ALLAH. - Arabic name for God, formed, as is generally believed, from the article al and the word ilāh, which means "God, divinity," and is still preserved today in Arabic usage (both words occur in the Muslim formula of faith lā ilāh illā allāh "there is no divinity but God") and corresponds to the Hebrew 'elāh, the Aramaicelāh, the Syriacallāh, the South Arabian ilāh. In Sabaic inscriptions there appears, with the same formation (that is, the article, which in Sabaic is hā, and ilāh), the form hallāh.
A. was worshiped in pre-Islamic Arabia and had in fact gradually assumed a preeminent position among the divinities of the pagans (v. ARABIA, preislamica); the word was and is used to indicate God by Jews and Christians, and was later adopted by Muslims. For the concept of God among Muslims and the opinions and disputes of the various schools concerning theodicy, v. ISLĀM.
Bibliography2 worksD. B. Macdonald, s. v. in Encyclopédie de l'Islām, I, Leiden 1913, p. 304-14; C. A. Nallino, s. v., in Enc. Ital., II, pp. 521-22. Michelang
BIBL.: D. B. Macdonald, s. v. in Encyclopédie de l'Islām, I, Leiden 1913, p. 304-14; C. A. Nallino, s. v., in Enc. Ital., II, pp. 521-22.
Guidi, Michelangelo. “AllĀH.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I, col. 891. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1948. https://azioneromana.com/article/allah.
MLA
Guidi, Michelangelo. “AllĀH.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1948, col. 891. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/allah.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec1_allah,
author = {Guidi, Michelangelo},
title = {AllĀH},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {I},
pages = {891},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1948},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/allah}
}
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