Who is Allah?

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Five short stops

New here? Start with these five, in order. About 25 minutes in all, and you can stop anywhere. They open the question at the heart of this site: who is the One God whom Jews, Christians and Muslims each call on, and what does Allah mean?

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  1. 14 minWhat does “Allah” mean?The word, who says it, and how old it is.
  2. 26 minWho is God to Jews, Christians and Muslims?Each faith in its own words: what they share and where they differ.
  3. 38 minar-Raḥmān, the Entirely MercifulThe first of the 99 Names, from a mother's care to mercy nobody earns.
  4. 45 minThe beeOne small creature, and what the Psalms, the Gospels and the Qur'an each see in it.
  5. 55 minAbraham, the shared fatherThe friend of God whom Jews, Christians and Muslims all call their own.

Then talk about it

The best way to finish is with someone else. Deal a few Talk Cards, or try the Guess first quiz together.

Whatever you believe, or don't, you are welcome here. Every faith speaks in its own words, and nobody is asking you to change yours.

Watch more: Start here

11 films and talks, chosen for this page. They play here.

  • Who is Allah? in 15 seconds

    whoisallah.org.uk · 1 min

  • One word

    whoisallah.org.uk · 1 min

  • What is Islam? | Religious Studies - My Life, My Religion: Islam

    BBC Bitesize for Teachers · 4 min

    BBC Teach: a Muslim family explains Islam in four minutes, a gentle way into stop 2.

  • What is Judaism? | Religious Studies - My Life, My Religion: Judaism

    BBC Bitesize for Teachers · 4 min

    BBC Teach: a Jewish family explains Judaism in their own words.

  • What is Christianity? | Religious Studies - My Life, My Religion: Christianity

    BBC Bitesize for Teachers · 3 min

    BBC Teach: a Christian explains Christianity in their own words.

  • The Merciful

    whoisallah.org.uk · 1 min

  • The Waggle Dance | Inside the Animal Mind | BBC

    BBC Earth · 3 min

    BBC Earth: the honeybee's waggle dance, the creature at stop 4.

  • Discovering Sacred Texts: Islam

    British Library · 8 min

    British Library: the Qur'an's story told with real manuscripts, eight minutes.

  • Discovering Sacred Texts: Judaism

    British Library · 10 min

    British Library: the Hebrew Bible and Jewish scripture through its own treasures.

  • Discovering Sacred Texts: Christianity

    British Library · 13 min

    British Library: the Bible and Christian scripture through real manuscripts.

  • The Known Universe by AMNH #datavisualization

    American Museum of Natural History · 6 min

    The Known Universe, mapped from real data by the American Museum of Natural History.

  • More films and talks on F-ILMWatch free