Читать книгу A Dictionary of Islam. Being a cyclopedia of the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, and customs, together with the technical and theological terms, of the Muhammadan religion онлайн

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GOD. The name of the Creator of the Universe in the Qurʾān is Allāh, which is the title given to the Supreme Being by Muḥammadans of every race and language.

Allāh is supposed to be derived from ilāh, a deity or god, with the addition of the definite article al—Al-ilāh, “the God”—or, according to some authorities, it is from lāh, i.e. Al-lāh, “the secret one.” But Abū Ḥanīfah says that just as the essence of God is unchangeable, so is His name, and that Allāh has ever been the name of the Eternal Being. (See G͟hiyās̤u ʾl-Lug͟hah.)

Allāh may be an Arabic rendering of the Hebrew ‏אֵל‎ el, and the unused root ‏אוּל‎ ūl, “to be strong,” or from ‏אֱלוֹהַּ‎, the singular form of ‏אֱלֹהִים‎. It is expressed in Persian and Hindustani by the word K͟hudā, derived from the Persian k͟hud, self; the self-existing one.

Another word very frequently used for the Almighty in the Qurʾān is Rabb, which is generally translated in English versions of the Qurʾān, “Lord.” It seems to stand in the relative position of the Jehovah of the Old Testament and the Κύριος of the New Testament. The word is understood by Muslims to mean “the sustainer,” but it is probably derived from the Hebrew ‏רַבָּה‎ rabbah, “a stronghold,” or from its root rab, which, according to Gesenius, means “a multitude,” or anything of size or importance.