TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsYour letters: In the name of Allah
According to Islam, God is called âAllahâ
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A
ccording to Islam, God is called 'Allah'. There is nothing in the Koran that explicitly bans non-Muslims from referring to God as Allah.
In fact, before Islam, many prophets used the word Allah to refer to God. For example, a letter sent to a queen by Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) starts this way, 'It is from Solomon, and it is: ' In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful';' (27:30).
This clearly shows that the word Allah was used before the advent of Islam. Muslims cannot claim a monopoly on it.
Furthermore, the Koran mentions Allah as 'the God of all people of Book' (The people of Book are the followers of those religions which claim to have a Divine Book; especially, Jews and Christians). It says, 'Say, 'O People of the Book! Come to a word equal between us and you ' that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partner with Him, and that some of us take no others for Lords beside Allah...' (3: 65).
This verse is very clear. It shows Allah as the God of all religions and gives all people the right to call their Lord by His personal name.
Fazal E Mujeeb
Jakarta
