What does the word ‘Allah’ mean?

2:13

Linguistics and Semitic languagesEtymology of 'Allah'Jesus and AramaicInterfaith understandingArabic language

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The speaker addresses a common misconception: whether Muslims and Christians worship different Gods. Using linguistic analysis, he demonstrates that the word 'Allah' is not a proper name but a common noun meaning 'the deity' or 'the one that is worshiped' in Arabic. He explains that Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic, a Semitic language, and that Semitic languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic) are cognate languages—cousin languages like Romance or Slavic languages. In Aramaic, the word for God is 'Eli'; in Hebrew it is 'Elohim'; and in Arabic it is 'Allah'—all derived from the same linguistic root. The speaker uses this linguistic evidence to argue that when Christians curse the word 'Allah,' they are cursing the same word Jesus himself used to refer to God.

Key Points

A linguistic explanation of the word 'Allah' and its meaning across Semitic languages, demonstrating that 'Allah' simply means 'the deity' or 'God' in Arabic—the same word Jesus used in Aramaic.

Summary

The speaker addresses a common misconception: whether Muslims and Christians worship different Gods. Using linguistic analysis, he demonstrates that the word 'Allah' is not a proper name but a common noun meaning 'the deity' or 'the one that is worshiped' in Arabic. He explains that Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic, a Semitic language, and that Semitic languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic) are cognate languages—cousin languages like Romance or Slavic languages. In Aramaic, the word for God is 'Eli'; in Hebrew it is 'Elohim'; and in Arabic it is 'Allah'—all derived from the same linguistic root. The speaker uses this linguistic evidence to argue that when Christians curse the word 'Allah,' they are cursing the same word Jesus himself used to refer to God.

Key takeaways

The word 'Allah' is not a proper name but a common noun meaning 'the deity' or 'the one that is worshiped' in Arabic.
Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic, a Semitic language, not English, Latin, or Greek.
Semitic languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic) are cognate or 'cousin' languages derived from the same linguistic root, similar to how Romance languages or Slavic languages relate to each other.
The Aramaic word for God is 'Eli,' the Hebrew word is 'Elohim' (plural form), and the Arabic word is 'Allah'—all are cognates of the same word.
Understanding the linguistic connection between these languages demonstrates that Muslims and Christians refer to the same God using the same root word across different languages.

Full article

The Question of Different Gods

Muslims worship a different God than Christians—true or false? This is the question I became famous for addressing. I was on shows breaking it down, making it simple enough for my fraternity brothers from the University of Texas to understand. But here's what people need to know: Jesus Christ probably looked more like a Muslim than like the depictions you see in most pictures. That's the first point.

The Language Jesus Spoke

Second, Jesus didn't speak English, Latin, or Greek. He spoke a Semitic language. The Semitic languages are Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic, with some other subcategories, but those are the three biggest. They're cousin languages, just like Latin-based languages—Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish. When you learn one, you can learn the others very quickly. The same applies to Slavic languages like Russian, Georgian, and Ukrainian. When you learn one Slavic language, you can learn the rest pretty quickly because they're cousin languages.

What 'Allah' Actually Means

Here's the newsflash: the word Allah is not a name. And I see it all over the internet—when you're a Christian, you say "F Allah." You're literally cursing what the word just means in Arabic. Allah means the deity, the one that is worshiped. So let me ask you: are you telling me that Allah is God? Go to Google right now. Type in "What was the language of Jesus Christ." Let's show your audience the facts. Remember, the people that own Google don't like Muslims, so they're not rigging anything in our favor. What language did Jesus speak? He spoke Aramaic, specifically a Galilean dialect.

The Word for God Across Semitic Languages

Now go to Google and type in "What is the Aramaic word for God?" This is the language of Jesus Christ himself, peace and blessings be upon him and his righteous mother, the Virgin Mary. The Aramaic word for God is Eli. In Hebrew, it's Elohim—the plural form. These are cognates of the word, meaning they're the same word in multiple languages, especially in cousin languages. Ilaha, Allah, Allah in Arabic—it's the same word, the same root, the same everything. When you're cursing Allah, Jesus isn't going to like you too much in the next life.

Topics#Linguistics and Semitic languages#Etymology of 'Allah'#Jesus and Aramaic#Interfaith understanding#Arabic language#Religious terminology

Transcript

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0:00 Muslims worship a different God than Christians.

0:02 True or false?

0:03 That's literally what I became famous for.

0:06 I was on the break it down.

0:07 I was on the make it simple enough to wear my frat brothers.

0:09 Can.

0:10 You from UT can understand this.

0:12 I hate to break the news to you, but Jesus Christ probably looked like a Muslim more than he looked like the guys you guys see in the picture.

0:18 That's number one.

0:20 Number two, he didn't speak English.

0:21 He didn't speak Latin.

0:23 He didn't.

0:24 He didn't speak Greek.

0:25 He spoke a Semitic language.

0:28 The Semitic languages are Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic.

0:32 And there's some other sub categories, but those are the three biggest.

0:35 So they're cousin languages.

0:36 Just like when you have a Latin based language, you have Portuguese, Italian and Spanish.

0:40 When you learn one, you can learn the others very quickly.

0:42 Or Slavic languages like Russian and Georgian and Ukrainian.

0:45 These are Slavic languages.

0:46 So when you learn one, you can learn the rest pretty quickly, right?

0:49 They're cousin languages.

0:51 So the word Allah is not a name.

0:53 And I have a newsflash when you're a Christian, you say F Allah because I see it all over the internet.

0:57 You're literally cursing what the word just God means in Arabic.

1:01 The deity, the one that is worshiped.

1:03 So wait, wait a minute, wait a minute.

1:05 Are you telling me that Allah is God.

1:08 Go to Google.

1:08 Type in what was the language of Jesus Christ.

1:10 Do it right now.

1:12 But let's show your audience and remember the people that own Google don't like Muslims, so they're not rigging it in our favor.

1:18 What language did Jesus speak?

1:20 Right.

1:21 Let's give him facts.

1:24 And he spoke what our make our make specifically a guy, a Galilean dialect.

1:30 Now go to Google and type in what is the Aramaic word for God?

1:34 Okay.

1:35 The language of Jesus Christ Himself.

1:37 Peace and blessings be upon Him and His righteous mother.

1:40 The Virgin Mary is the language of Jesus.

1:44 Yeah.

1:44 What is the Aramaic word for God, Eli or what?

1:48 Pull it up.

1:50 Eli is in the Hebrew, right?

1:52 Elohim.

1:53 Elohim is the plural, right?

1:56 The cognate of the word.

1:58 Right?

1:58 It's a word that's the same in multiple languages, especially in cousin languages.

2:02 Ilaha, Allah, Allah, Arabic, same word, same root, same everything.

2:07 When you're cursing Allah.

2:11 Jesus ain't going to like you too much in the next life.

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