Allah ﷻ in Islam: Piece 1
.png "Allah ﷻ in Islam")
As I
mentioned in the Preface, I started this journey with many questions.
The first one was simple:
Does God have a name?
In the Islamic tradition, every Muslim knows that God has “99 beautiful names,” and there are hundreds of books written about them. So what, exactly, was I looking for?
To be honest, I’ve always struggled with the idea.
It felt easier to think of God as having one name—and the rest were attributes or descriptions. That made sense to me as a child… and, to my surprise, it still does.
* * * * *
So I went back to the Qur’ān.
And as expected, the answer is there.
The Qur’ān begins with:
((بسم الله
“In the name of Allāh.”
It
is right there.
Simple. Clear.
The name: Allāh—as He introduced Himself.
* * * * *
Now, you might be thinking of the verse:
﴿اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى﴾
“Allāh - there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the best names.” (Sūrat Ṭā-Hā, 20:08)
Or:
﴿وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا﴾
“And to Allāh belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.” (Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, 07:180)
Doesn't that mean He has a whole list of names?
That’s not how I see it.
I like to think of it like a beam of white light. At its core, it is just one thing. But when that light passes through a prism, it breaks into a whole spectrum of colors—red, orange, blue... and so on.
Those “Beautiful Names” (Al-Asmā’ al-Ḥusnā) are like that spectrum. They aren't different identities; they are expressions of the same light. One shows us Mercy, another reflects Power, and another Wisdom.
This is why all these verses start with the Name Allāh.
* * * * *
Then I remembered a beautiful verse from Sūrat Maryam that raises a profound challenge:
(هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا﴾
“Do you know of anyone who is His namesake?” (Sūrat Maryam, 19:65)
This is not a lengthy argument.
It is just a question, but a powerful one.
So let’s pause with it for a moment.
History is full of people who claimed Divine titles. As an Egyptian, the first example that comes to mind is Pharaoh:
﴿وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرِي﴾
“And Pharaoh said, "O eminent ones, I have not known you to have a god other than me.” (Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:38)
But he was not the only one.
Kings were called “holy.” Leaders were treated as "saviors." Yet the name “Allāh” has remained uniquely associated with the Creator. There is a weight to this name that even the most defiant hearts in history have feared.
It seems to me as if Allāh has protected His Name so that when we call Him, our hearts know—without a shadow of a doubt—exactly who we are speaking to.
* * * * *
Now
I can better understand the Quraysh, the tribe of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, when they were asked: who created them?
They did not believe he was the Messenger of God, nor did they accept the Qur’ān.
Yet, they shockingly said:
﴿وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ﴾
“And if you asked them who created them, they would surely say, ‘Allāh.’” (Sūrat az-Zukhruf, 43:87)
* * * * *
Then the second question hit:
What does this name mean, and how should I feel when I say it?
From what I could gather, I found a few things:
In Arabic, the name Allāh is unique. It is not pluralised and has no grammatical gender; it signals absolute Oneness. Unlike the word 'god,' which can become 'gods' or 'goddesses,' Allāh stands alone. In the first verse of the Qur’ān, it feels as though Allāh is declaring: “He is One” in a way that is so clear the eye cannot miss.
Traditional linguistic explanations often relate the Name Allāh to al-ilāh (literally: ‘the god’). I know this might sound confusing to a non-Arabic speaker, but please bear with me:
The word ilāh means ‘god’, so it is often understood that Allāh is related to this root and carries the meaning of ‘The God.’
* * * * *
There is a deeper, more ancient shade of meaning often discussed in relation to the root أ-ل-ه (A-L-H).
In some classical reflections on early Arabic usage, the root is associated with meanings that carry a sense of awe, turning, and dependence. Aliha could be used to describe a person overwhelmed by something so beautiful that they become absorbed in it—lost in awe. Waliha, on the other hand, could be used to describe the instinct of turning toward protection, like a child turning to its mother in distress.
To me, it is all of this combined.
Allāh is beyond what the imagination can contain, yet He is also the One before whom hearts naturally stand in awe. And in moments of weakness or fear, the human being finds himself turning—almost instinctively—toward Him, seeking protection, simply because deep down there is a recognition that all refuge ultimately returns to Him.
﴿أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ الْأَرْضِ أَإِلَهٌ مَعَ اللَّهِ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ﴾
“Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a deity with Allāh? Little do you remember.” (Sūrat an-Naml, 27:62)
* * * * *
This made me realize something important:
God is not only a “concept” to be approached through the logic of the mind alone. He is also a Presence to be witnessed by the heart.
This is why reading books about who God is or is not doesn’t, by itself, reconnect us with Him. There is a difference between understanding something intellectually and being aware of it inwardly.
We are meant to become attentive to His presence and to witness traces of His attributes as they manifest in ways we cannot fully anticipate or imagine.
* * * * *
It is worth mentioning that some have reflected on the subtle beauty of how the Name Allāh is pronounced: Al-Lāh. The word begins with the sound of al—the tongue touching the roof of the mouth—and ends with a simple, open breath: the hā.
It is a beautiful thought that every breath we exhale echoes this final breath-like sound. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are never outside His presence.
* * * * *
I cannot talk about the Qur’ān without looking at how the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, the one to whom the Book was revealed, embodied this understanding in his relationship with the Divine.
During his Hijra from Mecca to Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ and Abū Bakr were hiding in the cave of Thawr while his enemies were closing in. What did he say to reassure his companion?
﴿لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا﴾
"Do not grieve; indeed, Allāh is with us." (Sūrat at-Tawbah, 09:40)
We might expect the mention of other names/attributes like اللطيف (The Subtly Kind) or الحفيظ (The Guardian), but he chose to use Allāh. This invites reflection on the weight of this Name.
* * * * *
In light of this, verses like the following take on a deeper meaning:
﴿هُوَ الَّذِي يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ حَتَّى إِذَا كُنْتُمْ فِي الْفُلْكِ وَجَرَيْنَ بِهِمْ بِرِيحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَفَرِحُوا بِهَا جَاءَتْهَا رِيحٌ عَاصِفٌ وَجَاءَهُمُ الْمَوْجُ مِنْ كُلِّ مَكَانٍ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ أُحِيطَ بِهِمْ دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ لَئِنْ أَنْجَيْتَنَا مِنْ هَذِهِ لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ﴾
“It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea until, when you are in ships and they sail with them by a good wind and they rejoice therein, there comes a storm wind and the waves come upon them from everywhere and they assume that they are surrounded, supplicating Allāh, sincere to Him in religion, "If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful.”” (Sūrat Yunus, 10:22)
* * * * *
I’m not from the West, but I’m still impacted by its philosophy. The Western worldview is so dominant that I feel troubled by its effects. I’m not criticizing the West, at least not in this book. I’m simply sharing my own experience, which you may relate to.
We are often told that we must be the masters of our own destiny, the creators of our own happiness, and the judges of our own worth.
To me, this is an exhausting way to live; it is like trying to be the programmer, the hardware, and the electricity—all at once (pardon my computer analogy).
When we truly understand the name Allāh, that burden begins to lift. We realize that we do not have to invent ourselves because we were already brought into existence by the One who is independent of our successes or failures. We stop trying to be the center of the universe and begin to live as guests in His. And in that shift, something within us settles.
* * * * *
This is why I felt it was necessary to go back to the Qur’ān itself. I wanted to see the Portrait as it was painted by the Artist, not as it has been touched up by countless hands—including my own.
* * * * *
A Childhood Memory:
As kids, we
used to test each other’s knowledge of the Qur’ān.
One day at school, I was sitting with a few classmates during a break when one
of them asked a question about the name Allāh that stayed with me…
In which verse of the Qur’ān is the word Allāh mentioned twice, side-by-side, with nothing in between?
My first reaction was denial. I’d never seen the word Allāh written twice like that. How could I have missed it? My friend must be joking… right?
But after spending a few hours, I could not believe my eyes when it was lying there in plain sight.
Back then there was no ChatGPT or Google—not even a computer. The only way to answer a question like that was to open the Qur’ān and read it verse by verse until you found it.
So—are you going to do it the old way, or just ask your phone?
* * * * *
One Last Reflection:
When your life is centered on the name Allāh, you are no longer binding your heart to a specific provider (who may test you with poverty) or a healer (who may test you with illness). Instead, you are attaching yourself to the source Himself.
As an engineer, I look for the Constant in equations. In the Qur’ān, the opening verse begins with Allāh, establishing the Giver before the gift. It ensures our attention is fixed on Him as the Giver, rather than on His creation as the gift.
While the world around us is a moving sea—where money fluctuates and people come and go—this Name is the only steady ground beneath us.
* * * * *
Comments
Post a Comment