Adam

Meaning of Allah and Yahweh

Allah is the name of the God of Islam. As it is the first part of the “shahada” that one has to recite and believe to be a Muslim.

(La Illaha Ill Lal Allah) لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ
There is no God but Allah

Illah means God and Allah is a proper name of God of Islam. If you ask any muslim to give you the meaning of Allah he will not be able to. There are multiple explanations but none could be agreed upon. Two of the major ones are that Allah is derived from Al-illaha, which means “The GOD”. The opposite side would say that it actually is Al-Lah where “Al” means “The” and “Lah” was the pagan God at the time of Muhammad.

I will not take the side of any point and won’t even bring in other points because even Muslims couldn’t agree upon one meaning. But before going further in discussion let’s see what The Bible tells us about the name of the Lord GOD Elohim in Exodus 3:15

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3:15)

So in the Old Testament God has described his own name to Moses and also gave the meaning of his name.

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)

Unification of Allah Vs Yahweh

Now that we know the Name and the meaning of the two different names of Islamic GOD and Biblical GOD. Let us now see what Allah is so that we could compare it with Yahweh. Allah describes himself in Quran in chapter 112:1

قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ which is translated by muslims as “Say: 'He is Allah, [who is] One,”

But does the word “Ahad” means one in Arabic? If yes then what does the word “Wahid” واحد mean?

Does it means “unified into one”? What is the name of chapter 112? Isn’t it “Ikhlas” which by itself means “The unity”. Then why doesn’t allah used “Wahid” instead of “Ahad”. Allah is supposed to bring clear verses with clear evidence according to Quran, so that no one would doubt him but still He used a word, which is in conflict, and Arabs later have to make it translate like one which actually isn’t one.

Let’s not get confused by some muslims who are putting articles claiming Ahad means “one and only” because if that’s true then please try putting “one and only” in the other verses where “Ahad” is being used in Quran 2:136, 2:102, 2:285, 3:73, 3:84, 3:153, 4:152

Is it possible that this might have come from Bible? More specifically from Old Testament. What do the Jews says? What is their Shamai prayer. One must have read it in English translation as “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Duet 6:4) But let’s explore what’s written in Hebrew text.

šə·ma‘ yiś·rā·’êl; Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê·nū Yah·weh ’e·ḥāḏ,

Let me write it in English read able text for easy compression “listen Isreal; Yahweh our Elohim Yehwah ehad” so now we can see where “ahad” in Arabic might have originated from. Here in Hebrew text ehad is also means unified in one. If we look at Elohim, singular of which is Eloah, is usually employed in the Old Testament for the one and only God. When referring to Yahweh, elohim very often is accompanied by the article ha-, to mean, in combination, “the God,” Now as Elohim is a plural noun representing unified oneness, just like Ikhlas. Now if the GOD of the Bible uses this word then we have no contradiction as the whole verse describes Name of GOD (Yehwah) who is Elohim Yehwah is unified into one.

But once again if we go back to Arabic text of Quran, Ahad doesn’t fit at all, so the only conclusion is that this is a borrowed word from Torah without actually knowing the true meaning of this word.

Begotten of Allah Vs Yahweh

Now let’s go back to verse 3 of Sura Ikhlad (chapter 112)

He has begotten no one, and is begotten of none.. لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

No issues here right, but the problem is the context of “begotten no one”. Allah talks in absolute begotten by sexual intercourse of male and female. No one from biblical standpoint will ever say that Jesus was born out of Mary by a sexual intercourse. Let us see how Allah describes.

Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe. (Quran 23:91)

In the above verse Allah describes himself to be the only GOD and claims that he is the only GOD because if there are more than one they would fight over what they have created. Very selfish of GODs are what Allah describes, quiet humanly attributes.

Then at the same time, Allah claims to be the best of all creators in Quran 23:14 فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ ٱلْخَٰلِقِينَ. To be the best there have to be more than one creators. We all know that creator is creating something out of nothing. This is just a side note, going back to the point of discussion as this will be used later so had to describe the verse of Quran 23:91

Allah denies having a son in Quran, because Allah doesn’t have a consort

The originator of the heavens and the earth! How can He have a child, when there is for Him no consort, when He created all things and is aware of all things? (Quran 6:101)

Does anywhere in the Bible Lord GOD Yahweh said that He had a consort to give birth to a child? If we look at Old Testament the book of Isaiah 9:6 it’s written as

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

Hence, it’s not a literal son of GOD like described in Quran, but He will be called Mighty GOD and everlasting father a son who is given to humankind. In Luke 1:31-33 the birth of Jesus is foretold to Mary:

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33. and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”(Luke 1:31-33)

Once again, you will see the word “will be called” the Son of the Most High. So who is Jesus? That’s the biggest question. If we continue reading

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35. The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called b the Son of God. (Luke 1:34-35)

So, who is Jesus? Is He the Flesh and blood with the spirit of “The Holy Spirit” instead of the spirit of a human being? Now we have to look at how Quran explains the birth of Jesus.

And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if thou art Allah-fearing. He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained. (Quran 19:17-21)

You can already see the similarities with the biblical information provided above.

Jesus the Allah’s Spirit and Holly Spirit defined in gospel

If we look at Quran 19:17 as mentioned above, Allah sent his own spirit (رُوحَنَا) but this becomes a problem because Allah is not a spirit according to majority of Muslims, and that’s why some latest translation, translate this as angel instead of spirit because how can Allah send his spirit if he is not a spirit. But angel in Arabic is (ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ). Let’s see if we have both in the same verse:

تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ
Therein come down the angels (ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ) and the Spirit (ٱلرُّوحُ) by Allah's permission, on every errand (Quran 97:4)

So even if Allah is not a spirit there is some correlation going on between Allah and his Spirit. Most of the Muslim scholars now are bound to say that when Allah talks about Spirit, He is talking about Gabriel (جِبْرِيلُ). But Gabriel is an angel and in the above verse Allah talks about both the spirit and the angel. How can Allah be saying angels and Gabriel? Is Gabriel is not an angel?

But the issue doesn’t end here because Allah has explicitly states the name of Gabriel in many locations in Quran.

قُلْ مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُۥ نَزَّلَهُۥ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Say: 'Whosoever is an enemy to Gabriel -- he it was that brought it down upon thy heart by the leave of God, confirming what was before it, and for a guidance and good tidings to the believers. (Quran 2:97)

So basically Allah has defined the name of angel Gabriel separately then what’s the point in converting “Ruh” into Gabriel. Specially when Allah is saying in a verse that Allah sent his own spirit to Jesus.

وَٱلَّتِىٓ أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا مِن رُّوحِنَا وَجَعَلْنَٰهَا وَٱبْنَهَآ ءَايَةً لِّلْعَٰلَمِينَ
And she who guarded her virginity, so We breathed into her of Our spirit and appointed her and her son to be a sign unto all beings. (Quran 21:91)

Now if we read Quran(19:17-21) we see that the Spirit of Allah can come and show itself as an image of a human. Then also if we read Quran 21:91 we see Allah blew from HIS own Spirit into Mary to give birth to Jesus.

Jesus the Word of Allah and Word of Heavenly Father

In the Bible in John 1 describes Jesus as:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1-2)

And then

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

So He the Jesus is a flesh and blood human born out of a virgin lady, through the spirit of GOD, and He is the eternal word of GOD. Let’s see if Quran has a similar verse to give:

O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not "Trinity": desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs. (Quran 4:171)

Now here Allah said that Jesus is his own Word (كَلِمَتُهُ) never ever it has been said for any other human. Which is actually similar to what Bible tells us.

Trinity Defined in Quran Vs Trinity in Bible

Second part of the verse is something to dwell into as it says “Three” but there is only one Allah (by the way; here Allah used “Wahid” and not “Ahad”). Even though Christian don’t say there are three GODs but they states that there is only ONE GOD YHWH who is a spirit which can come as Holly Spirit and also descended upon the son of Mary. Let’s see what Quran talks about the three deities.

And when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah ?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. (Quran 5:116)

So according to Allah in Quran the “three” deities that Allah talks about 1st Allah, 2nd Jesus and 3rd Mother Mary. No sect or sub sect of Christianity would ever consider the mother Mary as the part of triune nature of Lord GOD Yehwah but Allah assumed otherwise. If Allah is the all-knowing GOD then He should know the concept of Christianity. Let’s assume in some part of Arabia this would have been true. Still Allah should have defined true Christianity somewhere in Quran and would have said its wrong but you will never find the true triune nature of Lord GOD Yehwah in Quran.

The mother Mary is considered in the triune nature of GOD, according to Allah, and can be seen in another verse of Quran below:

The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded. (Quran 5:75)

So, because they both ate food they should not be considered anything but a human. Seriously, this is the only reason Quran described the triune as another issue. Right now the topic is what does Quran think about the Christian belief and how Quran is refuting the Christian belief system of the triune GOD. Even in Catholic denomination of Christianity mother Mary is never considered a part of trinity but was regarded very high. Just like many sect of Islam consider Muhammad on very high regard and ask for his intersession while praying to Allah. Many of Shia Muslims hold Ali and the Immams on a very high regard and ask them to intercede for them to Allah but don’t call them equal to Allah. Just the same, mother Mary in Catholic denominations of Christianity is regarded pretty high but never equal to GOD Yehwah.

Now, the vast majority of Muslims agree that Allah is not a spirit, yet Allah blew his spirit and Allah said Jesus is his own Spirit as we have seen in above verses.

Now it is fair that we would look at bible to see how the triune nature of GOD is described in the bible:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

Please note that its stated in the “name of” not “names of” the Father (heavenly Father), the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit.

So the Trinity has no place for Mother Mary in it. This is where Quran disagrees with the biblical belief system.

Then What is Trinity?

First let’s be clear there is no word trinity in Bible, it’s a name given to the triune nature of GOD as the verse above describes. Muslims deny and say its three GOD not one GOD, as their Quran stated we already proved to be wrong statement but let us see if the Allah reveals any similarities or are Muslims deceived by their scholars?

Now as we have gone through the document already we know Allah has a spirit, and we know that Allah has used “We” and “Ours” many times with also referenced to “Ahad” instead of “Wahid” so it will be easy to see how Allah of Quran is unified. Let’s see where Allah is located. There are many contradictions but once again we will only use Quran to elaborate the case.

Lo! your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then He established Himself upon the Throne, directing all things. There is no intercessor (with Him) save after His permission. That is Allah, your Lord, so worship Him. Oh, will ye not remind? (Quran 10:3)

It is Allah who created the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in six days; then He established Himself above the Throne. You have not besides Him any protector or any intercessor; so will you not be reminded? Quran (Quran 32:4)

And in 25:59 and 7:54 and in 57:4 so Allah established the heaven and earth in six (6) days then He mounted his thrown and established or situated (ٱسْتَوَىٰ) Himself on the throne above the 7th heaven. Let’s see elsewhere if the throne is a physical entity or is it a figure of speech as some muslims claims.

وَٱلْمَلَكُ عَلَىٰٓ أَرْجَآئِهَا ۚ وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَٰنِيَةٌ
and the angels shall stand upon its borders, and upon that day eight shall carry above them the Throne of thy Lord. (Quran 69:17)

So eight angels are going to carry the throne on the Day of Judgment when the heavens will be destroyed. This is another issue however, right now we are going to use this verse only to show that the throne is a physical entity and Allah situated himself above the heavens on the throne. In another location of Quran it says as follow:

وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنكُمْ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تُبْصِرُونَ
And We are nearer unto him than ye are, but ye see not – (Quran 56.85)

So Allah is near to us than we can imagine but we cannot see him. How near? let’s see another verse of Quran

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِۦ نَفْسُهُۥ ۖ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ
We verily created man and We know what his soul whispereth to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (Quran 50.16)

So Allah is near to us than our jugular vein yet He established himself above the heavens in his throne. Now let’s talk about Muslim scholars and how they will give you many different views one is Allah is present on the throne but yet by his power and knowledge He is also present near each one of us. There is a second concept which is Allah is omnipresent and they use the following verse:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ ۖ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ ٱلْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِۦ وَأَنَّهُۥٓ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
O believers, respond to God and the Messenger when He calls you unto that which will give you life; and know that God stands between a man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be mustered. (Quran 8:24)

Question: If allah is in his throne yet he is present near each person, so and so that he stands between the heart of a man then do we have ONE allah or do we have many allah?

If the answer of this question is only ONE Allah, why do Muslims accuse Christians of worshiping two GODs when they says that the Heavenly Father is on His throne and His Holy Spirit is with them? How can this become TWO instead of ONE based on the Islamic logic?

The issue that Jesus is a man of flesh and blood and is divine is already proven by Quranic verses that He is the Word of GOD and the Spirit of GOD as described in Quran itself as well. Even Quran says that He the Jesus was taken above the heavens ALIVE. Christians say he was crucified but then He got resurrected and went to heaven to his Heavenly Father ALIVE. The only contradiction is did HE, Jesus, go to His Heavenly Father without being crucified or after being crucified and resurrected.

So the Holy Spirit the Father in heaven and Jesus the Spirit and Word of Heavenly Father who is called the son makes trinity.

Conclusion

Considering all of the above evidences, it is not possible that Allah is the same GOD, which is defined according to Muslims in Torah, Psalm and Gospel as per Quran. Allah doesn’t even know the very basics of the belief system of Christians and the GOD of Jews and Christians. Allah cannot be the same GOD who sent the Torah and Psalm and Gospel to the prophets. Muhammad seems to be saying an entirely different thing, which cannot be possible, if the earlier books are by the same GOD.