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>I have also heard that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use the Allah to refer to God in their religions, but I have not fact-checked it. I can confirm thi

>I have also heard that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use the Allah to refer to God in their religions, but I have not fact-checked it. I can confirm this. We say "Allah." The advent of Islam into the global public awareness has created a lot of confusion about Middle Eastern cultures, e.g. I frequently hear "Allah is the name of the Muslims' God." But it is in fact a more generic word, exactly analogous to "God" with a capital G.

jfaucett 9y ago
> I can confirm this. We say "Allah." Is there any difference at all? I was under the impression that all abrahamic religions referenced the same "God". So when a Muslim, Jew, and Christian say "God" are they not all referring to the same deity?
- theprotocol 9y ago
  There is no grammatical difference. @smnrchrds above is spot on in his explanation of the etymology. "Elah" is "god" with a lowercase g (as in, a god). "Al" means "the" in Arabic. "Allah" = "Al Elah" = "the god" = "God." Now, whether the Abrahamic religions consider their God to be one and the same is a philosophical question. It depends on what "the same" means. Each of them claims to refer to the same entity, at least from a historical (or archaeological) point of view; but some followers of the different Abrahamic religions might object to each other's representations of God and deem them "not the same." A theological case can be made that they are ultimately distinct (I find it to be weak, but it's been argued). But, nominally, they are the same entity despite differences in characterization (and I believe this is the prevalent view).
  - pdpi 9y ago
    Islam is, AIUI quite explicit in saying that they worship the same deity as Christians, agree that Mary was a virgin, and that the birth of Christ was a miracle. They just consider Christ to be (one of?) God’s favourite prophet, rather than God incarnate.
    - baldfat 9y ago
      There is even an empty tomb next to Mohamed's tomb for when the Christians kill Jesus when He returns and proclaims Mohamed the greatest Prophet. The religions have interesting intersections but I have never had a good conversation with a person about it because they always assume I am trying to convert them.
- nvahalik 9y ago
  Well both Christians and Muslims have "names for God" that extend beyond just the simple word "God". Christians have described God in myriad ways[1] since the Old Testament times. Muslims also have the "99 Names of Allah"[2]. I don't think Muslims have another name for Allah like the Christians/Jews do (i.e. "Yahweh" or "Jehovah", depending upon your pronunciation). [1]: https://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html https://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html [2]: http://www.islamicity.org/5855/99-names-of-allah/ http://www.islamicity.org/5855/99-names-of-allah/
  - posterboy 9y ago
    muslims have something else of equal importance, mohammed is a demi-god by mere association, in christian terms he'd be one aspect of the trinity.
- AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
  That would depend on the perspective of the follower. In general, each successive religion sees itself as a continuation of the former, but the former does not see its successor as legitimate. Meaning, if you asked a Christian whether he and a Jewish follow believe in the same god, he would say yes. The Jew would probably say No (I once heard a Jewish man refer to the New Testament as "that appendix"). By the same token, a Muslim would insist that he follows the same god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc. A Christian, however, would say that he does not. See also the Druze and Bahai'i faiths, which draw upon an extend the Abrahamic faiths.
  - hprotagonist 9y ago
    >a Muslim would insist that he follows the same god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc. A Christian, however, would say that he does not. I'm Christian, and I believe that the abrahamic religions worship the same entity. "The lamp is different; the light is the same." Now what? :-)
    - theprotocol 9y ago
      The question is a variant of Theseus's Paradox. If you change some parts of God's character and actions, is it still the same god, or another? It really depends what kind of sameness you're asking about: grammatical, historical, nominal (claimed)... The question is otherwise ambiguous. You are right nominally; the person you're replying to is right in terms of doctrine. Otherwise, you would say you were Muslim (or some pan-abrahamic variant) and not Christian.
      - hprotagonist 9y ago
        THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL teaches that Muslims "adore the one God, living and subsisting in himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to humans. They take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even God's inscrutable decrees". Pope John Paul II has said the fact that Christians and Muslims worship "the One and same God" is a factor that draws the two communities together and lays the basis for love and cooperation between the two communities of believers. Really? Catholics, Anglicans, most "mainline" Protestant churches are doctrinally copacetic with the notion that jews, muslims and christians alike all worship the god of abraham. This was not always so, of course, but it turns out that ecumenicalism is a pretty smart idea. To your point about Theseus -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophatic_theology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophatic_theology is germane here. In this way of thinking, definitionally we can only agree on what God isn't, not what it is.
- olavk 9y ago
  Yes and no. Their concepts of God have a shared historical origin (Judaism), but they are quite different. For example the Christian God (in mainstream denominations) is a Trinity composed of the father (basically Yahweh), the Son (Jesus) and the holy ghost. This is very different for the concept of God in Islams and Judaism.
- posterboy 9y ago
  > when they say deity, are they not all referring to deity? fixed that for you Yes? But the question makes little sense however whichway you turn it. undefined === undefined; on the other hand NaN !== NaN and yet, I disagree, because the theism lies mainly in the believes and these are essentially about inequallity in either case.
Grustaf 9y ago
Exactly, the real question is why the muslim God is referred to as "Allah" even in English. It's not like the Christian God is called "Theos" or something in other languages. At least as far as I know. In Japanese for example they use the same word, Kami, as the use for the more spirit like gods of Shinto.

jfaucett 9y ago

> I can confirm this. We say "Allah." Is there any difference at all? I was under the impression that all abrahamic religions referenced the same "God". So when a Muslim, Jew, and Christian say "God" are they not all referring to the same deity?

theprotocol 9y ago
There is no grammatical difference. @smnrchrds above is spot on in his explanation of the etymology. "Elah" is "god" with a lowercase g (as in, a god). "Al" means "the" in Arabic. "Allah" = "Al Elah" = "the god" = "God." Now, whether the Abrahamic religions consider their God to be one and the same is a philosophical question. It depends on what "the same" means. Each of them claims to refer to the same entity, at least from a historical (or archaeological) point of view; but some followers of the different Abrahamic religions might object to each other's representations of God and deem them "not the same." A theological case can be made that they are ultimately distinct (I find it to be weak, but it's been argued). But, nominally, they are the same entity despite differences in characterization (and I believe this is the prevalent view).
- pdpi 9y ago
  Islam is, AIUI quite explicit in saying that they worship the same deity as Christians, agree that Mary was a virgin, and that the birth of Christ was a miracle. They just consider Christ to be (one of?) God’s favourite prophet, rather than God incarnate.
  - baldfat 9y ago
    There is even an empty tomb next to Mohamed's tomb for when the Christians kill Jesus when He returns and proclaims Mohamed the greatest Prophet. The religions have interesting intersections but I have never had a good conversation with a person about it because they always assume I am trying to convert them.
nvahalik 9y ago
Well both Christians and Muslims have "names for God" that extend beyond just the simple word "God". Christians have described God in myriad ways[1] since the Old Testament times. Muslims also have the "99 Names of Allah"[2]. I don't think Muslims have another name for Allah like the Christians/Jews do (i.e. "Yahweh" or "Jehovah", depending upon your pronunciation). [1]: https://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html https://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html [2]: http://www.islamicity.org/5855/99-names-of-allah/ http://www.islamicity.org/5855/99-names-of-allah/
- posterboy 9y ago
  muslims have something else of equal importance, mohammed is a demi-god by mere association, in christian terms he'd be one aspect of the trinity.
AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
That would depend on the perspective of the follower. In general, each successive religion sees itself as a continuation of the former, but the former does not see its successor as legitimate. Meaning, if you asked a Christian whether he and a Jewish follow believe in the same god, he would say yes. The Jew would probably say No (I once heard a Jewish man refer to the New Testament as "that appendix"). By the same token, a Muslim would insist that he follows the same god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc. A Christian, however, would say that he does not. See also the Druze and Bahai'i faiths, which draw upon an extend the Abrahamic faiths.
- hprotagonist 9y ago
  >a Muslim would insist that he follows the same god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc. A Christian, however, would say that he does not. I'm Christian, and I believe that the abrahamic religions worship the same entity. "The lamp is different; the light is the same." Now what? :-)
  - theprotocol 9y ago
    The question is a variant of Theseus's Paradox. If you change some parts of God's character and actions, is it still the same god, or another? It really depends what kind of sameness you're asking about: grammatical, historical, nominal (claimed)... The question is otherwise ambiguous. You are right nominally; the person you're replying to is right in terms of doctrine. Otherwise, you would say you were Muslim (or some pan-abrahamic variant) and not Christian.
    - hprotagonist 9y ago
      THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL teaches that Muslims "adore the one God, living and subsisting in himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to humans. They take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even God's inscrutable decrees". Pope John Paul II has said the fact that Christians and Muslims worship "the One and same God" is a factor that draws the two communities together and lays the basis for love and cooperation between the two communities of believers. Really? Catholics, Anglicans, most "mainline" Protestant churches are doctrinally copacetic with the notion that jews, muslims and christians alike all worship the god of abraham. This was not always so, of course, but it turns out that ecumenicalism is a pretty smart idea. To your point about Theseus -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophatic_theology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophatic_theology is germane here. In this way of thinking, definitionally we can only agree on what God isn't, not what it is.
olavk 9y ago
Yes and no. Their concepts of God have a shared historical origin (Judaism), but they are quite different. For example the Christian God (in mainstream denominations) is a Trinity composed of the father (basically Yahweh), the Son (Jesus) and the holy ghost. This is very different for the concept of God in Islams and Judaism.
posterboy 9y ago
> when they say deity, are they not all referring to deity? fixed that for you Yes? But the question makes little sense however whichway you turn it. undefined === undefined; on the other hand NaN !== NaN and yet, I disagree, because the theism lies mainly in the believes and these are essentially about inequallity in either case.

Grustaf 9y ago

Exactly, the real question is why the muslim God is referred to as "Allah" even in English. It's not like the Christian God is called "Theos" or something in other languages. At least as far as I know. In Japanese for example they use the same word, Kami, as the use for the more spirit like gods of Shinto.