ‘Allah, the absolute, the eternal’ ...(Arabic)... ‘He begets not nor is he begotten’ ...(Arabic)... ‘And there is nothing unto him like in this world’. But the Qur’an also says in Surah Isra, Ch. No. 17, Verse No. 110, it says...(Arabic)... ‘Say you call upon him by Allah or by Rahmaan. By whichever name you call upon him, to him belongs the most beautiful names’. The same message that to Allah belongs the most beautiful names, is mentioned in the Surah Araf, Ch. No. 7, Verse No. 180, in Surah Hashr, Ch. No. 59, Verse No. 24, as well as in Surah Ta Ha, Ch. No. 20, Verse No. 8, it says... ‘To Allah belongs the most beautiful names’. But the name should not conjure up a mental picture. It should be a beautiful name. Why do Muslims prefer calling God Almighty as ‘Allah’ then the English word God, because the Arabic word ‘Allah’ is a pure word. The English word God, it can be played around with. If you add an ‘s’ to God, it becomes ‘Gods’, ‘plural of God’. You can not add an ‘s’ to Allah. There is nothing like plural Allah. Allah is one...(Arabic)... ‘Say he is Allah one and only’. If you add a ‘dess’ to God, it becomes ‘Goddess’, ‘a female god’. There is nothing like female Allah or male Allah. Allah has got no gender. If you have a god with a capital ‘G’, it becomes true God. If you have a god with a small ‘g’ it becomes fake god. In Islam we have only one true Allah. We do not have any false Allah, only true Allah. If you add father to god, it becomes ‘godfather’. He is my godfather. He is my guardian. You can not add an abba to Allah or a father to Allah. There is nothing like ‘Allahabba’ or ‘Allahfather’ in Islam. If you add a mother to god, it becomes Godmother. You can not add a mother to Allah or an ‘ammi’ to Allah. There is nothing like ‘Allahammi’ in Islam. If you put a tin before God, it becomes ‘Tingod’, ‘fake God’. In Islam there is nothing like ‘Tin Allah’. Allah is pure. It is unique, you can call him by any name, but it should be a beautiful name. I hope that answers the question.
