Many people are confused about the name " Allah" which denotes "the God" and Allah is used by Islam to refer to the God of Islam, but however Arabic Christians and also Indonesian and Malay-speaking Christians also use "Allah" in the bible to refer to God. This confusion has led many to misconceive that the God of Islam is the same as the God of the bible. To have a clear understanding it is essential to distinguish what the name "Allah" denotes and what it connotes.
Here we will look into the origin of the name "Allah" in Islam. Here is a reference that summarises the origin of Allah:
"While Allah is best known as the principal god of Mecca, he was also worshiped in other places throughout Arabia as is shown by the occurrence of the name in Sabean, Minean, and particularly Libyanite inscriptions." The Qur'an (xxix, 61) refers to the belief of the pagans in Allah as the creator of the heavens and the earth; and Muhammad's own father bore the name of `Abd Allah or `Abdullah, meaning the slave or worshiper of this god. In Mecca, Allah was worshiped in the Kaaba and possibly represented by the famous Black Stone in that place". (The Archeology Of World Religions, Jack Finegan, 1952, p482-485, 492)
Provided below is the slide presentation, a video, and related articles :
1. Slide presentation: The Origin of the name Allah in Islam.
2. PDF article: Is Allah of Islam the same as Yahweh of Christianity?
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