For children, - Allah: Arabic name for God, Allah the most Merciful, Allah the Creator and Lord of the Universe

Allah is the standard Arabic name for "God". The term is best known in the west for its use by Muslims as a reference to God. Arabic-speakers of all faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word Allah to mean "God". The Muslim and Christian Arabs of today have no other word for "God" than Allah. In Islam, Allah is the only deity, transcendent creator of the universe, and the judge of humankind. Some Islamic scholars feel that "Allah" should not be translated, because they perceive the Arabic word to express the uniqueness of "Allah" more accurately than the word "god" for two reasons: 1. The word "god" can take a plural form "gods", whereas the word "Allah" has no plural form. 2. The word "god" can have gender as male god or female god (called goddess) whereas the word "Allah" does not have gender. Tawhid (Tawheed, Tauheed)is the Islamic concept of monotheism (Oneness of God). In Islam, Tawhid means to assert the unity of Allah. The opposite of Tawhid is Shirk, which means "division" in Arabic, referring to idolatry. Shaykh Saduq, one of the most distinguished of Shi'a scholarsexpressed: "Verily, God is One, Unique, nothing is like Him, He is Eternal; Hearing, Seeing, Omniscient, Living, Omnipotent, above every need. He cannot be described in terms of substance, nor body, nor form, nor accident, nor line, nor surface, nor heaviness, nor lightness, nor color, nor movement, nor rest, nor time, nor space. He is above all the descriptions which can be applied to His creatures. He is away from both extremes: Neither He is just a non-entity (as atheists and in a lesser degree Mutazilites implied), nor He is just like other things. He is Existent, not like other existing things." Shi'a do not believe that God can or will ever be seen, and also reject the notion of Him having body parts, or any parts whatsoever. In a new study, Vander Hoven, a psychologist from Netherlands, discovered the effect of reading the Noble Qur'an and repeating the word ALLAH both on patients and on normal persons. The Dutch professor confirms his discovery with studies and research applied on many patients over a period of three years. Some of his patients were non-Muslims, others don't speak Arabic and were trained to pronounce the word "Allah" clearly; their result was great, especially on those who suffer from dejection and tension. Al-Watan, a Saudi daily has reported that the psychologist was quoted to say that Muslims who can read Arabic and who read the Noble Qur'anregularly are enjoying a great chance of protecting themselves from psychological diseases. The psychologist explained how each letter in the word "Allah" affects healing of psychological diseases. Vander Hoven pointed out in his research that pronouncing the first letter in the word "Allah" which is the letter (A), released from the respiratory system, controls breathing. He added that pronouncing the velar consonant (L) in the Arabic way, with the tongue touching slightly the upper part of the jaw producing a short pause and then repeating the same pause constantly, relaxes the aspiration. Also, pronouncing the last letter which is the letter (H) makes a contact between the lungs and the heart and so this contact controls the heartbeat. What is exciting about this study is that this psychologist is a non-Muslim, but interested in Islamic sciences and searching for the secrets of the Noble Qur'an. Allah (SWT), The Great and Glorious, says in the Noble Qur'an: "We will soon show them Our signs in the Universe and in their own souls, until it will become quite clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things?" (41:53) "ALLAHU AKBAR [Allah (SWT) is great], Allah (SWT) keeps me going day and night. Without Allah (SWT), I am no one. But with Allah (SWT), I can do everything. Allah (SWT) is my strength."