Islamic Article :- ‘ALLAH’ IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE NAME FOR GOD

It is becoming increasingly understood by many Muslims that the name
'Allah' is the only correct designation for God. This understanding is
neither supported by the Quran nor by history.
The name 'Allah' is only an Arabic name for God. It is not an
exclusive name for God. God is understood as an unfathomable, supreme
entity not a name.
The reason why the Quran makes use of the word 'Allah' to refer to God
is because the Quran is primarily addressing an Arab audience and
therefore has been conveyed in Arabic speech. Previous scriptures were
not in Arabic nor did previous messengers speakArabic. The name for
God inthe previous scriptures are in the language of the Hebrew and
later Greek scriptures not in Arabic. Forexample, 'El' as is cited in
the Hebrew Tanakh refers to an entity, a supreme power and not just a
Canaanite God.
See Exodus 6.2-3:
"And God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord (Hebrew:
Yahweh) and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God
Almighty (Hebrew: 'El Shaddai') but I was not known to them bymy name
'Yahweh'
Therefore Abraham knew God as 'El' as did Isaac and Jacob and not as
'Yahweh' (As Moses knew him) or 'Allah' as the Arabs would come to
know of Him. In allthe names, the reference is to One Deity.
Even today, Arab Jews and Christians still refer to their God as 'Allah'.
Even before the old religion of Islam was revealed to the Pagan Arabs,
Jewish and Christian Arabs used 'Allah' as the name for their God. The
following Quranic verse confirms this.
002.116
"They say: "Allah has begotten a son" Glory be toHim. Nay, to Him
belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: everything renders
worship to Him"
005.018
"(Both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are sons of Allah, and
his beloved." Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins? Nay, ye
are but men, of the men he has created: He forgives whom He pleases,
and He punishes whom He pleases:and to Allah belongs the dominion of
the heavens and the earth, and all that is between: and to Him is the
final goal (of all)"
Many Muslims make the counter claim that Christians and Jews used the
true name of God because they had previous scriptures revealed to
them. But this line of reasoning is easily defeated by theQuran when
it makes it clear that even the Arab idolaters (Mushrikeen) called
their 'high' God, 'Allah'
029.061
"If indeed you ask them who has created the Heavens and the Earth and
subjected the Sun and the Moon (to his Law), they willcertainly reply,
"Allah". How are they then deludedaway (from the truth)"?
However, the Quran asks the 'idolaters' (Mushrikeen) not to associate
any partners with the One God, in His majesty, in His power, in His
judgment or indeed, to invoke anyone apart from Him. This can beseen
in the following verse.
039.038
"If indeed you ask them who is it that created the Heavens and the
Earth, they would be sure to say,"Allah". Say: "Then do you see what
you invoke besides Allah? Can they, if Allah wills some penalty for
me, remove His penalty? Or if He wills some grace for me, can they
keep back his grace?" Say: "Sufficient is Allah for me! In Him do the
trusting put their trust""
Whether we call Him Rab, Lord, God, Almighty, Krishna, Khuda, Yahweh,
Elohim, Adi Purush(Timeless being); Para Brahman (The absolute Truth)
, El, Eli, Eloi, Jehovah, or whichever beautiful name we call Him, it
is with respect, humility and grace that wetake His name with the sole
intentionthat He is One and Only One that we serve. That He is alone
in His majesty, that He created the Heavens and the Earth and
everything init and to Him is our final return. He cannot be
represented by an idol, or astatue and is the only One truly worthy of
worship.
It is the entity, the majesticpower, the One and True all knowing, all
powerful that one refers to not to a particular name. God, in
Histremendous majesty simply cannot be restrictedto any name or any
number of names (The concept of 99 names of Allah is from Ahadith not
the Quran). This would be in effect a restriction on Hismajesty and
God can never be contained, neither physically or linguistically.
It is how you perceive God (without associates and partners), His
entity, and His transcendent majesty not by what beautiful name you
call Him.
CALL HIM BY ANY BEAUTIFUL NAME
017:110
"Say: "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call
upon Him, (it is well): for toHim belong the most beautiful names.
Neither speak thy Prayer aloud, norspeak it in a low tone, but seek a
middle course between.""
This also proves that you can call upon your God by any beautiful name
in yourprayers.

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HADEES :- ~ • Know Allah in times of ease and He will know you in times of adversities •

It has been authentically related from the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa
salam) on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas -May Allah be pleased with him –
that when he was a small boy, the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam)
advised him by saying,
❝ Know Allah in times of ease and He will know you in times of adversities ❞
Nnarrated by Ahmad and others.
Al Hafidh Ibn Rajab Al Hanbali (may Allah have mercy upon him)
mentioned in his book, 'Al Jaam'I Al 'Uloom wal Hikm',pg. 424,
"In the general sense, whoever has dealt with Allah with taqwa and
obedience while in a state of ease, then Allah will dealwith him with
compassion and assist him in the circumstance of his experiencing
hardship."

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HISTORY - ~ The Prophet’s (saas) trust in Allah

Those situations the Prophet (saas) was involved, as they are related
in the Qur'an, demonstrate his resignation, andsubmission to Allah.
For instance,the Prophet (saas)'s words whenhe and his friend were
hiding in a cave after leaving Mecca are one of the finest examples of
that submission. In the Qur'an, Allah says:
If you do not help him, Allah did help him when those who disbelieved
drove him out and there were two of them in the Cave. He said to his
companion,"Do not be despondent, Allah is with us." Then Allah sent
down His serenity upon him and reinforced him with troops you could
not see. He made the word of those who disbelieved undermost. It is
the word of Allah which is uppermost. Allahis Almighty, All-Wise.
(Surat at-Tawba: 40)
Whatever the situation might have been, the Prophet (saas) always
submitted to Allah, in the knowledge that there was beauty and
goodness in all that He created. These words of the Prophet (saas) to
his people as related in the Qur'an are a telling instance of that
submission:
If good happens to you it galls them. If a mishap occurs to you,they
say, "We made our preparations in advance," and they turn away
rejoicing. Say:"Nothing can happen to us except what Allah has
ordained for us. He is Our Master. It is in Allah that the believers
should put their trust." (Surat at-Tawba: 50-51)
The Prophet (saas), by his submission to Allah, was an example to all
Muslims, and he warned that people would neverhave the power to alter
anythingthat came from Allah:
"Everything is by decree—even incapacity and ability" 1
"… When you ask for anything ask it from Allah, and if you seek help
in Allah. Know that if the people were to unite to do you some benefit
they could benefit you only with what Allah had recorded for you, and
that if they were to unite to do you some injury they could injure you
only with what Allah had recorded for you. The pens are withdrawn and
the pages are dry." 2
Every believer who abides by the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas) has to
face every calamity with the same submission as he, and to have faith
that there is beautyand good in everything. We must not forget that
the Prophet Muhammad (saas), one of Allah's most God-fearing servants,
was also tested with great difficulties and trying circumstances.
There were people ready to create various kinds of difficulty in the
communities he addressed. They tried to plot against the Prophet
(saas) by behaving hypocritically. Polytheists refused to abandon the
religion of their ancestors, others asked the Prophet (saas) to bring
them a sign to suit their best interests, they tried to kill, arrest
or exile the Prophet (saas),and, basically, placed all kinds of
difficulties in his path.
The Prophet (saas) was always patient with the unbelievers. He
continued to communicate the religion of Allah and to instruct Muslims
in the Qur'an while he protected them from danger. Thesource of that
determination, success and courage lay his strong faith in Allah, his
godliness and submission. The Prophet (saas) always knew that Allah
was with him, as when he was in the cave, and that every situation was
ordained by Allah. He had faith that everything came from Allah and
would result in the best possible outcome. The following hadith ofthe
Prophet (saas) is an example of his submission:
"Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair
of his and this is notthe case with anyone else exceptin the case of a
believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight hethanks [Allah],
thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and
shown resignation (and endures it patiently), there is a good for him
in it." 3
The Prophet (saas) always did his best, whatever the situation, though
knowing that the outcome depended on Allah. He relied on and trusted
in Him. In return for that submission, Allah granted him strength and
success.
Allah instructed the Prophet (saas) to be patient in the face ofthose
who made problems for him, and he was faithful to that prescription
throughout his life. Ine one verse Allah says:
They have the word,"Obedience!" on their tongues but when they leave
your presence, a group of them spend the night plotting to do other
than what you say. Allah is recording their nocturnal plotting. So let
them be and put your trust in Allah. Allah suffices as a Guardian.
(Surat an-Nisa': 81)
The words the Prophet (saas) was commanded to say in another trying
situation also reveal his godliness and submission:
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ISLAMIC ARTICLE :- ~ Understanding Islam

Muslims now constitute a significant minority in Western countries,
most notably France, Britain, Germany, Canada, and the United States.
Consequently, thosein the West engaged in theological discourse and
pastoralwork can no longer consign Islamto the outer limits of their
universe of religious concerns. Islam is no longer just "over there,"
an exotic feature of distant cultures; it is a well-established
component of our own religious landscape and deserves attention from
all who work to further the Reign of God in our culture.
Having taught courses in Islamic civilization as part of the
religiousstudies curriculum at both secularand church-related
institutions, I can give ample testimony to the antagonistic images of
Islam obtaining in, and actively perpetuated by, many Western circles.
In some cases, it is alarmism that fuels the antagonism ("Muslims are
taking over the world!"); in others, the indignation of post-modern
Westerners who resent the very existence of a powerful religious
tradition which seems to foster"unenlightened" values ("Islam is
intolerant, it oppresses women, etc."). It is a situation fraught
withthe real possibility of bigotry and violence.
As "people of religion," we can be particularly effective in shaping
religious sentiment toward Muslims in our society. We can either stoke
the fires of antagonism, feeding into the dominant societal trend
of"demonizing" Islam and Muslims; or we can fight those fires,
challenging people to come to a well-informed, balanced appreciation
of this "other" in ourmidst. Most of us, I assume, wouldaffirm the
desirability of the latteroption. I would like to offer a
fewsuggestions as to how that option might be realized.
First, expose the caricatures -- both our own and those of others.
Such caricatures are usually based on the assumption that Islam is
monolithic and that Muslim communities are homogeneous. Both
assumptions are false. Just as there are many"Christianities," there
are many"Islams" and most have very little to do with "Islamism," that
militant, extremist fringe of Islam which, despite its claim
to"traditionalism," actually violates such perennial Islamic values as
tolerance, forbearance, hospitality, and broad-mindedness. A number of
excellent resources can help you in this process -- see the attached
reading list. All the recommended authors are Christians who have done
much to dispel the rampant misinformation concerning Islam.
Second, reflect on what underlies our tendency to caricature Islam.
Many in the Christian world have thrown themselves headlong intothe
process of challenging the traditional shape of our society and want
to eradicate the very memory of its "oppressive" structures. Modernity
is uncomfortable with the demands of tradition. When Islam presents
itself -- unabashedly, unashamedly -- as a traditional religion, i.e.,
as a religion based onthe structures and values of a traditional
cultural system, those who are shaped by secular culture wince. They
are reminded of what our own communities once affirmed (and in some
quarters, still do affirm) to be trueand what was once imposed (andin
some quarters, still is imposed) as obligatory. Moreover, I think many
recognize, even if only reluctantly, that in dismantling
thetraditional shape of our religious life, in many ways our religious
communities have been debilitated. Islam's vitality and
self-confidence reminds us of what we have lost. In short, the growing
strength of Islamic identity and the resurgence in Islamic practice
only serve to underscore the progressive weakening of Christian
identity and the steady diminishment of Christian practice in
secularized Western societies. We resent Islam's newly found vitality
because it draws attention to our present malaise.
Third, appreciate the practical, external expressions of faith that
typify Islamic life. We have much to learn in this regard from Islam.
A few years ago even Pope John Paul II pointed to the Muslim fast
during the month of Ramadan as an example of the kind of zeal and
discipline Christians should, but today rarely do, bring to Lenten
fasting. Islam also requiresregular prayer -- at least five times a
day for the observant Muslim.
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