INVESTIGATING ALLAH ============================= About the Author … Contents Introduction Presentation of the situation Investigation and Analysis: Theological Perspective 1: Linguestic Perspective 2: Demonological Perspective 3: Historical Perspective 4: Biblical Perspective 5: Reasons why we oppose the use of Allah as name for Yahweh God Conclusion Suggested readings Questions and Answers * * * * * * * * Allah is the name of the Muslim god and according to Islam, the same god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Many comparative religious scholars have assumed that because Islam claimed that he is the same god as the Biblical god, that there is no reason to investigate the origin of him. There has been much archeological study and religious investigation upon the claim of whether Allah is the same god of the Bible. This book by Al Gharib is an excellent study for any religious student interested in learning how both Christianity and Islam view the name of Allah. This book clearly shows that it is unscholarly, logically flawed and religiously deceitful to promote Allah, as Muslims want him to be promoted without doing an in-depth study of the previous religions of Judaism and Christianity. Muslims expect you to learn about Islam from the Muslim point of view, however they also want make you learn Christianity and Judaism from this same point of view. This isn't how religions are studied And after reading this book, you will have a totally different view on Allah and how historically, biblically, and logically his interrelation in religious history. Is Allah actually the same god of the Bible? Does the name of God change? According to previous religions that Islam claims to confirm, is it okay to call god whatever name you want, hence Baal, Zeus, etc? This book clearly addresses all of these subjects along with given a detailed linguistic anylazation of the name Allah and its relationship to the word "God". It is historically accurate and welled researched. Over 5 years of preparation was put into this 1st edition and the author is both multilingual and virtually an expert in Arab linguistics. Everything about Allah has always seemed to be taken from a Muslim point of view; However what does history and Non-Muslim evidence show about Allah? Read and find out. ----Mr. Gale Introduction Hos.4:6; Isa.2:6; Jer.11:13; Zep.1:4-5; Eze.44:23; Joh.8:32; Hos.2:16 Hos.4:6My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge Isa.2:6. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans. Jer.11:13 The altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem. Zep.1:4-5 I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests, those who bow down in the roofs to worship the starry hosts, those who bow down and swear by Molech Eze.44:23… And they (the faithful priests) will teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. Joh.8:32And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. On that day, you will call me Ishi, not anymore Baali, says Yahweh. ( N.I.V) Biblical names and attributes, especially when they are used for the Creator and Author of the Scriptures, they are just coincidences but terms that have originally been very well and carefully selected to reveal to us the portray of Him in the most possibly accurate and clear statement…. Presentation of the Situation When Christians started spreading toward the four corners of the earth and preaching the Gospel to various people, nations, and languages, one of the greatest challenges that faced them is the translation of God's name, Yahweh Elohiym. In fact till this present day, the matter is still causing the Church many controversies and even division. One of those critical and hot cases is regarding the name Allah, the name widely used among the Arabs and the Muslims for the divine. Thus, the Christian Church has separated itself into three main approaches. Each approach has its own arguments to defend its position and also to discredit the others. The three main approaches: Approach-A, Liberals: Allah and the God of the Bible are basically the same, except that pagan Arabs and Muslims who followed him see the same divine but from a different perspective due to their traditions and belief system. The following are two types of general comments they usually use: 1- The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I, R. Butin (Roman Catholics) Allah is the name of God in Arabic. It is a compound word from the article, 'al, and ilah, divinity, and signifies "the-god" par excellence. This form of the divine name is in itself a sure proof that ilah was at one time an appellative, common to all the local and tribal gods. Gradually, with the addition of the article, it was restricted to one of them who took precedence of the others; finally, with the triumph of monotheism (Islam), He was recognized as the only true God… It is certain, however, that before the time of Mohammed, owing to their contact with Jews and Christians, the Arabs were generally monotheists. The notion of Allah in Arabic theology is substantially the same as that of God among the Jews, and also among the Christians, with the exception of the Trinity (Q.112). Let it be noted that although Allah is an Arabic term,(but) it is used by all Moslems, whatever be their language, as the name of God. 2- Answering Islam.org, Jochen Katz (Ecumenical Evangelical) The God (Allah) the Qur'an talks about is the same. And Muslims do worship this one and only Creator God. The question is not whether Muslims and Christians have the same God [there is only one Creator after all]… This posting was only to make clear that the God of the Qur'an and of the Bible can be the same and obviously are the same, yet nevertheless it can be true that one is true revelation while the other is not. Hearing a different description of God by Christians and Muslims, some come to the conclusion you must be talking about different entities and that is understandable. Others come to the conclusion that the entity is the same [because there is only one Creator God - and both agree that there is only one and hence they talk about this same one] but because of the differences one of them must have false information. At least SOME false information even though much of it is the same and probably true information. This approach represents the majority of Christians, mainly the professing Christians, who belong to traditional churches, i.e. the Roman Catholics and also to the Ecumenical Evangelicals besides the Christian cults i.e. the New Age movement and the Masons. They emphasize the similarities between Allah and Yahweh, but they disregard the huge differences and dismiss the contradictions. From their prospective, as we have seen in the above arguments, Allah must be the true God since it is given attributes like creator, supreme, etc. They often do the same to other gods i.e. Buddha and Brahman. Approach-B, Moderates: The god of the Quran and the God of the Bible are totally two different gods, but both of them share in the same Arabic generic name, speculatively and based on assumptions, is the term Allah. Answering Islam.org, Sam Shamoun (Middle Eastern Evangelical Christian) A brief examination of Allah as presented in the Quran leads us to conclude that he cannot possibly be the same God worshiped by Abraham and as described in the Holy Bible. The contradictions in attributes and nature between Yahweh and Allah are too numerous to pass over, and cannot be reconciled. We are well aware that the name Allah is used by Arab speaking Christians for the God of the Bible… As such, the Holy Bible uses the term as just one of the many titles for Yahweh, the only true God. Yet the problem arises from the fact that Muslims insist that Allah is not a title, but the personal name of the God of Islam. This becomes problematic since according to the Holy Bible the name of the God of Abraham is Yahweh/Jehovah, not Allah: God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD (YHWH) and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty; BUT BY MY NAME, YHWH, I did not make myself known to them." Exo.6:2-3. Therefore, Christians can use Allah as a title but not as the personal name for the God of the Bible. Many Evangelical Christians, especially those working among the Muslims and also the traditional Arab Christians, hold into this approach and use of the name Allah, thus only as a generic name for God. They insist in using the name because they believe that it was originally introduced to the Arabs by the Bible believers and long before Muhammad made it the official name of his god. Most of those Christians reject Muhammad's version of Allah and consider and consider his god as a false one and an imitation. Approach-C, Conservatives: The name Allah originates from paganism and became the official name of the false god of Muhammad, therefore it should not be associated with the God of the Bible. Let Us Reason Ministries.org, (Conservative Evangelical group) Allah is the name of the only God in Islam.