Basics of Islam: Who is Allah?

As a Muslim, I'm often asked the question "who is Allah?" by those who aren't familiar with my faith. It's commonly assumed that we have our own distinct deity named Allah, but this is actually a misconception. In reality, Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. It's not a specific name, but rather a term used to refer to the same God also worshipped by Christians and Jews. While we use the Arabic word "Allah" to address God in our prayers and conversations, it's important to understand that we all believe in the same God, regardless of what name or language we use. I believe this distinction is important to clarify as it helps to dispel misunderstandings and promote unity among different faiths. Once you learn about different religions, you will see that we all have more similarities than differences :)

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Islam is a monotheistic religion,meaning that we hold the belief that there is one and only one god. We believe that Allah is the Supreme Power of the universe and that Allah transcends time and space with no beginning or end. We also do not believe that Allah is limited to life on earth, but rather extends into the entirety of the universe. Fun Fact: In many religions that I have previously studied, life beyond Earth was not an accepted ideology, but in Islam, outerspace is a very important topic and we acknowledge other life forms in the universe! I can do a separate blog on this if you guys are interested :)

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Here is a simple surah (chapter) from the Quran that summarizes our description of Allah.

Qul Hu Allah Hu ahad, (Say: He, Allah, is One.)

Allah Hu samad, (Allah, Eternal Refuge)

lam Yalid walam yulad, (He begets not nor was He begotten)

walam ya qualahu quffawan ahad. (And there is none comparable to Him)

In other words, it is revealved to us that Allah is the all-encompassing and omnipotent entity that holds power over the entirety of the universe. Allah is the ultimate source of support, guidance, and protection, and we can always turn to Him for help and solace in times of need. Allah has been for all of enternity and will always be because Allah is beyond time and all worldly restraints. We also believe that Allah was not a result from procreation nor does Allah procreate, meaning that Allah was not the result of birth and Allah can not produce any offspring.

You may often see people referring to Allah as “He” or “Him” but in Islam we do not consider Allah to be a manly or fatherly figure. We do not associate any human characterstics with Allah such as gender or physical appearance. In English we refer to Allah as “He” or Him” which is because in Arabic, Allah is a masculine word but does not actually refer to gender. For example, in Spanish we have words like “la mesa” which means “table”. This is a feminine word although the table has no gender or characteristics that make it male or female.

So there you have it! I hope that this helps clear up any misconceptions or questions:) I look forward to sharing many more topics with you all regarding the basics of Islam. Please let me know in the comments below any further questions that you may have about my faith and I would love to answer them!