AllahFrom Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World
Allah is the Arabic equivalent of the English word God and is the term employed not only among Arabicspeaking Muslims but also by Christians and Jews and in Arabic translations of the Bible. A contraction of al-ilah, meaning “the god,” Allah is cognate with the generic pan-Semitic designation for “God” or “deity” (Israelite/Canaanite El, Akkadian ilu) and is particularly close to the common Hebrew term Elohim and the less frequent Eloah. It is thus, strictly speaking, not a proper name but a title.