Who is Allah?

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Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript

Qur'an 112 · Deuteronomy 6:4

Four lines.
Fifteen words.

Asked to describe God, the Qur'an answered in four short lines. Jews have said something very close every morning and evening for over two thousand years.

Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript. Unknown maker. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1942 · CC0 1.0

The Word · One God

Next: Where are the kings of the earth? →

Surah al-Ikhlas, line by line

Muslims say this surah every day. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him) called it equal to a third of the Qur'an (Bukhari and Muslim).

قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌQul huwa Allāhu aḥadSay: He is God, One.

Arabic has two words for one. Wāḥid can be followed by two. Aḥad, used here, is the one that cannot be counted at all.

ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُAllāhu aṣ-ṢamadGod, the One all turn to.

Aṣ-Ṣamad appears only once in the whole Qur'an. Early scholars gave it two pictures: the One everyone turns to in need, and the One with no hollowness and no lack.

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْLam yalid wa lam yūladHe has not fathered, and was not born.

The great commentator al-Tabari read it as a line about time: whatever is born began, and whatever begets will pass. God does neither.

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌWa lam yakun lahu kufuwan aḥadAnd there is none comparable to Him.Qur'an 112 · in brief · al-Aḥad · aṣ-Ṣamad

Watch

Watch

A Muslim telling

Surat Al-Ikhlas - Mishary Rashed AlafasyAlafasy · 0 minMishary Alafasy recites Surah al-Ikhlas.

Hear, O Israel

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָדShema Yisraʾel, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai eḥad“Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.”Deuteronomy 6:4 · JPS 1917

Jews say the Shema morning and evening. Jews say eḥad; Muslims say aḥad. It is the same old Semitic word for one.

Watch

Watch

A Jewish telling

The Shema Prayer · myjewishlearningPlays on “The One called “the Name”” →
The Shema Prayermyjewishlearning · 1 minThe Shema prayer itself.

One God, as Christians say it

“The greatest is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.’”Mark 12:29 · World English Bible

Asked which commandment comes first, Jesus (peace be upon him) quoted the Shema. Christians confess one God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit: “not three Gods, but one God”, in the words of the Athanasian Creed. In 2007, Muslim scholars wrote to Christian leaders setting this verse beside al-Ikhlas, in a letter called A Common Word.

Same and different

What is shared

One God, Creator of all, not part of the world and not like anything in it. The same root word for one.

What is really different

Christians understand the one God as Trinity, and call Jesus the Son. Muslims read “He has not fathered, and was not born” as ruling that out, and Jews understand oneness in the same undivided way. We say this plainly, and let each faith speak for itself.

Three humilities

“If you understood him, it would not be God.”Augustine of Hippo, Christian, 5th century

“No imagination can conceive of Him.”al-Tahawi, Muslim, 10th century

“The negative attributes… are the true attributes.”Maimonides, Jewish, 12th century

Keep going

60 sec
The WordWhat does “Allah” mean?One word, its root and its family: Elohim, Alaha, Allah.
5 min
The WordWhy there's no pictureWhat does Allah look like? Nothing you have seen.
5 min
The WordDo Christians and Jews say “Allah”?A church in 512, a rabbi's Torah, a London choir today.

Watch and listen

Documentaries and short films on the word and its story.

filmThe MessageThe classic telling of the birth of Islam, made so that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is never seen or heard, only felt through those around him.1976 · 178 · Moustapha Akkad (dir.); Filmco International · Widely available to stream or buy
Trailer ▶F-ILM
filmAr-Risalah (The Message, Arabic version)The same story filmed again, scene for scene, with an Arab cast: a lovely way to show the Arabic of Allah in its own voice.1976 · 206 · Moustapha Akkad (dir.); Arabic-language version · Widely available to stream or buy
Trailer ▶F-ILM
Shows prophets
subscriptionseriesThe ChosenA Christian series about the people around Jesus (peace be upon him): Christian faith in its own words.2019 · 60 · Dallas Jenkins (creator); 5&2 Studios · Widely available to stream or buyShows prophets as people, as its makers chose; labelled here, never pictured by us.
F-ILM
Shows prophets
FreefilmThe Ten CommandmentsThe grand Hollywood telling of Moses (peace be upon him), the Exodus and the Law at Sinai.1956 · 220 · Cecil B. DeMille (dir.) · Widely available to stream or buyShows prophets as people, as its makers chose; labelled here, never pictured by us.
F-ILM
Shows prophets
FreeseriesJesus of NazarethThe most loved screen life of Jesus (peace be upon him), still shown every Easter: Christian faith in its own words.1977 · 97 · Franco Zeffirelli (dir.); ITC / RAI · Widely available to stream or buyShows prophets as people, as its makers chose; labelled here, never pictured by us.
F-ILM
Shows prophets
filmBen-HurA prince wronged and enslaved learns that mercy is stronger than revenge.1959 · 212 · William Wyler (dir.); MGM · Widely available to stream or buyShows prophets as people, as its makers chose; labelled here, never pictured by us.
F-ILM
Shows prophets
paiddocuseriesThe Story of God with Morgan FreemanMorgan Freeman travels the world asking how every faith answers the biggest questions, including who God is.2016 · 3 seasons x ~45 min · National Geographic; Revelations Entertainment · Widely available to stream or buyShows prophets as people, as its makers chose; labelled here, never pictured by us.
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Watch more: Four lines. Fifteen words.

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

  • Who Is Allah? | Surah Al-Ikhlas

    Cambridge Central Mosque · 1 min

    Cambridge Central Mosque: Surah al-Ikhlas in one minute.

  • Purity of Faith | Surah Al-Ikhlas – Sejad Mekić: Qur’an Tafsir

    Cambridge Central Mosque · 11 min

    Cambridge Central Mosque: purity of faith, Surah al-Ikhlas.

  • Tafseer of Surah Al-Ikhlas | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi

    Yasir Qadhi · 27 min

  • Shema: How to Say This Jewish Prayer

    myjewishlearning · 2 min

  • Rabbi Yehudah Black - Why is the Shema so Important?

    United Synagogue · 2 min

    United Synagogue: why the Shema is so important.

  • Shema: A Deeper reading into a simple prayer

    Jewish Learning Institute · 26 min

  • What is the Shema prayer? – The Shema series E1

    Bible Society · 23 min

    Bible Society: what is the Shema? Jesus called it the first commandment.

  • Belief in ONE God, Is It ONLY for Jews?

    Jewish Learning Institute · 3 min

    Jewish Learning Institute: belief in one God, is it only for Jews?

  • More films and talks on F-ILMWatch free