For everybody, including Muslim: What is the origin of the name 'Allah'?

Question

Could it have originated from 'El' the ancient Phonecian name for 'god'.
El Elo Elohim Ela Ala Alla Allah

Answer 1

"Allah" was an ancient moon-god who was given monotheistic status by Mohammed. This is why all the flags of muslim countries have a crescent moon on them.

Answer 2

ilah is god in general term..can be any god
'al' in arabic serves the same purpose as 'the' in english
so allah is THE GOD..the only unique one god who creates the universe..He is whom His creations find tranquility and peace in..He is the same G_d in Judaism without associates,,

So all arabic speakers even non-muslims use allah when they refer to God,the creator
Arabic and Hebrew are from the same root/family..

AND explanations regarding allah is moon-god..

Claiming that Allah is moon-god and muslims worship moon is totally incorrect and misleading..It's a pack of lies..far from the truth

The fact that the symbol of Islam is the crescent moon does not mean that Muslims worship the moon. The farthest thing from the Muslim mind is to worship anything or anyone other than God. That would be the sin of shirk, association of another in worship - a sin that is unforgiveable except by repentance.

No, the symbol of a religion is not necessarily an object of worship. The symbol of Daoism is the ying-yang symbol, but Daoists do not worship it. The symbol of Buddhism is the eight-spoke wheel, but Buddhists do not worship it. Muslims also do not worship the crescent moon, just as the early Christians also did not worship their fish symbol. And many present-day Christians do not worship the cross although they display it everywhere.

It is another question as to how the crescent became the symbol of Islam. The Qur'an and the hadith do not give this significance to the crescent moon. And for the first several centuries of Islam the crescent was not a symbol of Islam. There was no such symbol used for identifying the religion of God in the time of the first three generations of Muslims.

The crescent was the symbol of the Sassanian Empire of Persia (Iran) and is prominently displayed on the crowns of its rulers. After the Arab conquest of that empire in 651 CE, it was gradually adopted by later caliphates and Muslim rulers as an established and recognized symbol of power in Western Asia. It was also a symbol of the Ottoman Empire. Though the crescent was originally a secular symbol of authority for Muslim rulers, it is now often used to symbolize the Islamic faith. However, it should be noted that the crescent was not a symbol used for Islam by Muhammad or any other early Muslim rulers, as the Islamic religion is, in fact, against appointing "Holy Symbols" (so that during the early centuries of Islam, Muslim authorities simply didn't want any geometric symbols to be used to symbolize Islam, in the way that the cross symbolizes Christianity, the menorah was a commonly-occurring symbol of Judaism, etc.). This is why early Islamic coins were covered with Arabic writing, but contained no visual symbols.

Despite this mixed history, many Islamic nations and charities use the crescent symbol on their flags or logos (e.g. Pakistan, The Red Crescent, etc. — though currently none of the Arab states in Arabia or the Mashreq have crescents on their flags). In this manner it could be argued that its modern usage is meant to signify identity and, for devout Muslims, brotherhood.

Below is on verse in Qur'an where Allah asks mankind to worship The creator of sun, moon, day and night..

"And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not bow down (prostrate) to the sun nor to the moon, but only bow down (prostrate) to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him." [Quran 41:37]

So please do some decent research before making such claims and spreading them..

Answer 3

El was the name for the father of Gods. Baal of the mountains was his son who resembles the Norse God Thor. El himself is more like Zeus. The form of the word as Elohim is the Hebrew plural meaning gods and refers to El's children( Baal, Ishtar, etc.) more than to El himself
This root word El is not Phoenician, they came much later and from a different part of the world. El is from the ancient Mesopotamian cultures in what is now Iraq/Iran. The most complete versions of the story however come from sites in Jordan.
The Hebrew texts translate El as God and use it as the ending on names in the form you write as "iel" meaning "of god" so that a name like Ezeke would come out as Ezekiel, or the name Dan (meaning judge) would become Daniel (meaning Judge of/by God)
It has nothing to do with a lunar Deity, in spite of what bible believers claims.

here is from columbia university press: Encyclopedia
Directory > Reference > Encyclopedia Allah (ăl'ə, ä'lə) , [Arab.,=the God]. Derived from an old Semitic root refering to the Divine and used in the Canaanite El, the Mesopotamian ilu, and the biblical Elohim, the word Allah is used by all Arabic-speaking Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others. Allah, as a deity, was probably known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Arabic chronicles suggest a pre-Islamic recognition of Allah as a supreme God, with the three goddesses al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat as his “daughters.” The Prophet Muhammad, declaring Allah the God of Abraham, demanded a return to a strict monotheism. Islam supplements Allah as the name of God with the 99 most beautiful names (asma Allah al-husna), understood as nondescriptive mnemonic guides to the Divine attributes.
Bibliography

See S. Friedlander, Ninety-Nine Names of Allah (1978

Answer 4

Today, Arabic and Hebrew sound similar (for me as an Arab). Thousands of years ago, when Arabs & Hebrews were closer to their shared roots, their languages were more similar I guess. So, Elohim & Allah might be one word with 2 different spellings.

During Noah's times, we all spoke the same language. So, if descendants of Ham who lived in the Middle East speak same language as their cousins, descendants of Shem who lived in the same area (Middle East), I think it's ok.

Answer 5

From the hebrew root for Elohim which is Eloah (pronouced similar to Allah). It is the generic name for god, not a specific name.

Answer 6

Salam (Peace)

Allah comes from an arab word illah. It literally means One God. And it is mentioned in the Qur'an also. All of the Prophets used it.

Answer 7

Allah was the moon god of the pagan Arabs, back in the day when they had many gods. This is still represented by the crescent moon on Mosques, the crescent moon and star in Islamic culture, etc.

Source below.

Answer 8

ALLAH means peace as it's mentioned in quraan
the word GOD is not mentioned in any book of BIBLE not even in old testiment .. todays Bible sounds like historian book

http://www.evilbible.com

Answer 9

Yes---------------the name, thru Hebrew or Arabic, takes its name from ancient words for G-d. It is the word the people were familiar with.

Answer 10

How about the name for the "Moon" god in the ancient Arabic nations.