by Dr. Ali Shehata
Allah – His Very Name Means Love
A quick internet search for the origins of the name Allah will yield the most interesting results. There are individuals that would have you believe that Allah is the name of the pagan Moon-god worshipped by prehistoric Arabians—and they even have a nice comic style presentation of the material to teach young children how “Mozlems” worship this moon idol. Christian Arabs though, would be most insulted by this false depiction since the word Allah is used for God in the Arabic Bible—which, in fact, precedes the English language Bible by several centuries. Yet, to understand the name Allah better requires us to delve a little into Arabic grammar and linguistics to arrive at the most precise meaning.
The word Allah is an Arabic word which joins together the two Arabic words: Al and Ilaah, which mean, “The God,” respectively. The “Al” in Arabic grammar serves as the definite article which means:
A member of the class of determiners that restricts or particularizes a noun. In English, the is the definite article. So when used as above it not only means, “The God,” but it further means: the One and Only God. Breaking it down further, one needs to then understand the meaning of Ilaah which is most often loosely and generally translated as God/god. In Arabic though, all nouns are derived from three letter verb roots which help to elucidate their core meaning. Thus, the noun Ilaah is derived from the three letter Arabic verb Aliha. Searching for these two terms in Lane’s Lexicon of the Arabic Language—the premier lexicon for understanding the Arabic language, especially as spoken during the era of the birth of Islam—we find the following meanings:
Aliha – [that which is] served, worshipped and adored
Ilaah – an object of worship or adoration
So when combining this deep and core definition of Ilaah with the definite article, which in effect limits it and restricts it to one entity, we arrive at the meaning of Allah as is understood by Muslims; The One and Only object of worship, He who is served with full submission and He who is adored above all else. And this comprehensive definition also summarizes the Islamic approach to worship.
In Islam, worship is not simply a once in a week obligation or chore, but it is a continuous expression of adoration, or immense love, for Our Creator and Sustainer. It is to worship Him, not only by bowing our faces down to Him in honor and reverence, but also by obeying His commands. In other religions, such commands are often viewed as a burdensome and rigid set of rules, but they are not at all seen in this manner by devout Muslims! Instead, they are seen more as loving guidelines given to us by the One whom we love, and in fact the One who loves us, in order that we may be guided to success, honor and happiness, and to not fall into despair, disaster or misguidance. It is the same with parents who lay down careful rules and limitations for their children, not for the purpose of oppressing them or causing them difficulty, but for the exact opposite reason—to protect them, secure them and lead them to success.
Furthermore, this impacts a Muslim’s communication with their Lord when they stretch out their hands in prayer. They are conversing, not with a God who is distant and obscure, but with a God who cares for them and listens to them tenderly. When the Companions (disciples of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh) asked him about Allah, Allah Himself answered them with the following beautiful words immortalized in the Quran:
And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls upon Me, so let them too answer My call and believe in Me that they may be led to the right way. {2:186}
A Muslim knows that they are dealing with a God who loves them and loves what is good for them. In fact, the highest expression of love is mercy and forgiveness, which God has promised to those who believe in Him and act righteously. It is certainly strange that Muslims would be accused of following a God of vengeance and anger when Allah Himself has stated about Himself:
When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My Mercy prevails over My wrath. [Muslim]
Not only has He promised His devotees and worshippers His expansive forgiveness, but He has promised to fill their hearts with love, as in the following words of the Quran:
Indeed, upon those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will Allah, the Most Merciful, bestow love. {19:96}
Amazingly, a Quran search for the phrase, “Allah loves,” yields seventeen results, separate from the two times that Allah refers to Himself by the name, “al-Wadood,” which means, the Loving One. Additionally, there are about four or five other mentions of Allah’s love for His servants beyond that, bringing the total to about twenty-five specific references to His love in the Quran alone. Furthermore, there a number of Hadith (statements of the Prophet Muhammad) which also mention and discuss Allah’s love for the believers. Amongst these hadith, there are the following, especially captivating, two:
Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah said, “When Allah loves a servant, he calls Gabriel and he says,‘Verily, I love this person so you should love him too.’ Then Gabriel loves him and makes an announcement in the heavens, saying, ‘Allah loves this person and you should love him too.’ Thus, the dwellers of the heavens love him and he is honored on the earth.” [Bukhari, Muslim]
Also …
Aishah reported that the Messenger of Allah once appointed a man in charge of an expedition who led the other members in prayer. Soon they noticed that he had the habit of always concluded his prayer recital with one particular “chapter” of the Quran, describing the nature of Allah (Surah 112), as follows:
Say, “He is Allah, the One and Only [God].
Allah, the Self-Sufficient.
He begets not [children], nor was He begotten.
And there is nothing equal or even comparable to Him.” {112:1-4}
Upon their return to Medina, they mentioned this to Messenger of Allah, who replied, "Ask him why he does so?'' He was asked and the man replied, "This surah contains the qualities and attributes of Allah, the Gracious, and for that reason I love to recite it often. The Messenger of Allah then told them, "Due to that man’s love for that surah from the Quran, tell him that Allah loves him in return." [Bukhari and Muslim]
Thus, love is a commonly mentioned word and concept, both in the Quran and the statements of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadith), illustrating how keen Allah is to guide His servants to that which will bring about their success and happiness, as well lead to His loving them even more. One last example of the mention of Allah’s love for His servants comes in the following Hadith, wherein Allah is quoted by the Prophet Muhammad as follows:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Allah Almighty has said, ‘Whoever shows hostility to a friend of mine, then I have declared war upon him. My servant does not grow closer to me with anything more beloved to me than the duties I have obligated upon him. My servant continues to grow closer to me with extra good works until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask something from me, I would surely give it to him. Were he to ask me for refuge, I would surely grant it to him. I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for he hates death and I hate to displease him.’” [Bukhari]
Love is a great and comprehensive emotion that is expressed in many different ways, and through different words. Indeed, one of the greatest manifestations of love is mercy, as also expressed in the Bible, “… and show mercy to me according to your great love.” [Nehemiah 13:22] Also, when one considers the greatest bond of love that exists between humans, most will agree that it is the bond which exists between a mother and her children. The Prophet Muhammad pbuh once commented on this by illustrating to his Companions the greatness of Allah’s Mercy to those who submit to Him and worship Him:
“Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allah, and there was a woman among them who was searching for her child. When she found her child, she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allah said to us, ‘Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire?’ We said, ‘No, by Allah, not if she can resist it.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child.’” [Bukhari and Muslim]
Thus, in Islam Allah calls Himself by ninety-nine different names according to His different qualities and attributes. It is interesting to see that the two names Allah most often likes to be remembered by, after the name Allah, are His two names, al-Rahmaan and al-Raheem. Hence, the first verse of the Quran—the opening line to the Quran—is: “In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Graciously Merciful”. Scholars have discussed these two names much, yet what the majority have agreed upon is that there is no difference between these two names, as they both entail mercy. What is special though, is that Allah generally never uses more than one name to describe His attributes—except here. It is not only an emphasis on His Mercy, but a way of showing that His Mercy to all of His creation is so expansive that one name just doesn’t do it justice.
Hence, the Mercy of Allah should be frequently mentioned in the Quran, and indeed it is. The number of times where Allah refers to Himself as the Most Merciful (al-Rahmaan) is well over fifty times, and the number of times He mentions His Mercy is another forty times. The number of instances where He refers to Himself as the Most Graciously Merciful (al-Raheem) is also significant, at about fifty-five times. Thus, the matter of Allah’s Mercy is reported in over 150 places in the Quran!
Compare this with the only nineteen times where Allah mentions His wrath or anger in the Quran, and the fact that Allah never calls Himself with any name containing any attribute of wrath or anger. What's more, Allah also refers to Himself as the Most Forgiving almost one hundred times in the Quran as well!
Compare this with a search through the entire Bible* for mention of God’s love for His followers which all-together only yields about sixty results (interestingly most are in the Old Testament). Often times, especially in the New Testament, mention of God’s love is not a new statement, but instead, either a repetition, or quote, of another verse, most often originating in the Old Testament (understood as a way of fulfilling prophecy). Searching for references to God’s Mercy in the Bible generates only another forty-five results, again with several being either repetitions or quotes of other material found elsewhere in the Bible. Thus, the total number of times that God’s love and mercy are mentioned in the Bible, minus the repetitions, is less than one hundred times.
*New International Version (NIV Bible) is used for all quotes in this book.
Conversely, a basic search for the phrases “wrath of God”, “God’s wrath”, “wrath of the Lord”, “Lord’s wrath,” and similar phrases, substituting anger for wrath, results in about seventy results alone, in addition to mentions of God’s wrath and anger found in other forms and combinations throughout the Bible.
In closing, Muslims began all their actions with the statement, “In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Graciously Merciful,” as a reminder of how Allah’s Mercy, Love and Grace encompass and infuse all things. It is also said in order to sanctify and bless their actions, and as an indication of the sincerity of the deed for the sake of God alone. Muslims are commanded to reciprocate this love and mercy in all their dealings, not only with their fellow men, but also towards animals and the environment. Love and mercy are, as illustrated above, common themes in both of the Holy Scriptures in Islam: the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet (Hadith). Thus, in conclusion, it is not fair to characterize Islam as the religion of hate, nor to characterize Allah as the God of vengeance and wrath, when even in His words, His Mercy and Love effortlessly and clearly prevail over His wrath—both in number and in practice.
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