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Chapter One: Defining God

Section 7: Allah

Allah is more benevolent than Yahweh and less loving than the Christian God - but all three are versions of the same deity.

from artislamic.com: by Turkish calligrapher Hüseyin Kutlu
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate,
the Merciful

Allah first made himself known to the Prophet Muhammed at the beginning of the seventh century CE. Although he developed much later than his Christian and Jewish predecessors, the Muslim god is identical to his Jewish alter ego - all-knowing, all-powerful and, unlike the Christian God, unknowable.

Allah = Al Lah = The God.
Arabic and Hebrew are both semitic languages; that means that they have the same origins, in the same way that French, Italian and Spanish all originated in Latin.
The Arabic Lah and the Hebrew El were originally the same word.

1.7a Allah = Yahweh = God

Because they are unknowable, our only view of Allah and Yahweh comes from scripture - the Quran and Jewish Bible. The details between them differ, but the overall picture is the same. Like Yahweh, Allah is a strong, aggressive figure who loves and protects his followers as a father loves and protects his family, and who treats his enemies with anger and violence.

Allah - like Yahweh - does not gives his love unconditionally. To be accepted by the Muslim god, believers must follow strict rules, including avoidance of certain foods and intoxicants, frequent prayer and some segregation of the sexes. Unlike Judaism, not all Islamic scholars believe that Muslim men must be circumcised.




Chapter One: Defining God

Does God exist? Before we try to answer that question we need to have a clear idea of who or what God is. How do we describe God? What versions of God are on offer?

1.1: God, faith and religion
Do they need each other?

1.2: What is God?
God comes in several styles and models

1.3: Perception and reality
Is what we see what we get?

1.4: The evolving God
From prehistory to today

1.5: El, Yahweh et al
The Old Testament family of gods

1.6: Three's company
The Christian Trinity

1.7: Allah
Over to Islam

1.8: Majors and minors
Polytheism

1.9: The unknowable God
Is he there?

1.10: Your god or mine?
Made in our image

1.11: Summary



Finished this chapter? Move on to

Chapter Two
Problems with God


The real God – if such a thing exists – may be very different from the god portrayed by Jewish, Christian or Muslim scripture.

But whichever picture of God we look at - from the Bible and Koran to the images presented by other faiths and believers - we are confronted by problems. When examined closely, God's nature is so contradictory that it is unlikely, if not impossible, for him to exist.



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The similarities between Allah and Yahweh are not surprising. They both emerged from the same masculine, violent, desert culture that produced not only Judaism and Islam, but other monotheistic cults such as Mithras that have since disappeared. They, and the Christian god, are in fact the same god viewed from different perspectives.

1.7b God's softer side?

Examined closely, these perspectives reveal slightly different personalities. Despite the violence and slaughter practised by many of his followers, a close reading of the Quran and Jewish Bible suggests that Allah is more benign than Yahweh. Both versions slaughter their enemies or encourage their followers to do the same (Joshua 6:21 in the Bible: "[The Israelites] devoted [Jericho] to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys." Spoils 8:39 in the Quran: "Make war on them until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion reigns supreme." ).

However, while Allah sometimes has good words for other "People of the Book" (The Cow / Heifer 2:62: "Those who believe, the Jews and the Christians and the Sabians ­ any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord."), Yahweh, seldom shows mercy, even to his own followers if they ignore one of his commandments. And while each chapter of the Quran begins with the phrase "In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful", the phrase most often associated with Yahweh is "I am a jealous God" (Deuteronomy 5:9). It is only centuries later, when Christ appears, that the Jewish God's nature turns to love and forgiveness - and even that transformation is only temporary: as the Book of Revelations reminds us, in the End Days, God's return will be marked by global violence and slaughter.

1.7c The manifestation of our fear

There is not much more to be said. The Quran and the Hadith (statements or actions by Muhammed not included in the Quran) merely reinforce the basic point - that Allah is a demanding deity whose commandments must be followed - a father-figure who differs in detail, not substance, from the Jewish and Christian versions which preceded him. Allah is more benevolent than Yahweh and less loving than the Christian God - but all three are versions of the same deity.




Next: Chapter One: Section 8
Majors and minors




For more detailed and trenchant criticism of Islam, see FaithFreedom.Org



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If God existed, he would...

admire the beauty of a universe that he did not create

recognize that eternity is meaningless

deny both heaven and hell

disown all men and women who speak in his name

denounce the harm caused by religious "morality"

help the human race to thrive without him

If God existed, he would be an atheist.


What is the difference between science and faith?

science is certain of nothing and requires proof of everything

faith is certain of everything and requires proof of nothing

Which do you trust?


"I know there is no God"
or
"I believe there is no God"
???

Check the answer







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