Allah is a pagan moon god.

[LovingTheist]

V. Pagan Origins of Islam



Issue of Continuity: "Whenever someone tells them: 'Believe in what God has sent down;' they say: 'We believe [only] in what has been sent down to us,' while they disbelieve in what has come after that, even though it is the Truth confirming what they already have." (Qur'an 2:87 )


Muslims claim that Allah is the same God of the Bible, and the message of the Koran is consistent with that of the Bible.
Therefore, their claim for converting Jews or Christians to Islam rests on this issue, otherwise if their deity is a different 'god' with a different message, their claims are refuted.


Who is Allah? The word Allah was derived from al-ilah which had become a generic title for whatever god was considered the highest god. Each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. This is why Hubal, the Moon god, was the central focus of prayer at the Kabah and people prayed to Hubal using the name Allah. (Dr. Robert Morey; <A href="http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm">http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm)

"Islam also owes the term "Allah" to the heathen Arabs. We have evidence that it entered into numerous personal names in Northern Arabia and among the Nabatians. It occurred among the Arabs of later times, in theophorous names and on its own."
Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not A Muslim,
(Prometheus, Amherst, 1995) p. 42.



The worship of the Moon-god "Suen" (also called Nanna or Asimbabbaar) was the most wide-spread religion in the Middle East (Hall, Mark. 1985, A Study of the Sumerian Moon-god, Nanna/Suen; University of PA)
The symbol of this Moon-god was the crescent moon, and was constantly found on ancient pottery or artifacts of worship. Islam adopted the crescent moon as its religious symbol.
In Mesopotamia the word "Suen" was transformed into the word "Sin" by the Sumerians as their favorite name for the Moon-god by the Sumerians (Austin Potts, 1971, The Hymns and Prayers To The Moon-god, Sin, Dropsie College, p. 2)
The Old Testament rebuked the worship of the Moon-god (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; II Kings 21:3,5 etc.) because it often caused Israel to commit idolatry.
While the name of the Moon-god was "Sin," his title was "al-ilah" meaning "the deity." "Ilah" is a generic Arabic word for "god" or "deity."
"The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon God." (Coon, Carleton S.; 1944. Southern Arabia, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian, p. 398)
The pre-Islamic Arabs shortened 'al-ilah' to Allah. They used 'Allah' in the names of their children. For instance, Muhammed's father and uncle had Allah as part of their names.
"Similarly, under Muhammed's tutelage, the relatively anonymous Ilah, became Al-Ilah, The God, or Allah, the Supreme Being." (Coon, p. 399)
Mohammed never defined "Allah" in the Qur'an because he assumed that the pagan Arabs already knew who Allah was.
Mohammed rejected all the deities of Ancient Arab such as Ilah's wives and daughters. But he kept the black stone which represented Allah.
Arabic Pagan Worship


Islam's origins and practices have been tracked back by scholars to the ancient fertility religion of the moon god of Arabia.


"The moon god was worshipped by praying toward Mecca several times a day, making an annual pilgrimage to the Kabah which was a temple of the moon god, running around the Kabah seven times, caressing an idol of a black stone set in the wall of the Kabah, running between two hills, making animal sacrifices, gathering on Fridays for prayers, giving alms to the poor, etc. These were pagan rites practiced by the Arabs long before Mohammed was born." (Dr. Robert Morey; http://www.cultbusters.com/aorigin.htm)"The Forms of Pagan Worship... It will be noticed that the sun and the moon and the five planets got identified with a living deity, god or goddess, with the qualities of its own.
Moon worship was equally popular in various forms...It may be noted that the moon was a male divinity in ancient India; it was also a male divinity in ancient Semitic religion, and the Arabic word for the moon (qamar) is of the masculine gender. On the other hand, the Arabic word for the sun (shama) is of the feminine gender. The pagan Arabs evidently looked upon the sun as a goddess and the moon as a god. If Wadd and Suwa represented Man and Woman, they might well represent the astral worship of the moon and the sun...
The Pagan deities best known in the Ka'ba and round about Mecca were Lat, Uzza and Manat...They were all female goddesses." (Yusuf Ali: pgs. 1619-1623)


In his explanation of why the Qur'an swears by the moon in Surah 74:32, "Nay, verily by the Moon," Yusuf Alli comments, "The moon was worshipped as a deity in times of darkness." (fn. 5798, pg. 1644)
Muhammad commanded his followers to participate in these pagan ceremonies while the pagans were still in control of Mecca. (See Yusuf Ali, fn. 214, pg. 78.)
Islam went on to adopt these pagan religious rites.
"...the whole of the [pagan] pilgrimage was spiritualized in Islam..." (Yusuf Ali: fn. 223 pg. 80)

Al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat called "the daughters of Allah". Yusuf Ali explains in fn. 5096, pg. 1445, that Lat, Uzza and Manat were known as "the daughters of God [Allah]".
The stars were used as pagan symbols of the daughters of Allah.
The Qur'an at one point told Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat in Surah 53:19-20.
Those verses have been "abrogated" out of the present Qur'an. They were called "The Satanic Verses."
The Arab tribes gave the Moon-god different titles: Sin, Hubul, Ilumquh, Al-ilah.
The title "al-ilah" (the god) was used for the Moon-god.
The word "Allah" was derived from "al-ilah."
The pagan "Allah" was a high god in a pantheon of 360 deities worshipped at the Kabah.
Allah was only one of many Meccan gods in the Kabah.
The Muslims placed a statue of Hubul on top of the Kabah, at that time Hubul was considered the Moon-god by the Arabs.
The Kabah was the "house of the Moon-god" and the name "Allah" eventually replaced that of Hubul as the name of the Moon god.
They called the Kabah the "house of Allah."
"Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'bah in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this." (G.J.O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994, pg. 138)

Source: http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html (http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html)

[Sacrificial Ram]

V. Pagan Origins of Islam



Since the origins of Islam is Christianity, and Arab Christians call god 'ALLAH' do you really want to continue with this line? Allah is a generic term meaning God. Just like in Judaism, yawhey is a generic name for God, but it was transformed from an early religion, and given a new meaning.

Sacrificial Ram - this is a theist-only area. Non-theists can not post in here.

[technomage]

Greetings, LT,

The actual origination of this rumor lies with Dr. Robert Morey, a rather dishonest scoundrel hiding under the cloak of "Christian apologetics." But don't worry--he's no more accurate or honest when it comes to his treatment of Wicca and Neo-Paganism than he is his treatement of Islam.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah):

Allah (Arabic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language) allāhu الله) is traditionally used by Muslims (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim) as the Arabic word for "God (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God)" (not "God's personal name (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name)", but the equivalent of the Hebrew word El (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El) as opposed to YHWH (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YHWH)). The word Allah is not specific to Islam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam); Arab Christians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Christians) and Arab Jews (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizrahi_Jew) also use it to refer to the monotheist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheist) deity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity). Arabic translations of the Bible (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible) also employ it, as do the catholics of Malta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta) who pronounce it as "Alla" in Maltese (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_language), a language derived from and most closely related to Arabic.

Justin

[LovingTheist]

No counter of the data in the portion of that article? Just something that says "No it means what we originally said it does and all of this further historical investigation is mistaken, even though I have nothing to show that it isn't, except a denial."

[Cynic Sage]

No counter of the data in the portion of that article? Just something that says "No it means what we originally said it does and all of this further historical investigation is mistaken, even though I have nothing to show that it isn't, except a denial."

And you have nothing to show that it is, other than an assertion.

BTW: I am not a Muslim. I just believe that this is a not something good to base an argument on. I reccomend you read Abraham Rihabany's The Syrian Christ. Rihbany was a Syrian Christian and in the book he describes the Christian's of his villiage referring to God as "Allah" because that is simply the Arabic word for God.

[Pythagoras]

In my opinion Al-Lat (a variant of this name corresponds to Ishvar) was originally a pagan Moon deity, which was sanitized as Allah by Muhammad, but still retains it's essential characteristics, save it's polytheistic component. (That's why Islam still keeps the crescent moon and star symbol, for example). In my opinion,there are sufficient grounds for making a prima facie case.

By the same token however, infact by stronger evidentiary proof, the doctrine of the trinity, which makes Jesus God, is also pagan, polytheistic and unbiblical.

Please note that an eminent scholar, Dr. Oak, postulates Allah is Ishva(or Shiva) of the Sumerians/Dravidians. -- there are many remarkable similarities betwen Shiva and Allah, not the least of which is the crescent moon symbol. But that's another topic.


I fear therefore trinitarians(Catholics and many Protestants) are being hypocritical.

best,

[Cynic Sage]

Since there are not that many Muslims on Tweb, I will play the devil's advocate.:wink:




Who is Allah? The word Allah was derived from al-ilah which had become a generic title for whatever god was considered the highest god. Each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god.

And for the same reasons that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews refer to the God of Abraham as "Allah".


The pre-Islamic Arabs shortened 'al-ilah' to Allah. They used 'Allah' in the names of their children. For instance, Muhammed's father and uncle had Allah as part of their names.

True, the same is said of the cultures of Jews and Christians "i.e: "Yochan/John" = "Grace of God"



Islam's origins and practices have been tracked back by scholars to the ancient fertility religion of the moon god of Arabia.




"The moon god was worshipped by praying toward Mecca several times a day, making an annual pilgrimage to the Kabah which was a temple of the moon god, running around the Kabah seven times, caressing an idol of a black stone set in the wall of the Kabah, running between two hills, making animal sacrifices, gathering on Fridays for prayers, giving alms to the poor, etc. These were pagan rites practiced by the Arabs long before Mohammed was born." (Dr. Robert Morey; http://www.cultbusters.com/aorigin.htm)

Dr Morey is a doctor of what?
"The Forms of Pagan Worship... It will be noticed that the sun and the moon and the five planets got identified with a living deity, god or goddess, with the qualities of its own.

...

It may be noted that the moon was a male divinity in ancient India; it was also a male divinity in ancient Semitic religion, and the Arabic word for the moon (qamar) is of the masculine gender. On the other hand, the Arabic word for the sun (shama) is of the feminine gender. The pagan Arabs evidently looked upon the sun as a goddess and the moon as a god. If Wadd and Suwa represented Man and Woman, they might well represent the astral worship of the moon and the sun...

I thought it was the other way around, the sun being male and the moon female.




In his explanation of why the Qur'an swears by the moon in Surah 74:32, "Nay, verily by the Moon," Yusuf Alli comments, "The moon was worshipped as a deity in times of darkness." (fn. 5798, pg. 1644)


Middle eastern men swear by thier beards. Do they worship facial hair?





Al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat called "the daughters of Allah". Yusuf Ali explains in fn. 5096, pg. 1445, that Lat, Uzza and Manat were known as "the daughters of God [Allah]".
The stars were used as pagan symbols of the daughters of Allah.
The Qur'an at one point told Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat in Surah 53:19-20.
Those verses have been "abrogated" out of the present Qur'an. They were called "The Satanic Verses."


Can you show evidence of this?



The Arab tribes gave the Moon-god different titles: Sin, Hubul, Ilumquh, Al-ilah.
The title "al-ilah" (the god) was used for the Moon-god.
The word "Allah" was derived from "al-ilah."
The pagan "Allah" was a high god in a pantheon of 360 deities worshipped at the Kabah.


In the ANE, both people and dieties were given multiple names. (I.e: Jacob/Israel, El-Shaddai/<tetragammaton>).




"Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'bah in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this." (G.J.O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994, pg. 138)


Source: http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html (http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html)




I haven't encountered any Muslims that have a problem with Allah being worshipped pre-Muhammad. Arabs are descendants of Abraham after all, so most likely that within Arabic culture Abraham's Elohist tradition over time became corrupted by paganism.

[Timothy Leary]

Bullhonk. There are plenty of other errors with Islam, but the fact is that allah is simply the arabic equivalent of "god". It's probably dervied from the hebrew elo_ah. Or it could be from the hebrew elokim, as many words in hebrew that naturally have an im ending in hebrew seem to drop that ending in arabic.

allah has always been the translation of elokim into arabic.

If we're going to critique the Muslims, let's do it right. Let's tear apart their proof-texts, like I did with their Shir HaShirim proof-text on my website.

[Cynic Sage]

Bullhonk. There are plenty of other errors with Islam, but the fact is that allah is simply the arabic equivalent of "god". It's probably dervied from the hebrew elo_ah. Or it could be from the hebrew elokim, as many words in hebrew that naturally have an im ending in hebrew seem to drop that ending in arabic.

allah has always been the translation of elokim into arabic.

If we're going to critique the Muslims, let's do it right. Let's tear apart their proof-texts, like I did with their Shir HaShirim proof-text on my website.

That's what I've been saying all along. Finally, someone with common sense.

[BlackOpal12]

Right then. I went and dug up an old conversation with another of our resident Moon-god theorists. Here's the main salient points for you.

-------------
1. In southern Arabia, including Qatab and Saba, the god Wabb was the recognized moon-diety. There is massive epigraphical evidence of this point, and the following. In the northern sections of Arabia, including Mecca, Jawf, Sin, and Petra, "Allah" (i.e. "The God") was used as the titular name of the sun-diety. In neither region of Arabia was "Allah" the moon-god - yet this is the claim you have repeatedly staked. How do you explain this?

2. In the northern parts of Arabia, it is also a well-established fact that the moon-god of pre-Islamic culture was not a moon-god, but a moon-goddess; i.e. the total inversion of the masculinized sun-god. For modern Islam's Allah to be the moon-god of pre-Islamic northern Arabia (i.e. Mecca), a divine sex-change would be mandatory. Can you explain this?

3a. In Aramaic, the terminology for God is "elah." Who do we remember who spoke Aramaic? And referred to God a lot? Oh, now I remember - it was your god. It is not an coincidence that the Aramaic word for God is so similar to the Arabic word, Crusader. Was Jesus of Nazareth referring to the "moon-god," as you claim?

3b. When your Christ referred to elah, was he simply referring to the "moon-god" of Islam, in cognate terminological format? If elah, i.e. Allah, is nothing more than a moon-god, then what were Ezra and Daniel worshipping?

3c. Arabic Christians, Arabic-translated Bibles, and Arabic Christian mythology all call their God "Allah." They have done so since they first emerged in Arabic civilization. Are all Arabic-speaking Christians, then, committing idolatry?

4. When you refer to your "archeological evidence," what exactly is that evidence? I assume you are referring to the Statue at Hazor, which Morey decided was an idol of "Allah," the "moon-god." Stefan Wimmer, of the University of Murich, would like to point out a few things:

i: The statue which Morey claims is an idolatrous image of the moon-god is a figure kneeling, with arms outstretched - designed with the inscription of a holy symbol on a necklace, and an offering cup in the right hand. What gods do you know who's image is in a state of supplication to itself? The statue is a depiction a shaven-pate, robed priest offering supplication to his god - it is much akin to remembering warriors through statuary representations of their greatest deeds.

ii: The aforementioned statue was located in the leftward fringes of the temple - rather than the central or elevated positions reserved for images of divinity. This is not the location for a revered idol, but the location of a pretty decoration - and if you know anything about pre-Islamic polytheism, it was never considered wise to offend any diety - much less the Sun-God's counterpart. In the organization of the temple at Hazor, the central stelae are smooth, phallic - common representations of the "undescribable." The outermost items are, on the left, the statue (of a priest, which Morey called Allah), and on the right, a tablet with the religious tenets of the shrine. The statue that Morey so proudly waves around is nothing more than the immortalized depiction of proper clerical conduct.
-------

Right then. Moon god theory = Horsehocky. Next idiotic postulation.
BlackOpal12

[A.AngelAnthony]

[QUOTE=Pythagoras]In my opinion Al-Lat (a variant of this name corresponds to Ishvar) was originally a pagan Moon deity, which was sanitized as Allah by Muhammad, but still retains it's essential characteristics, save it's polytheistic component. (That's why Islam still keeps the crescent moon and star symbol, for example). In my opinion,there are sufficient grounds for making a prima facie case.

By the same token however, infact by stronger evidentiary proof, the doctrine of the trinity, which makes Jesus God, is also pagan, polytheistic and unbiblical.

Please note that an eminent scholar, Dr. Oak, postulates Allah is Ishva(or Shiva) of the Sumerians/Dravidians. -- there are many remarkable similarities betwen Shiva and Allah, not the least of which is the crescent moon symbol. But that's another topic.



If allah is arabic for GOD then why do they still use the cresant moon...
as their symbol...the Jews have the Star of David a disciple of God,
Christianity.

[Krusader]

[QUOTE=Pythagoras]In my opinion Al-Lat (a variant of this name corresponds to Ishvar) was originally a pagan Moon deity, which was sanitized as Allah by Muhammad, but still retains it's essential characteristics, save it's polytheistic component. (That's why Islam still keeps the crescent moon and star symbol, for example). In my opinion,there are sufficient grounds for making a prima facie case.

By the same token however, infact by stronger evidentiary proof, the doctrine of the trinity, which makes Jesus God, is also pagan, polytheistic and unbiblical.

Please note that an eminent scholar, Dr. Oak, postulates Allah is Ishva(or Shiva) of the Sumerians/Dravidians. -- there are many remarkable similarities betwen Shiva and Allah, not the least of which is the crescent moon symbol. But that's another topic.


If allah is arabic for GOD then why do they still use the cresant moon...
as their symbol...the Jews have the Star of David a disciple of God,
Christianity.


It is the doctrine of the hypostatic union which teaches that Jesus is God. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that God is a tri-personal Being. The doctine of Christ's deity is derived from Scripture, and therefore, quite biblical

[A.AngelAnthony]

[QUOTE=A.AngelAnthony]


It is the doctrine of the hypostatic union which teaches that Jesus is God. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that God is a tri-personal Being. The doctine of Christ's deity is derived from Scripture, and therefore, quite biblical
[QUOTE=Pythagoras]In my opinion Al-Lat (a variant of this name corresponds to Ishvar) was originally a pagan Moon deity, which was sanitized as Allah by Muhammad, but still retains it's essential characteristics, save it's polytheistic component. (That's why Islam still keeps the crescent moon and star symbol, for example). In my opinion,there are sufficient grounds for making a prima facie case.

By the same token however, infact by stronger evidentiary proof, the doctrine of the trinity, which makes Jesus God, is also pagan, polytheistic and unbiblical.

Please note that an eminent scholar, Dr. Oak, postulates Allah is Ishva(or Shiva) of the Sumerians/Dravidians. -- there are many remarkable similarities betwen Shiva and Allah, not the least of which is the crescent moon symbol. But that's another topic.

(For the record all that you see in this specific reply was not my writings I was just replying to someones post with a qoute).

[Krusader]

[QUOTE=Crusader]
[QUOTE=Pythagoras]In my opinion Al-Lat (a variant of this name corresponds to Ishvar) was originally a pagan Moon deity, which was sanitized as Allah by Muhammad, but still retains it's essential characteristics, save it's polytheistic component. (That's why Islam still keeps the crescent moon and star symbol, for example). In my opinion,there are sufficient grounds for making a prima facie case.

By the same token however, infact by stronger evidentiary proof, the doctrine of the trinity, which makes Jesus God, is also pagan, polytheistic and unbiblical.

Please note that an eminent scholar, Dr. Oak, postulates Allah is Ishva(or Shiva) of the Sumerians/Dravidians. -- there are many remarkable similarities betwen Shiva and Allah, not the least of which is the crescent moon symbol. But that's another topic.

(For the record all that you see in this specific reply was not my writings I was just replying to someones post with a qoute).

Allah, which does mean "God" in Arabic, has been discarded by some Arabic-speaking Christians in Africa, for instance, since the term originally was associated with moon worship in the southern Saudi penninsula.

[James Peter]

I'm not really sure what you point is LT, the case is certainly no stronger than that El/Elohim was an evolution of older canaanite gods sharing the same name and with similar characteristics...

[Krusader]

I'm not really sure what you point is LT, the case is certainly no stronger than that El/Elohim was an evolution of older canaanite gods sharing the same name and with similar characteristics...

But not the Name YHWH!

[James Peter]

Actually there are those who would trace YHWH to the combination of two deities (Yah with either the Mother of all Living or Ea). Personally I prefer to see it as being the imperfect of HYH (which would probably be best translated as 'He will be what he will be' or 'He is') but the argument can be made that YHWH is an evolution of Yah. So I'd suggest you're very cautious with the level of evidence you require because otherwise you end up being forced to take a very negative position of the distinctiveness of Israelite religion (unless you want to be hypocritical).

[Cynic Sage]

[QUOTE=A.AngelAnthony][QUOTE=Crusader]


Allah, which does mean "God" in Arabic, has been discarded by some Arabic-speaking Christians in Africa, for instance, since the term originally was associated with moon worship in the southern Saudi penninsula.

What word do they use now for "God"?

[Cynic Sage]

:bump:

[alam]

It should be of interest to the thread that the Quran forbids moon worship (http://www.islamicity.com/MOSQUE/ARABICSCRIPT/AYAT/41/41_37.htm).

Cheers,

[Pythagoras]

Professor P.N. Oak has an interesting hypothesis:

http://www.salagram.net/VWH-Kaaba.html

best wishes,

[barnasha]

Professor P.N. Oak has an interesting hypothesis:

http://www.salagram.net/VWH-Kaaba.html

best wishes,

Interesting reading, thanks for the link.

A sikh friend of mine says that some people say that within the Ka'ba is a statue of Ganesh.

To those in here who say 'Allah is a moon god', you are right that Allah was the name of a pagan god originally.

but you must also remember that before Mosaic law, Yah and El, the names of God used in the tanach and talmud, were originally pagan gods. In fact in the bible 'yahweh' (YHVH) is referred to as the 'god of gods' or something similar to that.

So, just as Yah and El were once pagan gods but now refer to the god of abraham, the same is true with Allah - Christian arabs use this word to mean God (after it was adopted as a name for the God of Abraham during the Islamic conception)

please correct my history if I have misspoken

cheers!
peace,
b.

[menj]

V. Pagan Origins of Islam



Issue of Continuity: "Whenever someone tells them: 'Believe in what God has sent down;' they say: 'We believe [only] in what has been sent down to us,' while they disbelieve in what has come after that, even though it is the Truth confirming what they already have." (Qur'an 2:87 )

Muslims claim that Allah is the same God of the Bible, and the message of the Koran is consistent with that of the Bible.
Therefore, their claim for converting Jews or Christians to Islam rests on this issue, otherwise if their deity is a different 'god' with a different message, their claims are refuted.


Who is Allah? The word Allah was derived from al-ilah which had become a generic title for whatever god was considered the highest god. Each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. This is why Hubal, the Moon god, was the central focus of prayer at the Kabah and people prayed to Hubal using the name Allah. (Dr. Robert Morey; <A href="http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm">http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm)


"Islam also owes the term "Allah" to the heathen Arabs. We have evidence that it entered into numerous personal names in Northern Arabia and among the Nabatians. It occurred among the Arabs of later times, in theophorous names and on its own."

Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not A Muslim,
(Prometheus, Amherst, 1995) p. 42.





The worship of the Moon-god "Suen" (also called Nanna or Asimbabbaar) was the most wide-spread religion in the Middle East (Hall, Mark. 1985, A Study of the Sumerian Moon-god, Nanna/Suen; University of PA)
The symbol of this Moon-god was the crescent moon, and was constantly found on ancient pottery or artifacts of worship. Islam adopted the crescent moon as its religious symbol.
In Mesopotamia the word "Suen" was transformed into the word "Sin" by the Sumerians as their favorite name for the Moon-god by the Sumerians (Austin Potts, 1971, The Hymns and Prayers To The Moon-god, Sin, Dropsie College, p. 2)
The Old Testament rebuked the worship of the Moon-god (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; II Kings 21:3,5 etc.) because it often caused Israel to commit idolatry.
While the name of the Moon-god was "Sin," his title was "al-ilah" meaning "the deity." "Ilah" is a generic Arabic word for "god" or "deity."
"The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon God." (Coon, Carleton S.; 1944. Southern Arabia, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian, p. 398)
The pre-Islamic Arabs shortened 'al-ilah' to Allah. They used 'Allah' in the names of their children. For instance, Muhammed's father and uncle had Allah as part of their names.
"Similarly, under Muhammed's tutelage, the relatively anonymous Ilah, became Al-Ilah, The God, or Allah, the Supreme Being." (Coon, p. 399)
Mohammed never defined "Allah" in the Qur'an because he assumed that the pagan Arabs already knew who Allah was.
Mohammed rejected all the deities of Ancient Arab such as Ilah's wives and daughters. But he kept the black stone which represented Allah.





This is just plain nonsense and this has been refuted here:

http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/the-mysterious-statue-at-hazor-the-allah-of-the-muslims/

Morey is a liar. Was. Is. In the future, too.

- MENJ

[sonofyah]

In the ANE, both people and dieties were given multiple names. (I.e: Jacob/Israel, El-Shaddai/<tetragammaton>).

This is a lie. Just because different versions have changed names in the Scriptures doesn't mean it is correct. YHWH is the only name of the heavenly father and he CHANGED Yacoov to Yisrael which now means "one who struggles with Elohim. Tetragrammaton (greek) means "four letters". Yod-Hay-Waw-Hay. There isnt a place in scripture that says you can call YHWH by any other name.

[NonTrinitarian]

Who is Allah? The word Allah was derived from al-ilah which had become a generic title for whatever god was considered the highest god. Each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. This is why Hubal, the Moon god, was the central focus of prayer at the Kabah and people prayed to Hubal using the name Allah. (Dr. Robert Morey; <A href="http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm">http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm)




"Dr." Morey. Ha, what a joke. It's amazing how many people put faith in what this quack has to say. Lies never help support the truth.

Reminds me of a book review at Amazon.com that a Catholoc woman did on one of his books where he goes after Catholics. She started saying how wonderful is works were on Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and how accurate they were but that his book on Catholics was full of lies and inaccurate statements. The sad thing is I believe her because I've seen Morey lie and use bogus junk all the time. But even more sad than that is this Catholic woman who is too (looking for the right word here...Stupid?) to rationalize that if she recognizes that Morey lied about Catholic doctrine might it also be possible he is lying about other religions too?

The gullible and blind are too quick to put faith in anything that supports their cause, whether it's true or not. I'm not Muslim and I don't know a lot about them. But if Robert Morey, (I can't call him a Doctor in good conscience) told me Muslims called God Allah and that the earth was round, I'd question it.

[OldShepherd]

"Dr." Morey. Ha, what a joke. It's amazing how many people put faith in what this quack has to say. Lies never help support the truth.

Reminds me of a book review at Amazon.com that a Catholoc woman did on one of his books where he goes after Catholics. She started saying how wonderful is works were on Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and how accurate they were but that his book on Catholics was full of lies and inaccurate statements. The sad thing is I believe her because I've seen Morey lie and use bogus junk all the time. But even more sad than that is this Catholic woman who is too (looking for the right word here...Stupid?) to rationalize that if she recognizes that Morey lied about Catholic doctrine might it also be possible he is lying about other religions too?

The gullible and blind are too quick to put faith in anything that supports their cause, whether it's true or not. I'm not Muslim and I don't know a lot about them. But if Robert Morey, (I can't call him a Doctor in good conscience) told me Muslims called God Allah and that the earth was round, I'd question it.

And you of course, have provided empirical evidence for all these assertions against a noted scholar, haven't you? In the absence of any evidence what might your qualifications be?

Something about logical fallacy, poisoning the well comes to mind. The grapes are really sour this time of year.

[Krusader]

And you of course, have provided empirical evidence for all these assertions against a noted scholar, haven't you? In the absence of any evidence what might your qualifications be?

Something about logical fallacy, poisoning the well comes to mind. The grapes are really sour this time of year.

But a picture is worth a thousand words:

http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-photos-moon-worship-archealolgy.htm

Allah was one of the members of a vast pantheon of pagan deities; his relationship to the pagan moon god is probably best manifested in the fact that the crescent moon is a symbol of Islam and only the flags of many Muslim nations. The Ottomans used this symbol, however it was derived from pagan sybmolism associated with moon worship by ancient Arabs, etc. Rock worship, or the use of rocks in worship by pagan Arabs, survives today in the form of meteor worship in the kaba'a. Actually, Islam is a monotheistic form of paganism.

[Cynic Sage]

But a picture is worth a thousand words:

http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-photos-moon-worship-archealolgy.htm

Allah was one of the members of a vast pantheon of pagan deities; his relationship to the pagan moon god is probably best manifested in the fact that the crescent moon is a symbol of Islam and only the flags of many Muslim nations. The Ottomans used this symbol, however it was derived from pagan sybmolism associated with moon worship by ancient Arabs, etc. Rock worship, or the use of rocks in worship by pagan Arabs, survives today in the form of meteor worship in the kaba'a. Actually, Islam is a monotheistic form of paganism.

Sigh...

Crusader, you might as well have cited a Jack Chick Tract. The Crescent moon and star was also a symbol used even by Christians to represent Byzantium and Constantinople until the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. And that was when the Muslims started to use it. The crescent moon wasn't a symbol of Islam at the time of Muhammad (see: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/islam.html#ori).

And you didn't answer my question, Crusader. If Arabic-speaking Christians don't say "Allah" anymore, what word do they use for "God"?

[barnasha]

Bullhonk. There are plenty of other errors with Islam, but the fact is that allah is simply the arabic equivalent of "god". It's probably dervied from the hebrew elo_ah. Or it could be from the hebrew elokim, as many words in hebrew that naturally have an im ending in hebrew seem to drop that ending in arabic.


by itself, Islam has nothing to do with language, provided that Islam is the original form monotheism from before the time of abraham, as is defined in the Qur'an, which is hardly an unauthoritative source of "what Islam is"

many people, even what we refer to as "Muslims" today, disregard the definition of the religion from God and the prophet, as the religion of all prophets. Islam is in fact the religion of Jesus and Moses, and if Jesus or Moses did something which differs with what someones view of what Islam is, then that view of what Islam is is quite incorrect (at least from the Qur'anic/divine point of view).

anyway,
Eloah and Ilah and Alah (aramaic) are all from the same root. you can't say one is derived from another (without historical evidence, anyway) - they are all "proto-semitic" in nature.


allah has always been the translation of elokim into arabic.


elohim = plural of eloah, which you probably already know.


If we're going to critique the Muslims, let's do it right. Let's tear apart their proof-texts, like I did with their Shir HaShirim proof-text on my website.

spoken like a true intellectual

-b

[Cynic Sage]

Sigh...

Crusader, you might as well have cited a Jack Chick Tract. The Crescent moon and star was also a symbol used even by Christians to represent Byzantium and Constantinople until the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. And that was when the Muslims started to use it. The crescent moon wasn't a symbol of Islam at the time of Muhammad (see: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/islam.html#ori).

And you didn't answer my question, Crusader. If Arabic-speaking Christians don't say "Allah" anymore, what word do they use for "God"?
:bump:

[Krusader]

:bump:

I personally don't like Chick tracts. The relationship between Allah and the moon deity in pre-Islamic Arabia is documented archeologically. As far as Arabic-speaking Christians using another word for "god," I believe you will find the answer in the book, "Who is this Allah?"

Order these books from The Berean Call, PO Box 7019, Bend, OR 97708:

Who is This Allah? By G.J.O. Moshay, 178 pp. Item #838611, $8.

[Cynic Sage]

I personally don't like Chick tracts. The relationship between Allah and the moon deity in pre-Islamic Arabia is documented archeologically. As far as Arabic-speaking Christians using another word for "god," I believe you will find the answer in the book, "Who is this Allah?"

Order these books from The Berean Call, PO Box 7019, Bend, OR 97708:

Who is This Allah? By G.J.O. Moshay, 178 pp. Item #838611, $8.

And the actual word is...?

Why is it so hard to have this question answered?

[Krusader]

And the actual word is...?

Why is it so hard to have this question answered?

According to the author, there is another Arabic word that predates allah, and that can be used in place of Allah. I understand that many Arabic speaking Christians have come under conviction about this and use this word. However, I have the book at home right now - but if you are interested, I'll research it for you.

[Cynic Sage]

According to the author, there is another Arabic word that predates allah, and that can be used in place of Allah. I understand that many Arabic speaking Christians have come under conviction about this and use this word. However, I have the book at home right now - but if you are interested, I'll research it for you.

Thanks. :thumb:

[menj]

I personally don't like Chick tracts. The relationship between Allah and the moon deity in pre-Islamic Arabia is documented archeologically. As far as Arabic-speaking Christians using another word for "god," I believe you will find the answer in the book, "Who is this Allah?"

Order these books from The Berean Call, PO Box 7019, Bend, OR 97708:

Who is This Allah? By G.J.O. Moshay, 178 pp. Item #838611, $8.

In actual fact "archeological evidence" conclude otherwise, as can be seen here:

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/Allah/moongod.html

I really wonder what is this fascination about Allah being "the name of that moon-gawd", when the theory of the Triad of planets in Semitic worship have been badly discredited by the scholars.

- MENJ

[K_Nomad]

V. Pagan Origins of Islam



Issue of Continuity: "Whenever someone tells them: 'Believe in what God has sent down;' they say: 'We believe [only] in what has been sent down to us,' while they disbelieve in what has come after that, even though it is the Truth confirming what they already have." (Qur'an 2:87 )


Muslims claim that Allah is the same God of the Bible, and the message of the Koran is consistent with that of the Bible.
Therefore, their claim for converting Jews or Christians to Islam rests on this issue, otherwise if their deity is a different 'god' with a different message, their claims are refuted.


Who is Allah? The word Allah was derived from al-ilah which had become a generic title for whatever god was considered the highest god. Each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. This is why Hubal, the Moon god, was the central focus of prayer at the Kabah and people prayed to Hubal using the name Allah. (Dr. Robert Morey; <A href="http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm">http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm)

"Islam also owes the term "Allah" to the heathen Arabs. We have evidence that it entered into numerous personal names in Northern Arabia and among the Nabatians. It occurred among the Arabs of later times, in theophorous names and on its own."
Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not A Muslim,
(Prometheus, Amherst, 1995) p. 42.



The worship of the Moon-god "Suen" (also called Nanna or Asimbabbaar) was the most wide-spread religion in the Middle East (Hall, Mark. 1985, A Study of the Sumerian Moon-god, Nanna/Suen; University of PA)
The symbol of this Moon-god was the crescent moon, and was constantly found on ancient pottery or artifacts of worship. Islam adopted the crescent moon as its religious symbol.
In Mesopotamia the word "Suen" was transformed into the word "Sin" by the Sumerians as their favorite name for the Moon-god by the Sumerians (Austin Potts, 1971, The Hymns and Prayers To The Moon-god, Sin, Dropsie College, p. 2)
The Old Testament rebuked the worship of the Moon-god (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; II Kings 21:3,5 etc.) because it often caused Israel to commit idolatry.
While the name of the Moon-god was "Sin," his title was "al-ilah" meaning "the deity." "Ilah" is a generic Arabic word for "god" or "deity."
"The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon God." (Coon, Carleton S.; 1944. Southern Arabia, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian, p. 398)
The pre-Islamic Arabs shortened 'al-ilah' to Allah. They used 'Allah' in the names of their children. For instance, Muhammed's father and uncle had Allah as part of their names.
"Similarly, under Muhammed's tutelage, the relatively anonymous Ilah, became Al-Ilah, The God, or Allah, the Supreme Being." (Coon, p. 399)
Mohammed never defined "Allah" in the Qur'an because he assumed that the pagan Arabs already knew who Allah was.
Mohammed rejected all the deities of Ancient Arab such as Ilah's wives and daughters. But he kept the black stone which represented Allah.
Arabic Pagan Worship


Islam's origins and practices have been tracked back by scholars to the ancient fertility religion of the moon god of Arabia.


"The moon god was worshipped by praying toward Mecca several times a day, making an annual pilgrimage to the Kabah which was a temple of the moon god, running around the Kabah seven times, caressing an idol of a black stone set in the wall of the Kabah, running between two hills, making animal sacrifices, gathering on Fridays for prayers, giving alms to the poor, etc. These were pagan rites practiced by the Arabs long before Mohammed was born." (Dr. Robert Morey; http://www.cultbusters.com/aorigin.htm)"The Forms of Pagan Worship... It will be noticed that the sun and the moon and the five planets got identified with a living deity, god or goddess, with the qualities of its own.
Moon worship was equally popular in various forms...It may be noted that the moon was a male divinity in ancient India; it was also a male divinity in ancient Semitic religion, and the Arabic word for the moon (qamar) is of the masculine gender. On the other hand, the Arabic word for the sun (shama) is of the feminine gender. The pagan Arabs evidently looked upon the sun as a goddess and the moon as a god. If Wadd and Suwa represented Man and Woman, they might well represent the astral worship of the moon and the sun...
The Pagan deities best known in the Ka'ba and round about Mecca were Lat, Uzza and Manat...They were all female goddesses." (Yusuf Ali: pgs. 1619-1623)


In his explanation of why the Qur'an swears by the moon in Surah 74:32, "Nay, verily by the Moon," Yusuf Alli comments, "The moon was worshipped as a deity in times of darkness." (fn. 5798, pg. 1644)
Muhammad commanded his followers to participate in these pagan ceremonies while the pagans were still in control of Mecca. (See Yusuf Ali, fn. 214, pg. 78.)
Islam went on to adopt these pagan religious rites.
"...the whole of the [pagan] pilgrimage was spiritualized in Islam..." (Yusuf Ali: fn. 223 pg. 80)

Al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat called "the daughters of Allah". Yusuf Ali explains in fn. 5096, pg. 1445, that Lat, Uzza and Manat were known as "the daughters of God [Allah]".
The stars were used as pagan symbols of the daughters of Allah.
The Qur'an at one point told Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat in Surah 53:19-20.
Those verses have been "abrogated" out of the present Qur'an. They were called "The Satanic Verses."
The Arab tribes gave the Moon-god different titles: Sin, Hubul, Ilumquh, Al-ilah.
The title "al-ilah" (the god) was used for the Moon-god.
The word "Allah" was derived from "al-ilah."
The pagan "Allah" was a high god in a pantheon of 360 deities worshipped at the Kabah.
Allah was only one of many Meccan gods in the Kabah.
The Muslims placed a statue of Hubul on top of the Kabah, at that time Hubul was considered the Moon-god by the Arabs.
The Kabah was the "house of the Moon-god" and the name "Allah" eventually replaced that of Hubul as the name of the Moon god.
They called the Kabah the "house of Allah."
"Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'bah in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this." (G.J.O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994, pg. 138)

Source: http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html (http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html)




I have a post that deals with this very topic on my blog. The assertion that the Allah is different to the God of the Bible is given some exposure there:

http://kashmiri-nomad.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-think-that-allah-is-satan.html

The Moon god theory is the child of Robert Morey and I believe that this theory has been fully refuted by established scholars in the field

[tqcincinnatus]

Pre-Islamic Development of Allah (http://www.studytoanswer.net/myths_ch3.html)

[!Fluffy!]

It may be noted that the moon was a male divinity in ancient India; it was also a male divinity in ancient Semitic religion, and the Arabic word for the moon (qamar) is of the masculine gender.

Phooey. I don't care, I'm not changing my name.

:tongue:

[Rupert Pupkin]

Obviously, I don't agree with Islam, but I don't think this argument is a fair one. The word Allah, as has been noted, is just a contraction of Al-Ilah, which is derived from the general semitic word for a deity, El. It's just got the Arabic definite article attached. So it simply means "god".

Now of course, the word may well have been used to refer to the cheif deity in a pagan pantheon prior to Islam, but that proves nothing at all. After all, the word "El", and virtually every Biblical varient on this term (e.g. Elohim, El Elyon, and so forth) was also used to refer to the cheif deity in the pagan pantheon in the Ugaritic texts. Indeed, in the Ugaritic texts the word "El" more often appears as the specific name of the cheif deity, than it does with the generic meaning "god".

So if Robert Morey were consistent, he would have to argue that the Jews and Christians worship a pagan deity called El. And indeed, some scholars have argued that the worship of El amongst the Israelites originated from the worship of the pagan El amongst Semitic peoples.

The same is true of the New Testament word for God, "theos", which is etymologically derived from the same word as "Zeus". So did New Testament Christians worship the Greek Zeus, because they called God "theos"?

But whether applied to Jews, Christians, or Muslims, such charges are unfair. What are they to call God, if not by the word that simply means "god" in their respective languages? Suppose that I could show that the word "god" in English was used in pre-Christian times by the Anglo-Saxons to refer to some specific deity. Would that prove that modern English speaking Christians really worship that pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon deity?

[mastralvarado]

Obviously, I don't agree with Islam, but I don't think this argument is a fair one. The word Allah, as has been noted, is just a contraction of Al-Ilah, which is derived from the general semitic word for a deity, El. It's just got the Arabic definite article attached. So it simply means "god".

Now of course, the word may well have been used to refer to the cheif deity in a pagan pantheon prior to Islam, but that proves nothing at all. After all, the word "El", and virtually every Biblical varient on this term (e.g. Elohim, El Elyon, and so forth) was also used to refer to the cheif deity in the pagan pantheon in the Ugaritic texts. Indeed, in the Ugaritic texts the word "El" more often appears as the specific name of the cheif deity, than it does with the generic meaning "god".

So if Robert Morey were consistent, he would have to argue that the Jews and Christians worship a pagan deity called El. And indeed, some scholars have argued that the worship of El amongst the Israelites originated from the worship of the pagan El amongst Semitic peoples.

The same is true of the New Testament word for God, "theos", which is etymologically derived from the same word as "Zeus". So did New Testament Christians worship the Greek Zeus, because they called God "theos"?

But whether applied to Jews, Christians, or Muslims, such charges are unfair. What are they to call God, if not by the word that simply means "god" in their respective languages? Suppose that I could show that the word "god" in English was used in pre-Christian times by the Anglo-Saxons to refer to some specific deity. Would that prove that modern English speaking Christians really worship that pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon deity?
what you just explained, rules!!! :)

[heisonly1]

Obviously, I don't agree with Islam, but I don't think this argument is a fair one. The word Allah, as has been noted, is just a contraction of Al-Ilah, which is derived from the general semitic word for a deity, El. It's just got the Arabic definite article attached. So it simply means "god".

Now of course, the word may well have been used to refer to the cheif deity in a pagan pantheon prior to Islam, but that proves nothing at all. After all, the word "El", and virtually every Biblical varient on this term (e.g. Elohim, El Elyon, and so forth) was also used to refer to the cheif deity in the pagan pantheon in the Ugaritic texts. Indeed, in the Ugaritic texts the word "El" more often appears as the specific name of the cheif deity, than it does with the generic meaning "god".

So if Robert Morey were consistent, he would have to argue that the Jews and Christians worship a pagan deity called El. And indeed, some scholars have argued that the worship of El amongst the Israelites originated from the worship of the pagan El amongst Semitic peoples.

The same is true of the New Testament word for God, "theos", which is etymologically derived from the same word as "Zeus". So did New Testament Christians worship the Greek Zeus, because they called God "theos"?

But whether applied to Jews, Christians, or Muslims, such charges are unfair. What are they to call God, if not by the word that simply means "god" in their respective languages? Suppose that I could show that the word "god" in English was used in pre-Christian times by the Anglo-Saxons to refer to some specific deity. Would that prove that modern English speaking Christians really worship that pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon deity?


And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Prostrate not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him. (Qur'an 41:37)

Allâh is the mighty name of the Self-Existing and Self-Sufficient Being Who comprises all perfect attributes, Who is free from every weakness and defect, is alone worthy of worship, is without partner or peer and is the source of all Love and Grace. Unlike the word "god" in Arabic, the word Allah is never used for any other object or being. It is a substantive name, neither attributive nor descriptive and is inclusive of all His other names and attributes and has primacy over all other titles.
When Moses received his Divine mission he was addressed in the following words:

"Moses! Surely I am, Allâh, the Lord of the worlds" (28:30, 27:9)

In these verses the Lord of the worlds, reveals Moses Who is speaking to him. The word Allâh is accordingly a proper name, whereas the "Lord of all the worlds", is His first and foremost title. Allâh is a personal name applied to the Supreme Being and distinguished from all other names denoting attributes of God.

“Alllaah” Not a contraction

The English customary spelling “Allah” syllable as “al - lah” in English dictionaries and encyclopedias has often been misrepresented as to its etymology or nature of the word without any Arabic authoritive sources such as Arabic Dictionaries, Lexicons, or Arabic Scholars them selves. Due to its English customary spelling it is often viewed by western writers that the English transliterated letters “a,l,l,a,h” are a contraction of two Arabic words based on a linguistical prestige (in English not Arabic). Thus being ignorant of the fact, and the language it self, that the second “L” in Arabic script called “laam” is a double consonant letter. The first two letters “al” is perceived as the definite article (the), and the three following letters “laah” ( sometimes rendered in English as “lah” ) is the contracted Arabic word “ilaah (deity)” where the weak radical “a”, in Arabic called “alif” - pronounced as an “i” in “ilaah”, is dropped for a contraction.

Example:

1) al ilah (the deity)

2) al lah

3) al-lah

4) Allah

In the technical vocabulary of linguistics, the word Allâh is Jâmid, that is, it is not derived from any other word.

According to Arabic Lexicons and Scholars:

{alllaah}, [written with the disjunctive alif الله, meaning God, i.e. the only true god,] accord. to the most correct opinions respecting it, which are twenty in number, (K,) or more than thirty, (MF,) is a proper name, (Msb, K,) applied to the Being who exists necessarily, by Himself, comprising all the attributes of perfection; (TA;) a proper name denoting the true god, comprising all the excellent divine names; a unity comprising all the essence of existing things; (Ibn-El’Arabee, TA;) the ال being inseparable from it: (Msb: ) not derived.....

"Edward William Lane, Arabic Lexicon

"Allah - It is the proper noun applied to the Supreme Being, who is the sole possesor of all perfect attributes, who is free from all defects and who exist necessarily by Himself. It is not a common noun. All Divine attributes mentioned in the Quran are qualities of the proper name Allah. No other language has a distinctive name for the Divine Being. The names found in other languages are either attributive or descriptive and can be used in the plural form, but the word Allah is never used for any other thing, being or deity. It is never used as a qualifying word. Sibwaih and Khalil say, Since "Al" in the begining of the word Allah is inseperable from it so it is a simple substantive, not derived from any word. The word Allah is not a contraction of al-ilah, as some people tend to believe, but quite a different word.

"The Dictionary of the Holy Qur’an, 1st edition, Abdul Mannan Omar


The Above quote is by Edward Lane a Christian Classical Arabic Scholar the last by a Muslims Scholar in which both Quote other supreme Arabic authorities. Further more there is no Arabic Lexicon or Dictionary that supports to the contrary of the word Allah not being a personal name or proper noun.

Based on this western hypothesis, and its manipulative fraudulent philosophy which is misleading, the word is assumed to mean ‘the god’ or ‘the deity’ denoting the supreme deity out of others as the main one. The double consonant “L”(laam) in the original Arabic has been edited in English exegesis of the word as a single consonant giving it a linguistical prestige in English as an “al ilah” contraction. This reason because, the double consonant “L”, which would be properly spelled with three L’s(Alllah) serves no purpose in English as it does in Arabic. If the customary English spelling of the name it self is transliterated back into Arabic it would spell “ alif, laam, laam, fatah, ha” reading “allah(a)” (Note: This word in Arabic has NO article) which would be a different word in Arabic meaning “Deification” whereas the name in its original Arabic is spelled as “alif, laam, laam, laam, alif maqsoorah, ha’a” reading “alllaah”. On the other hand, a contraction of the words “al-ilah” is not possible in the Arabic language because the grammar behind it does no permit it as will be shown in the reality of the words in their original language which have been manipulated in English. In The Arabic language when the second radical letter of a word is doubled, by stressing it, it either enhances the word or changes its meaning all together. When the Arabic word “ilaah”(deity) is pronounced as “illaah” by stressing its second radical consonant “L” to double “ll” it changes the meaning from “deity” to “except him” where the “h” consonant is converted into a masculine suffix pronoun. With the contraction theory of “al ilah” applied in Arabic, rather than in English, the second radical letter “L” in the Arabic word “ilaah” is doubled when the “i”(alif kasrah) is dropped to take the word “al” in order to contract “al” and “lah” in the Arabic language.

EXAMPLE:

1) al ilaah

2) al-llaah

3) alllaah

Such an etymological contraction is not possible in the Arabic language in which the word would be meaningless therefore prohibited .

Alllaah Not A Title

The name however is never used or demonstrated in the Quran or Arabic literature as a title. As an attribute of and reference to Alllah surah(chapter) 114 ayah(verse) 3 in the Quran says: “ilahinnas” ~ God of mankind, which negates the existence of another deity for mankind to be worshiped.

In the Quranic Arabic text the word “ilaah”(deity) does not take a nunnation for an indefinite article to indicate “a deity of mankind”, nor the definite article(the) that would denote Alllaah as being the deity out of other deities.

If the name Alllaah in the Arabic language was understood as “the deity” the attribute “ilahinnas”~ God of mankind would of said “ilahin annas” taking the nunnation(in) to mean “A deity of mankind” or “al ilahinnas” with the definite article(the) to mean “The god of mankind” which would of corroborated with the name Alllah if it was understood or meant “ the deity” or “the god”.

However such a gross statement or its like demonstration is no where to be found in the Quran text or Arabic literature in reference to Alllaah In support, the renown testimony and article of faith in islam which is repetitively mentioned in the Quran as:

Laa ilaaha illaa alllah “There is no God except Alllah”

Maa min ilaahin illaa alllah “there is not a single deity(or other God) except Alllah”

If the name meant “the god” it would not have been used in such a statement, because “laa ilaaha illaa al ilaah ~ there is no God except the god”, and “ maa min ilahin illaa al ilaah ~ there is not a single deity(or God) except the god” is improper Arabic, absurd, and a contradiction to it self, whereas the name Alllaah would not have been possible to be used in such a statement in the Arabic language.

Alllaah No Definite Article

The name “Alllaah” in the Quranic Arabic text (and Arabic literature) is written in various grammatical forms which has been overlooked much less ignored by critics of the Islamic due to there lack of knowledge of the Arabic language.

These grammatical forms are: “lillaah”, “Alllaahumma”, “yaa Alllaah”, and “aalllaah”, which determine the nature of the word in Arabic. A noun prefixed with a definite article in Arabic cannot take an additional affix of a “yaa” vocative particle, a “m”(meem) magnifying particle, or a hamza’a interrogative particle, whereas the name Alllaah in many parts the Quran and in Arabic literature is found prefixed with a “yaa” vocative particle ~ “yaa Alllaah”, suffixed with a magnifying particle ~ “Alllaahumma”, and prefixed with an interrogative “hamza” particle ~ “aalllaah”. For example with the prefixed interrogative “hamza” in particle in 10:59 of the Quran

...Qul aalllaahu adhina lakum.

“Say(Muhammad)! Alllaah permitted you ?”

If “al” in the name Alllah was a definite article (the) the prefixing of the “hamza” particle instead of using the interrogative particle “hal” would not be possible or permitted, because the hamza interrogative particle prefixed to the name would have changed “al” to mean, people, folk, or family, as the Arabic word “aal” denotes rather than introducing the name into an interrogative. Thus it would have been meaningless and not used in such grammar.

The preceding ا = a consonant letter called “alif” is the uniform of the word in Arabic which is silent when the name is read suffixly to another word such as: عبدالله = abdu alllaah ~ servant of Alllaah, is read as “Abdullaah”, or the ا = a is absent all together in the possessive form of the word as لله = lillaah where the لِ = li denotes the possessive meaning: to, belonging to, or for, which is not a prefix to the word in Arabic.

In لله = lillaah , the possessive form of the word الله = Alllaah there is no written nor non written assimilated definite article, in which such a clusterized transitional reading of the word would be impossible in the Arabic language if there was a definite article.

The لّه = llaah is the suffix form transition of the word الله = Alllaah by the لِ = li conversion of its first “L” consonant for the possessive, in which a noun with a definite article cannot be suffixed to لِ = li. Only لِ = li can be prefixed to the article( al = the ) it self which is prefixed to a noun or an adjective word such as : al-quddus ~ The Holy One, with لِ = li prefixed to it as : lil-quddus ~ to the Holy One.

Hence, if “al” in Alllah was a definite article “li” could only be prefixed to it as “li-alllah” not as “lillaah” which would lose the article. The possessive form of the name as “lillaah” confirms that there is no “ilaah ~ deity” word contracted in the name, because the doubling of the second radical “L” consonant, as we said before ,of the contracted word “ilaah” with the dropped “i” for “laah” (as alleged) with the possessive “li” for “li-(i)llaah” would change the meaning of “ilaah ~ deity” to except he or it . Thus is meaningless and would be prohibited in Arabic because it would be absurd and making no sense whereas the possessive form “lillaah” of the name Alllaah would not be possible if such an etymological contraction of “al ilaah” existed.

Even so, an assimilated non written definite article is only possible with “li” when it is prefixed to a noun or adjective word with a “FIRST” radical “L” consonant in this case which is doubled by the prefixing of “li” to assimilate a definite article such as “lateef ~ most gentle” with “li” prefixed to it as “lillateef ~ to the Most Gentle(one)” which is the possessive form of “al-llateef ~ The Most Gentle(one).

To the contrary the un-doubled form of the part “llaah” without “li” is “laah(u)” which means “not him” that is not a noun or adjective but a phrase where as “li” cannot be a prefixed to it wherefore to assimilate a definite article. Therefore, the only possible way the word Alllaah in the Arabic language could take the possessive word “li”, if it had a definite article, or even if it was a contraction of “al ilaah”, would be “li-alllaah”. However ! There is no such thing and is remote there from.

The part “llaah” is only the suffix form transition of the word Alllaah by the “li” conversion of its first “L” consonant to make it a possessive noun. The double “Ls” of “llaah” in the Arabic language are inseparable in which “llaah” is the foundation of the name arabicized as Alllaah that engulfs much linguistical unlimited divine meaning.

These various forms characterize the word of being an ARABICIZED name , whereas with the form " Alllaahumma " being suffixed with the "meem" magnifying particle indicating the vocative and singular royal plural which cannot be used with no other word in the arabic language, clearly tells us that this Name is older than the Arabic language it self being derived from a former and more ancient language which constituted such a grammatical character which does not exist in the Arabic Language as we know it today with any other word.

Another example is how the Name never takes Noonation or Tanween. These are grammatical endings such as "un" "an" "in" which are not used with Arabicized words that are not originally arabic derived.

Such is the folly blunder of the “al ilaah ~ the god” contraction probability of the name Alllaah by western writers who have exploited it as a reality and were morless ignorant of the Arabic language and its nature of grammar to ascribe such a thing but followed their own invented imagination affected by prejudice which was mere and fictitious conjecture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Allah#Allah_not_a_contraction_of_al-ilah.21
http://www.islam-info.ch/en/Who_is_Allah.htm (http://www.islam-info.ch/en/Who_is_Allah.htm)

[Rupert Pupkin]

Regarding the above post, I'm really not that interested in getting into an argument about this, except to say that the vast majority of opinion amongst Arabic linguists everywhere, whether they are native English, French, German, or anything else speakers, is that Allah is etymologically derived from Al-Ilah. The post above has not addressed their arguments or the textual evidence, but merely presented contrary arguments that fail to understand the issue by confusing etymology with usage (i.e., the fact that "Allah" is etymologically derived from Al-Ilah, does not mean that in later Arabic it can be used as a synonym to mean Al-Ilah or "the god", nor that the grammatical rules governing the word "Allah" are those which govern Al-Ilah). As all linguists know, etymology does not determine meaning or usage. Therefore quoting from Qur'anic usage simply does not address the argument, because the Qur'an was written after the word had evolved. The problem is not that Western scholars do not understand Arabic grammar. The problem is that the person who wrote the above post does not understand etymology. Indeed, the English word "etymology" is derived from the Greek etumon and logos, but that doesn't give you its modern English sense, nor does it follow that the word "etymology" in English has to be used in accordance with ancient Greek grammatical rules. My post probably contributed to the confusion by not being precise about this. To be clear, nobody is disputing that the word "Allah" functions as a proper name in Qur'anic Arabic. When and how it first became to so function is more the point.

But I will note the following obvious errors in the post:

Moses! Surely I am, Allâh, the Lord of the worlds" (28:30, 27:9)
Actually, we know from vast amounts of evidence that Moses spoke Hebrew, that "Allah" is not a word in Hebrew, and that the name of God revealed to Moses was YWHW. There is not a shred of evidence of the word "Allah" ever being used to mean God from any Hebrew source at any time. Hence, the objective evidence once again disproves the Qur'an.

No other language has a distinctive name for the Divine Being.
This is patently false, and demonstrates that Lane is not a reliable source. YHWH is certainly a proper name and the distinctive name of the Divine Being. Indeed, it's hard to believe that a scholar of Semitic languages of any repute could be ignorant of this fact.

The main thing, however, is that such arguments really don't matter in terms of Muslim-Christian apologetic debates. Let us say for the sake of the argument that "Allah" is a proper name unrelated to Al-Ilah. Would that prove anything about the truth of Islam? Hardly. All it would show is that Muhammad used a name for God that hadn't been used before. Whether that name was really the name of God or not, would depend upon whether Muhammad was really a prophet or not.

Where such arguments might matter, is in relation to translating the Bible into Arabic. If "Allah" is indeed a proper name unrelated to Al-Ilah, then one could argue that one shouldn't translate, say, "ho theos" in the NT, into "Allah", but should use "Al-Ilah" instead. But even that wouldn't be obvious, because if "Allah" simply is "the proper name used by Arabs to refer to the being who created the world and is omniscient, omnipotent etc", then it could still be appropriate where "ho theos" means "the being who created the world and is omniscient, omnipotent etc". It all depends on your philosophy of translation, as well as resolving the issues above. One could make a much better argument that the proper name YHWH shouldn't have been translated as "kurios" in the LXX, and following that as "Lord" in English. But that's what happened, and nobody gets too upset about it now.

[barnasha]

Actually, we know from vast amounts of evidence that Moses spoke Hebrew, that "Allah" is not a word in Hebrew, and that the name of God revealed to Moses was YWHW. There is not a shred of evidence of the word "Allah" ever being used to mean God from any Hebrew source at any time. Hence, the objective evidence once again disproves the Qur'an.


Do you honestly think that God Almighty, creator of the heavens and earth, would reveal something to a people in the wrong language? Obviously, He/It would reveal something to that person in a way they could understand.

Moses spoke Hebrew, thus his revelations were explained in Hebrew.

The language describes what it is, not the other way around.

[djdavo]

Obviously, I don't agree with Islam, but I don't think this argument is a fair one.

agreed. turn the tables for a second.

hey! look! egyptians used a cross-shaped symbol before christians,
therefore christians worship dogheaded deities...


it's interesting,but doesn't prove anything.

[moose7237]

V. Pagan Origins of Islam



Issue of Continuity: "Whenever someone tells them: 'Believe in what God has sent down;' they say: 'We believe [only] in what has been sent down to us,' while they disbelieve in what has come after that, even though it is the Truth confirming what they already have." (Qur'an 2:87 )


Muslims claim that Allah is the same God of the Bible, and the message of the Koran is consistent with that of the Bible.
Therefore, their claim for converting Jews or Christians to Islam rests on this issue, otherwise if their deity is a different 'god' with a different message, their claims are refuted.


Who is Allah? The word Allah was derived from al-ilah which had become a generic title for whatever god was considered the highest god. Each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. This is why Hubal, the Moon god, was the central focus of prayer at the Kabah and people prayed to Hubal using the name Allah. (Dr. Robert Morey; <A href="http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm">http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm)

"Islam also owes the term "Allah" to the heathen Arabs. We have evidence that it entered into numerous personal names in Northern Arabia and among the Nabatians. It occurred among the Arabs of later times, in theophorous names and on its own."
Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not A Muslim,
(Prometheus, Amherst, 1995) p. 42.



The worship of the Moon-god "Suen" (also called Nanna or Asimbabbaar) was the most wide-spread religion in the Middle East (Hall, Mark. 1985, A Study of the Sumerian Moon-god, Nanna/Suen; University of PA)
The symbol of this Moon-god was the crescent moon, and was constantly found on ancient pottery or artifacts of worship. Islam adopted the crescent moon as its religious symbol.
In Mesopotamia the word "Suen" was transformed into the word "Sin" by the Sumerians as their favorite name for the Moon-god by the Sumerians (Austin Potts, 1971, The Hymns and Prayers To The Moon-god, Sin, Dropsie College, p. 2)
The Old Testament rebuked the worship of the Moon-god (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; II Kings 21:3,5 etc.) because it often caused Israel to commit idolatry.
While the name of the Moon-god was "Sin," his title was "al-ilah" meaning "the deity." "Ilah" is a generic Arabic word for "god" or "deity."
"The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon God." (Coon, Carleton S.; 1944. Southern Arabia, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian, p. 398)
The pre-Islamic Arabs shortened 'al-ilah' to Allah. They used 'Allah' in the names of their children. For instance, Muhammed's father and uncle had Allah as part of their names.
"Similarly, under Muhammed's tutelage, the relatively anonymous Ilah, became Al-Ilah, The God, or Allah, the Supreme Being." (Coon, p. 399)
Mohammed never defined "Allah" in the Qur'an because he assumed that the pagan Arabs already knew who Allah was.
Mohammed rejected all the deities of Ancient Arab such as Ilah's wives and daughters. But he kept the black stone which represented Allah.
Arabic Pagan Worship


Islam's origins and practices have been tracked back by scholars to the ancient fertility religion of the moon god of Arabia.


"The moon god was worshipped by praying toward Mecca several times a day, making an annual pilgrimage to the Kabah which was a temple of the moon god, running around the Kabah seven times, caressing an idol of a black stone set in the wall of the Kabah, running between two hills, making animal sacrifices, gathering on Fridays for prayers, giving alms to the poor, etc. These were pagan rites practiced by the Arabs long before Mohammed was born." (Dr. Robert Morey; http://www.cultbusters.com/aorigin.htm)"The Forms of Pagan Worship... It will be noticed that the sun and the moon and the five planets got identified with a living deity, god or goddess, with the qualities of its own.
Moon worship was equally popular in various forms...It may be noted that the moon was a male divinity in ancient India; it was also a male divinity in ancient Semitic religion, and the Arabic word for the moon (qamar) is of the masculine gender. On the other hand, the Arabic word for the sun (shama) is of the feminine gender. The pagan Arabs evidently looked upon the sun as a goddess and the moon as a god. If Wadd and Suwa represented Man and Woman, they might well represent the astral worship of the moon and the sun...
The Pagan deities best known in the Ka'ba and round about Mecca were Lat, Uzza and Manat...They were all female goddesses." (Yusuf Ali: pgs. 1619-1623)


In his explanation of why the Qur'an swears by the moon in Surah 74:32, "Nay, verily by the Moon," Yusuf Alli comments, "The moon was worshipped as a deity in times of darkness." (fn. 5798, pg. 1644)
Muhammad commanded his followers to participate in these pagan ceremonies while the pagans were still in control of Mecca. (See Yusuf Ali, fn. 214, pg. 78.)
Islam went on to adopt these pagan religious rites.
"...the whole of the [pagan] pilgrimage was spiritualized in Islam..." (Yusuf Ali: fn. 223 pg. 80)

Al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat called "the daughters of Allah". Yusuf Ali explains in fn. 5096, pg. 1445, that Lat, Uzza and Manat were known as "the daughters of God [Allah]".
The stars were used as pagan symbols of the daughters of Allah.
The Qur'an at one point told Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat in Surah 53:19-20.
Those verses have been "abrogated" out of the present Qur'an. They were called "The Satanic Verses."
The Arab tribes gave the Moon-god different titles: Sin, Hubul, Ilumquh, Al-ilah.
The title "al-ilah" (the god) was used for the Moon-god.
The word "Allah" was derived from "al-ilah."
The pagan "Allah" was a high god in a pantheon of 360 deities worshipped at the Kabah.
Allah was only one of many Meccan gods in the Kabah.
The Muslims placed a statue of Hubul on top of the Kabah, at that time Hubul was considered the Moon-god by the Arabs.
The Kabah was the "house of the Moon-god" and the name "Allah" eventually replaced that of Hubul as the name of the Moon god.
They called the Kabah the "house of Allah."
"Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'bah in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this." (G.J.O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994, pg. 138)

Source: http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html (http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html)




I have read in the Koran that says otherwise. As a matter of fact, Allah says to worship the creator of the moon and the sun, why would the moon God say that? Just a stupid arguement you and Dr. Morey pose

[Krusader]

I agree that Allah was simply made chief and only deity by Mohammed, but obviously had his origin in the pre-Islamic pantheon. Islam is, therefore, a reformed sort of pagansim, although the haj and other elements are very thinly veiled revisions of pagan practice.

[moose7237]

I agree that Allah was simply made chief and only deity by Mohammed, but obviously had his origin in the pre-Islamic pantheon. Islam is, therefore, a reformed sort of pagansim, although the haj and other elements are very thinly veiled revisions of pagan practice.

friend,
you are sadly mistaken. Allah is not pagan, nor ever was Pagan, Muhammad was never a pagan.

[barnasha]

friend,
you are sadly mistaken. Allah is not pagan, nor ever was Pagan, Muhammad was never a pagan.

the word 'pagan' is only relative to a prevailing custom. So the pre-islamic "jahiliyyah" arabs are considered to be 'pagan' by the muslims (and any modern day historian of the culture at that time, since compared to Islam, the others were pagan)

[moose7237]

the word 'pagan' is only relative to a prevailing custom. So the pre-islamic "jahiliyyah" arabs are considered to be 'pagan' by the muslims (and any modern day historian of the culture at that time, since compared to Islam, the others were pagan)


Hello and Peace be to you friend,

Yes the Jahiliyyah were pagan, but Allah is not pagan, that was a myth by this Morey guy, who failed to notice that in the Quran Allah said worship the creator of the sun and moon.

[barnasha]

my point was 'pagan' is a term without much real meaning.

peace to you too,
b
Hello and Peace be to you friend,

Yes the Jahiliyyah were pagan, but Allah is not pagan, that was a myth by this Morey guy, who failed to notice that in the Quran Allah said worship the creator of the sun and moon.

[LivniHaNetzari]

It's really interesting to see Xians calling Islam a religion of violence and paganism. Its really an example of the pot calling the kettle black when you examine both of the religions respective histories.
Xianity borrowed heavily from Platonism (Pagan) and various Roman mystery cults (Pagan). They also have had a tendency throughout the ages to systematically torture and murder people of other faiths, and even those within their own faith.

When Jews were the victims of an onslaught of such violence, the fled to the Ottoman Empire where they were (gasp!) treated with kindness and civility. This is one example of Moslems showing far greater humanity than their Xian counterparts.

It should be noted, that "Allah" was used by Arabic-speaking Jews AND Xians as a cognate to "Eloah" centuries before Mohammad was even born. So, unless you are willing to say Arabic Judaism and Xianity are both forms of Arabic Moon Worshipping that pretty much debunks your whole case.

[Daniel Marsh]

my point was 'pagan' is a term without much real meaning.

peace to you too,
b


If it has not been pointed out, the name of the moon god in Muhammads' time where he lived was SIN, not Allah. Look in any mythology dictionary.

[Scruffy]

I think we need to step back and look at the big question. Do religions evolve from earlier religions/mythologies? Or are they supernaturally created through divine revelation?

This issue parallels the issue of biological evolution, in a way. Did we evolve from earlier organisms? Or are we supernaturally created through divine action?

Religions, which are after all mythological systems, evolved quite naturally from and are influenced by other mythologies in responce to stimulus. They are shaped by the needs of the culture, their environment/circumstances, and their level of empirical & mystical knowledge.

Is there a "missing link" of some kind or another between Islam and earlier mythologies? Of course.

[barnasha]

Is there a "missing link" of some kind or another between Islam and earlier mythologies? Of course.

Islam itself comes from the arabs from the hebrews, with a lineage back to Adam. But this is according to the only authentic sources, not any propoganda or conjecture.

[barnasha]

Hello and Peace be to you friend,

Yes the Jahiliyyah were pagan, but Allah is not pagan, that was a myth by this Morey guy, who failed to notice that in the Quran Allah said worship the creator of the sun and moon.

people from the Jaheliyyah are only 'pagan' in relation to Islam. The word pagan is relative to the context of its use.

Morey's attempts to somehow relate Islam to pagan cultures, and say that Islam means to worship any other gods than Allah, are highly unscientific, as has been pointed out in this thread already