How the Quran Presents the Universal Concept of God? - Part 1

By V.A. Mohamad Ashrof, New Age Islam 18 February 2025 “Allah Pre-dates Muhammad, the Prophet” The word "Allah" originates from the compound Arabic term, al-ilah. Al is the definite article "the," and ilah is the Arabic word for "god," i.e., the God. Like a thread weaving through the tapestry of history, the use of "Allah" by Christian Arabs predates Islam, reflecting a profound linguistic and cultural connection to the divine. In the Arabic-speaking Christian tradition, "Allah" has long been the term used to refer to God, the Creator of the universe, as understood in the Christian faith. This usage is rooted in the shared Semitic linguistic heritage of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, where "El" or "Elohim" in Hebrew and "Allah" in Arabic both denote the supreme deity. These linguistic parallels are like branches of the same ancient tree, reaching toward the same divine sky. From a theological perspective, the term "Allah" is not exclusive to any one religion but serves as a linguistic expression of the divine that transcends specific doctrinal boundaries. It is a bridge spanning the rivers of faith, connecting diverse traditions. For Christian Arabs, "Allah" refers to the God of the Bible, the Father of Jesus Christ, and the source of all creation. While the Christian understanding of God includes the Trinitarian nature—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the Islamic understanding of Allah is strictly Unitarian. However, the term itself is not inherently tied to either theology but functions as a shared linguistic vessel for expressing reverence for the divine. It is a word that carries the weight of centuries, a vessel filled with the waters of devotion from different wells. The rise of Islam and its widespread use of "Allah" to refer to God did not alter the fundamental meaning of the term for Christian Arabs. For them, it continues to signify the God they have always worshipped, as revealed in the Bible and through the person of Jesus Christ. Like a diamond refracting light into many colours, the term "Allah" reflects the multifaceted ways in which the divine is understood. The coexistence of these two theological understandings of "Allah" highlights the shared Abrahamic roots of Christianity and Islam, as well as the capacity of language to bridge diverse religious experiences. In this context, there is no compelling reason for Christian Arabs to abandon the term "Allah" simply because it is also used by Muslims. To do so would conflate linguistic commonality with theological identity, which are distinct. It would be like discarding a precious heirloom simply because others cherish it too. The term "Allah" serves as a reminder of the shared spiritual heritage of monotheistic faiths, even as it is understood differently within each tradition. For Christian Arabs, it remains a meaningful and authentic way to express their faith in the God of the Bible while reflecting their cultural and linguistic identity. It is a word that echoes through the corridors of time, uniting hearts across generations and beliefs. In ‘The Call of the Minaret’, Kenneth Cragg, Anglican Bishop and Scholar of Islamic Studies, discusses the shared linguistic and theological heritage between Christianity and Islam. He emphasizes that the term "Allah" is not exclusive to Islam and has been used by Arabic-speaking Christians for centuries. His work highlights the continuity of monotheistic worship across these traditions. Dr. Kenneth Cragg, former editor of the prestigious scholarly journal Muslim World and an outstanding modern Western Islamic scholar, whose works were generally published by Oxford University, comments: “The name Allah is also evident in archaeological and literary remains of pre-Islamic Arabia." (Cragg, p. 31) Dr. W. Montgomery Watt, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Edinburgh University and Visiting Professor of Islamic Studies at Collège de France, Georgetown University, and the University of Toronto, has done extensive work on the pre-Islamic concept of Allah. He concludes: "In recent years I have become increasingly convinced that for an adequate understanding of the career of Muhammad and the origins of Islam, great importance must be attached to the existence in Mecca of belief in Allah as a 'high god.' In a sense, this is a form of paganism, but it is as different from paganism as commonly understood that it deserves separate treatment." (Watt, p. vii) Karen Armstrong, British author, historian, and scholar of comparative religion, notes: "Ka'aba was dedicated to al-Llah, the High God of the pagan Arabs, despite the presiding effigy of Hubal. By the beginning of the seventh century, al-Llah had become more important than before in the religious life of many of the Arabs. Many primitive religions develop a belief in a High God, who is sometimes called the Sky God... But they also carried on worshipping the other gods, who remained deeply important to them." (Armstrong, p. 69) In History of the Arabs, Philip Hitti, Lebanese-American historian and scholar, explains that the term "Allah" predates Islam and was used by pre-Islamic Arab Christians to refer to the God of the Bible. He notes that the word is rooted in the Semitic linguistic tradition and was naturally adopted by Arabic-speaking Christians: “Allah (Allah, Al-Ilah, the God) was the principal, though not the only, deity of Makkah. The name is an ancient one. It occurs in two South Arabic inscriptions, one a Minaean found at al-'Ula and the other a Sabaean, but abounds in the form HLH in the Lihyanite inscriptions of the fifth century B.C. Lihyan, which evidently got the god from Syria, was the first centre of the worship of this deity in Arabia. The name occurs as Hallah in the Safa inscriptions five centuries before Islam and also in a pre-Islamic Christian Arabic inscription found in Umm-al-Jimal, Syria, and ascribed to the sixth century. The name of Muhammad’s father was Abd-Allah (Abdullah, the slave or worshipper of Allah).” (Hitti, p. 101) This argument is echoed in The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World: "The cult of a deity termed simply 'the god' (Al-Ilah) was known throughout southern Syria and northern Arabia in the days before Islam—Muhammad's father was named 'Abd Allah ('Servant of Allah')—and was obviously of central importance in Mecca, where the building called the Ka'bah was indisputably his house. Indeed, the Muslim Shahadah attests to precisely that point: The Quraysh, the paramount tribe of Mecca, were being called on by Muhammad to repudiate the very existence of all the other gods save this one. It seems equally certain that Allah was not merely a god in Mecca but was widely regarded as the 'high god,' the chief and head of the Meccan pantheon, whether this was the result, as has been argued, of a natural progression toward henotheism or of the growing influence of Jews and Christians in the Arabian Peninsula... Thus Allah was neither an unknown nor an unimportant deity to the Quraysh when Muhammad began preaching his worship at Mecca." (Esposito, p. 76-77) Colin Chapman, British author and expert on Middle Eastern affairs, argues: “Nothing in the Quran suggests that Muhammad ever believed that Jews and Christians, the People of the Book, were worshipping a different God. For example, Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him... (Surah 3:64). When Christians today follow the same practice in using Allah, they want to make the theological point that the God of Islam is totally different from the God of Christianity. I have to confess, however, that as one whose introduction to Islam has been through the language of Arabic, I have great difficulty in understanding this practice. If Arabic-speaking Christians never think of using a different word for God, I can see no linguistic reason for us to use such a contrived way of speaking about God in Islam. And for the reasons I have outlined, I cannot find any adequate theological reason for trying to distinguish between the word Allah and ‘God’ in Christianity.” (Chapman, p. 16) Similarly, other scholars have noted: "The Arabs, before the time of Mohammed, accepted and worshipped, after a fashion, a supreme god called Allah." (Houtsma, p. 302) Bibliography Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992 Colin Chapman, “Going Soft on Islam?” Vox Evangelica 19, 1989 Cragg, Kenneth. The Call of the Minaret, New York: Oxford University Press, 1956 Esposito, John L., ed, The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World, New York: Oxford University Press, 1995 Hitti, Philip K, History of the Arabs, London: Macmillan, 1937 Houtsma, Arnold, Basset, Hartman (Editors), Encyclopaedia of Islam volume 1, eds. Houtsma, Arnold, Basset, Leiden: E.J.Brill, 1913 Watt, W. Montgomery, Muhammad at Mecca, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1953 … V.A. Mohamad Ashrof is an independent Indian scholar specializing in Islamic humanism. With a deep commitment to advancing Quranic hermeneutics that prioritize human well-being, peace, and progress, his work aims to foster a just society, encourage critical thinking, and promote inclusive discourse and peaceful coexistence. He is dedicated to creating pathways for meaningful social change and intellectual growth through his scholarship. He can be reached at vamashrof@gmail.com URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/quran-universal-concept-god-prophet/d/134655 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism