Is it wrong for Arabic Christians to use word 'Allah'?

Is it wrong for Arabic Christians to use word Allah?

Can we use this word in our Nepali context?

~~Be careful! This blog is promoting Liberalism and Paganism!!~~

Conservative Christians can say that the word ‘Allah’ used in the Arabic Bible is wrong. They might ask where the word has been used in the Bible?

Here see Genesis 1 in Arabic Bible

ﺗﻜﻮﻳﻦ

فِي البَدءِ خَلَقَ

اللهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضَ

tkwyn

fi albad' khalaq

allah alsamawat walard

In Arabic, Allah word is used instead God. Allah is a Common word in Arab just the way Parameshwar or Ishavara is common in Nepali and Hindi.

However, Allah word has never been used in Arabic Bible in replacement of YHWH but Yahuh word is used.

Deuteronomy 6:4 in Arabic Bible

اسْمَعْ يَا إسْرَائِيلَ، يهوه هُوَ إلَهُنَا، يهوه وَحْدَهُ

asmae ya 'israyiyla, yahuh hu 'ilahuna, yahuh wahdah

Now let us examine whether the use of word Allah makes it concord to Allah of the Qur’an.

The use of same word doesn’t necessarily make the meaning same and identical. For instance, Elohim word is used in the Hebrew Bible. The word is used for both YHWH and other false gods of other nations.

Exodus 20:3 in Hebrew Bible

Westminster Leningrad Codex

לֹֽ֣א יִהְיֶֽה־לְךָ֛֩ אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים אֲחֵרִ֖֜ים עַל־פָּנָֽ֗יַ ׃

Notice the use of word Elohim אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים

’ĕ-lō-hîm is also used for false gods

Exodus 20:3

New International Version

“You shall have no other gods before me”

Just because Elohim word is used for YHWH, does that make our God a false God? Never! So, you can understand how much misconception it is to assume word play as unethical.

Tamil Bible

Genesis Chapter 1

1. ஆதியிலே தேவன் வானத்தையும் பூமியையும் சிருஷ்டித்தார்.

1. Ātiyilē dēvaṉ vāṉattaiyum pūmiyaiyum ciruṣṭittār.

Note that devan word is used in Tamil bible. Deva is also used for Hindu gods. Does this mean God of Tamil Bible is some Hindu god? This is association fallacy. Hence, Allah of Arabic Bible is the same God we worship and not the Allah of the Qur’an!

References below:

Arabic Bible Genesis 1

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ﺗﻜﻮﻳﻦ%201&version=ERV-AR&fbclid=IwAR2Yr06fuacmcos7841EolVQ8JJ4WIbFz4zgkUI6WOTCfogxagz5rMWe4XA

Arabic Bible Deuteronomy 6

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ﺍﻟﺘﺜﻨﻴﺔ%206&version=ERV-AR&fbclid=IwAR0pbkLXnBjduAl6kb0Or0PN6rrfyLY4kk3z6iNpkIG0LxG6BTQoF-CSLVQ

Hebrew Bible Exodus 20:3

https://biblehub.com/text/exodus/20-3.htm?fbclid=IwAR2cz0NA_iEb1fbPvFT0Y1sdeTWRExQFolqQQV4bSr5pWZVvlOGE-pXlcwE

Tamil Bible Genesis 1

https://www.wordproject.org/bibles/tm/01/1.htm?fbclid=IwAR0xWky2nYfNfe90cyxGh0c1cQjP66fL0M56nxnS42xSB0-TjrHCOa1oQ9s#0

English Bible Exodus 20

https://biblehub.com/niv/e?fbclid=IwAR2OEKD3l9sHsDlpCmQEdRRqJIOB0Dvwi6oH1bwuHPfbKi2HCyZY3szG7r4

[Original author: Abhishek Vical, runs a ministry named Stand for Satya, author of three apologetics books, India]

Now, the next probable question: Can Christians use Allah word in our context?

Using the word itself isn’t necessarily unethical as in Arabic Bible Allah has been defined as per orthodox Christian doctrine i.e. Triune God. However, as Paul says let us not be stumbling block for weak Christians and for heathen people. We must be cautious where we use the word. Heathen people might think us religious pluralistic which is vulnerable! Let not our knowledge become barrier to others.

The bottom line is that in our context, we already have word ‘Parameshwara’ and ‘Ishvara’ which are used interchangeably (No subbordinism heresy here!). The name of Jesus is more than enough for us. Why then we use the word Allah unnecessarily? (Even if you use, that’s not any issue!)

As one well-known Muslim author puts it, "Al Lah means 'the Divinity' in Arabic: it is a single God, implying that a correct transcription can only render the exact meaning of the word with the help of the expression 'God.' For the Muslims, al lah is none other than the God of Moses and Jesus."

In agreement with this warning, Kenneth Cragg, the noted Christian scholar of Islam, also claims that "since both Christians and Muslim faiths believe in One supreme sovereign Creator-God, they are obviously referring when they speak of Him, under whatever terms, to the same Being. To suppose otherwise would be confusing. It is important to keep in mind that though the apprehensions differ, their theme is the same. The differences, which undoubtedly exist, between the Muslim and the Christian understanding of God are far-reaching and must be patiently studied. But it would be fatal to all our mutual tasks to doubt that One and the same God over all was the reality in both." Arab Christians use the term "Allah" for God. Of course, their understanding of what this term means differs from that of Muslims, but both have the same referent in mind.[1]

In pre-Islamic literature, Christian or pagan, ilah is used for any god and Al-ilah (contracted to Allah), i.e., 'o Oeos, the god, was the name of the Supreme.[2] one thing we can be sure about from historical records is that the Arabs of pre-Islamic days, despite all their idolatry, knew of and acknowledged Allah's existence as the supreme God. In proof of this point Cragg comments: "It is clear from the negative form of the Muslim creed, 'There is no god except God,' that the existence and lordship of Allah were known and recognized in pre-Islamic Arabia. The Prophet's mission was not to proclaim God's existence but to deny the existence of all lesser deities. The fact that Muhammad's own father bore the name Abd-Allah, slave of God, would indicate that God was known by that name prior to Islam."[3]

In contrast to Christians of Arab, we don’t prefer to use the word Allah in our context. However, it is an alert given to some conservative Christians who think use of Allah by Arabic Christians is totally wrong. But to the question whether we can use it in our context, it simply depends on our environment where our action doesn’t affect others. We have always been using ‘Parameshwar’, ‘God’ or Jesus. So, it’s up to us whether to use the word Allah and better if we don’t. Now preventing the controversy, just be careful not to get hype when you listen Arabic Christians using this word or you see this word perhaps in Urdu Bible.