Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word الله. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word الله, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say الله in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word الله you have here. The definition of the word الله will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofالله, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
From the root ء ل ه(ʔ-l-h). Widely theorized to be a contraction of الٱِلٰه(al-ilāh, “God”), from الإلٰه(al-ʔilāh, “the deity”) with loss of initial hamza after the definite article ال(al-). Others suggest it is a variant spelling of the more ancient ألّٰه(allāh), the extra ل (l) serving as an emphatic marker to emphasize distinction, first attested in the Mecca and Taif region, and later in the Quran. Both proposed roots were current in pre-Islamic usage, particularly الإلٰه (al-ilāh) in Nabataeanmacaronic Arabic-Aramaic usage from which the singular use has presumably spread. Ultimately from Proto-Semitic*ʔil-. Cognate with Classical Syriacܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ(ʾalāhā), Assyrian Neo-Aramaicܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ(allāhā), Aramaicאֱלָהָא(ʾĕlāhā), Hebrewאֱלוֹהַּ(ʾelōah), and Old South Arabian𐩱𐩡𐩠(ʾlh).
In Islamic contexts, this word may alternatively be translated into English as Allah. Note, however, that the Arabic word is just as neutral and general as English God, and does not express any particularly Islamic notion at all. الله(allāh) is the Arabic word used by Christians, Jews, and other monotheists to describe the God of their own religions, and is cognate to the words used in Hebrew and Syriac. The Jewish sage Saadia Gaon even used الله(allāh) to translate the Tetragrammaton in his Arabic translation of the Torah.
Jeffery, Arthur (1938) “اَللّٰه”, in The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān (Gaekwad’s Oriental Series; 79), Baroda: Oriental Institute, page 66
Nehmé, Laïla (2017) “New dated inscriptions (Nabataean and pre-Islamic Arabic) from a site near al-Jawf, ancient Dūmah, Saudi Arabia”, in Arabian Epigraphic Notes, volume 3, pages 121–164
Wehr, Hans (1979) “ءله”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN
The pronunciation with the final long vowel is used as an interjection to something beautiful and exciting, while the pronunciation with the short vowel is used as an interjection to something shocking.
c.1520, Selim I of the Ottoman Empire, edited by Benedek Péri, The Persian Dīvān of Yavuz Sulṭān Selīm, Budapest, Hungary: Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, →ISBN, page 122:
ای دل از غیر مجو یاری واز خصم مترس دولت و سلطنت آنست که الله دهد
ay dil az ğayr majō yārī w-az xasm matars dawlat u saltanat ān ast ki allāh dihad
O heart, seek no support from others and fear not the adversary; Sovereignty and kingship are what is given by Allah.
(Classical Persian transliteration)
Further reading
Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “الله”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim