ALLĀH. - The Arabic name of God, formed, as is generally believed, from the article al and the word ilāh, meaning “God, divinity,” and still preserved today in Arabic usage (both words occur in the Muslim profession of faith lā ilāh illā allāh, “there is no divinity apart from God”); it corresponds to the Hebrew 'elāh, the Aramaic elāh, the Syriac allāh, and the South Arabian ilāh. In Sabaean inscriptions there appears, with the same formation (that is, the article, which in Sabaean is hā, and ilāh), the form hallāh.
A. was worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia and had gradually assumed a pre-eminent position among the deities of the pagans (v. ARABIA, preislamica); the word was and is used to designate God by Jews and Christians, and was later adopted by Muslims. For the concept of God among Muslims and the views and disputes of the various schools concerning theodicy, V. ISLĀM.