It’s the lack of proper religious education and ignorance among some Muslims that have muddled their minds when it comes to the term “Allah” used to refer to “God” by people of other faiths.
Some politicians and religious figures find it expedient to exploit on this issue not that they know too much about religions and the principles of various theological doctrines but to help their favoured parties to win political elections.
The government of Malaysia in 2007 barred usage of the term Allah in any other but Muslim contexts. The High Court in 2009 annulled the decision, ruling that it was unconstitutional. While Allah has been used by the Christians to refer to God in Malay for more than four centuries (since the early 17th century) without any objection by the authorities, the present controversy was prompted by usage of Allah by the Roman Catholic newspaper, Herald.
Understandably, the ruling must have been based on religious sensitivities in a multi-religious society where the term Allah can be manipulated to confuse the Muslims. The decision, however, may not hold water from the theological perspective.
Malaysian Muslims in general and Christians do not speak Arabic and it would have been more appropriate if the Allah (an Arabic term for “The God”) issue had not been brought to court but discussed amicably among the concerned parties – taking into consideration both the theological reasoning and the sensitivity of the people in a multi-religious society.
What’s more significant is that Muslims have to be educated on the use of the world Allah in the Arab world, which includes the days of Pagan Arabs to the advent of the Abrahamic faiths.
Allah is my Lord and your Lord
The Qur’an evidently says:
And dispute ye not with the People of the Book (who covenanted with Abraham), except with means better unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong: but say, "We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to Him we submit." (29:46)
"And indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so submit to Him. That is a straight path." (19:36)
Apparently, there is no lack of Islamic religious education in the country and yet some Muslims seem to be ignorant of the usage of the word Allah in the Abrahamic faiths as well as in many other religions. It’s the religious education system that has failed to disentangle the bondage minds of the Muslims.
Muslims should be edified that the word Allah (root word ilah) or its derivatives were used long before Islam by the pagan Arabs, Christians and Jews. Just emphasise to the Muslims that this “conception of God” is not the same amongst that of the pagan Arabs, the Christian theology and Islam.
Epistemologically the term Allah is derived from a contraction of the Arabic definite article al (the) and ilah (God). The concepts associated with the term Allah, however, differ among religious traditions and the Muslims in the country can be enlightened on this only through proper education.
Hebrew and Arabic are closely related Semitic languages, and that Allah (root, ilah) and the Biblical Elohim are cognate derivations of the same origin. Going beyond the Semitic race, for instance in the Sanskrit language, Allah, Amba and Akka are synonyms. The term Allah also forms part of Sanskrit chants.
It’s therefore no surprise that the term Allah is also found in the Bengali and many other languages in the Indian subcontinent. In fact, the origin of the root word ilah can be traced back to 2000BC when it was used by the Arabs for pagan worship.
A captive mind
Learned Muslims and religious scholars in the country should stop politicising Islam but get to the study of the actual etymology of the word Allah as used in Islam and other cultures and religions. They may lack this creativity if they have a captive mind. This is not the issue or tussle between Muslims and non-Muslims or among political parties but of great educational significance to all Malaysians.
Educate the masses on the universal acceptance of the term Allah and its cognates to refer to God and stress that theologically they may mean different to every religion or culture based on an individual’s perception of the Creator.
It would be more appropriate here to explain to the masses that Allah is the Arabic word for “the God” and Al- is a definite article in Arabic; the word Allah or its derivatives are used in more than 60 main languages in the world to refer to The God and the word is notably used by Muslims, Arab speakers, Arab Christians, the Mizrahi Jews and later by the Christians in the Malay Archipelago since the 17th century.
Christianity and Judaism came before Islam. Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, had long used the word Allah or its cognates to mean God.
In the context of Indonesia, Sabah and Sarawak, the term Allah has been in use for the past four centuries by those who profess Christianity. This is not something new so there cannot be any valid reason why they should stop using the word Allah in their translated Bibles now.
The first dictionary of Dutch-Malay by A.C. Ruyl, Justus Heurnius, and Caspar Wiltens in 1650 (revised edition from 1623 edition and 1631 Latin-edition) recorded Allah as the translation of the Dutch word "Godt". Since then the word Allah has been used to refer to God by the majority natives who profess Christianity in the Malay Archipelago.
The use of the word Allah by Christians has been conspicuous in Indonesia, Sarawak and Sabah. Stopping it after it has been in use for the past four centuries will be too impulsive a step and even defeats the purpose in this era of technology. Translated Bibles these days come in the form of e-books and can be downloaded free from the Internet.
No laws can stop this and instead of coming up with rules or decrees against the Christians using the term Allah, Muslims should be educated to see the differences in usage of this term in the various concept of theologies and cultures.
Semantics differ according to one’s belief
The Christian community are used to the term Allah and its extension such as Allah al-ʾab (God the Father), Allah al-ibn (God the Son), and Allah ar-ruh al-quds (God the Holy Spirit). Educate the Muslims in the country that this is not theologically accepted in Islam. Arab Muslims who speak a common language with their Christian brothers and sisters are indeed aware of these lexical and religious nuances and it is a non-issue to them.
A Muslim is taught about the monotheistic aspect of Islam. If the reason in objecting to their request to continue using the word Allah and other Arabic words is that it will confuse the Muslims this cannot be accepted. It will only reflect on the weaknesses of the Muslims.
For instance, an Arab Christian may invoke the word “bismi-llah” (in the name of God – a term also used by Muslims) to the concept of Trinity in their religious discourse. The Muslim bismi-llah reads: "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." Whereas the Trinitised bismi-llah reads: "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God."
Despite invoking the same term bismi-llah by both Muslims and Christians before performing any rites or rituals every Muslim should be able to recognise the difference in approach to the concept of Allah in Islam and Allah in Christianity. The deeper structure and the semantics differ according to one’s belief and this is what matters more in faith.
Are Muslims too pathetic that they are not able to discern the various concepts of theologies in other religions? If they are, then they have not been taught enough about Islam.
It is as simple as telling the Muslims that to them, Allah (God) is the Sustainer of this universe, He upholds everything in existence, He cannot be associated with any other being, and humble submission to His Will, Divine Orders and Decrees is the hinge of the Muslim faith.
A defeatist stand
It was reported that JAKIM issued a statement pointing out the use of the word Allah by other religions will bring harm to Islam. It was said that the position was based on a decision of the National Fatwa Council decision in 2008. This must be another defeatist stand made by a Muslim authority.
The Malaysian Gurdwara Council (MGC) was reported to have argued that it was unconstitutional to ban anyone from using the word Allah, insisting that the National Fatwa Council’s decree on the word could not apply to non-Muslims. In a statement by the MGC president, he pointed out that the council does not have direct jurisdiction over non-Muslims and could not issue a fatwa to bar the community from using a specific word in their sacred books.
A mufti (an Islamic cleric) was reported to have told non-Muslims who insist on using the word Allah to refer to their God to convert to Islam if they refuse to accept that the word belongs only to Muslims. The contentious cleric also indicted the Christian community of deliberately provoking Muslims by pressing on with their demand to use Allah in their Holy Book.
This avowal apparently sounds weird and to an extent ridiculous coming from a so-called “learned” mufti. Stuck in his servitude mind, he has missed many issues relating to Islam and other religions. He has missed the core semantics and theological issues relating to the lexis Allah when he says the word only belongs to Muslims.
Instead, the ecclesiastics should educate the masses on religion, stop politicising it and only with an open mind will common sense prevail when it comes to tolerance and freedom of religion. This is important if religious harmony is what Malaysians hope for in the country.
To surmise, lexically and theologically the word Allah can be used by all – Muslims and non-Muslims – but abusing or exploiting the word for some ulterior motive or in an ungodly manner should be discouraged, as this would lead to religious disharmony in a society where religion is too sensitive an issue and the people are not well-versed with religious doctrines.
* Dr Moaz Nair reads The Malaysian Insider.
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