Who Is Allah? Meaning of Allah in Islam and Abrahamic Context

Learn who Allah is in Islam, what the Arabic word means, and how Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians use language about the one God.

Allah is the Arabic word Muslims use for God. In Islam, Allah is the one creator, sustainer, judge, and merciful Lord of all existence. Muslims do not understand Allah as a tribal deity or as one god among many.

Muslim beliefs about god

What do Muslims believe about god?

Who do Muslims worship?

Who is Allah in the bible in Islam?

Who is Allah? Is Allah God?

What the word Allah means

The Arabic word is used in the Qur’an for the one God. Arabic-speaking Christians also use Allah for God in Christian worship and Arabic Bibles, showing that the word itself is not uniquely a label for a separate Muslim deity.

Islamic theology nevertheless describes God in distinctly Islamic ways, especially through strict monotheism, prophecy, and the Qur’an.

Is Allah the God of Abraham?

Muslims understand themselves as worshiping the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. The Qur’an repeatedly places Islam within a history of earlier monotheistic revelation.

Christians and Jews do not accept all Islamic claims about revelation or Muhammad, so overlapping Abrahamic language does not erase serious theological disagreement.

Allah in relation to the Bible

The English Bible normally uses the word God, not Allah, because English follows its own vocabulary. Arabic Bible translations use Allah where English translations use God.

The Qur’an speaks about many biblical figures, but it is a separate scripture with its own narratives, emphases, and theology.

The oneness of God

Islamic belief in tawḥīd insists that God has no partner or equal. The Qur’an rejects worship of created beings and denies that God is one member of a divine family.

This is a major point of disagreement with mainstream Christian Trinitarian doctrine, which Christians understand as one God in three persons rather than three gods.

Short answer

Allah means God in Arabic, and Muslims worship Allah as the one God of Abrahamic monotheism. Shared reference to God does not mean Islam, Christianity, and Judaism have identical theology.

Chi Tran

About the Author

Chi Tran

Editorial contributor at Spiritual Culture

Chi Tran writes for Spiritual Culture, focusing on spiritual culture, sacred traditions, ritual life, folklore, symbols, festivals, sacred places, and living heritage around the world.

Editorial Note: Content is prepared with respect for spiritual diversity, cultural context, documented sources, oral tradition, and living community practice.

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