Allah is an Arabic word meaning God. While ‘ilāh in Arabic also means God, it can be used in plural and feminine forms. Allah, on the other, has no plural and feminine forms which is coherent with Islamic belief of God. Muslims declare their faith by saying “There is no God except Allah.” This very statement is the core of Islam. Allah as a creator does not have any partners, gender or physical image. He is not alike to anything or anyone. Allah says clearly in the Quran;
“Say: "He is the One God: Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. Nor is there to Him any equivalent.” [Qur’an 112:1–4]
Allah, as a sole creator, had sent many messengers throughout the history such as Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. That’s why what Islam teaches is the same message sent down to those prophets and their communities. Even though some rulings changed according to the needs of their time, the core belief had not changed which is believing in one God and worshiping Him.
As Allah is beyond our perception and imagination, we can only describe Him by His attributes and names which are known as Asma Al-husna, “The Beautiful Names''. The most common ones are “the most merciful”, “the most beneficent”, “the all-knowing”, “the utterly just”, “the provider”. Allah is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. He provides His creation with blessings treating them with His mercy.
Muslims are, in a way, always in communication with their creator. Living the way He wants, remembering Him, praying to Him and reading Quran which is the speech of Allah are what connect humans to Allah. Allah says in the Quran “Indeed, ˹it is˺ We ˹Who˺ created humankind and ˹fully˺ know what their souls whisper to them, and We are closer to them than ˹their˺ jugular vein” [Quran 50:16]. That is why Muslims turn to Allah in times of despair to ask for help as well as their happy moment to thank Him who never leaves or abandons them alone.
