# root of الله



## Moseley

Does الله have a root in Arabic? Or is it unique in this regard?


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## WannaBFluent

> From the root verb اله (’állaha, “to deify”); ultimately from Proto-Semitic *ʾil-. Contraction of الإله (al-’ilāh, “the god”) to الله (allāh, “God”).


http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/الله


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## muhammad2012

Yes, the root is أله alah.

The etymology:

it is الإلاه
and They deleted the (ء ) letter (hamza)
then it becomes اللاه
and then They combined the two (ل)
and then it becomes (الله)

 The meaning:

some say it is from أله meaning  *worshiped*,adored معبود
some say it is from أله meaning  high مرتفع عالي سام
some say it is from أَلِه meaning  أقام  دائم لايزول  eternal ,enduring,*everlasting*
some say it is from أَلِه meaning  إلتجأ  refuge, resort to
some say it is from لاه  meaning  إحجب  disappear,to hide


> The term _Allāh_ is derived from a contraction of the Arabic definite article _al-_ "the" and _ilāh_ "deity, god" to _al-lāh_ meaning "the [sole] deity, God" (ὁ θεὸς μόνος, _ho theos monos_).[8] Cognates of the name "Allāh" exist in other Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Aramaic.[9] Biblical Hebrew mostly uses the plural form (but functional singular) _Elohim_. The corresponding Aramaic form is _ʼĔlāhā_ ܐܠܗܐ in Biblical Aramaic and _ʼAlâhâ_ ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ in Syriac as used by the Assyrian Church, both meaning simply 'God'.[10] In the Sikh scriptures, Guru Granth Sahib, the term _Allah_ (Punjabi: ਅਲਹੁ) is used 37 times.


wikipedia


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## إسكندراني

لذا تجد مثلا اسم الوزير الأول المغربي (عبد الإله بنكيران) به الصيغة الأصلية، رغم اختفاءها في معظم الأقطار


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## Schem

How would it be unique when Allat, Ilah, etc also exist?


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## إسكندراني

ما علاقة اللات؟


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## Schem

Same root, of course. Topic of the thread?


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## muhammad2012

Allat (اللات)  the root is لتت


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## dkarjala

I understand your thought here, but it is like saying that the root of بنت is بتت.

We all know بنت is the feminine of ابن, so the root is بن. This ت on words like بنت، اخت can be shown to be a primitive retention pretty easily. The ه is universally accepted to be an addition to the original root ء ل and thus need not appear, and would make the work more awkward here because of the feminine ت.

Notice the similarities that would now exists between 'son', 'brother', 'god' and their feminines. Furthermore, just as the more adapted form ابنة exists alongside بنت, so too the word الاهة coexists with the name اللات. It is not hard to imagine why the word for 'daughter' has more currency.


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## muhammad2012

dkarjala said:


> I understand your thought here, but it is like saying that the root of بنت is بتت. .


No brother, اللات is not feminine of الله

history of word:
in the preislam there was a rock and beside it a man who wets or mixing (لتّ) fine flour with butter for the hajjis in Mecca and they eat it ,and after death of this man someone  told them that he was not dead but he entered this rock and then the rock named اللات 
and they adored it.


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## إسكندراني

Schem said:


> Same root, of course. Topic of the thread?


Not to my knowledge. All sources suggest that it is a separate word from a separate root.


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## rayloom

muhammad2012 said:


> No brother, اللات is not feminine of الله
> 
> history of word:
> in the preislam there was a rock and beside it a man who wets or mixing (لتّ) fine flour with butter for the hajjis in Mecca and they eat it ,and after death of this man someone  told them that he was not dead but he entered this rock and then the rock named اللات
> and they adored it.



That's a false etymology.
If it were true, the final taa in Allat would be geminated; it is not. Also if it were, then it would make it a masculine diety, all the while the Ancient Arabians considered Allat to be a feminine diety.

Lisan Al-Arab mentions 3 different etymologies for the word, least likely of all is this one.


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## إسكندراني

rayloom said:


> Lisan Al-Arab mentions 3 different etymologies for the word, least likely of all is this one.


And none of which have the same root as الله, unless I missed that somehow.


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## muhammad2012

rayloom said:


> That's a false etymology.
> If it were true, the final taa in Allat would be geminated; it is not. Also if it were, then it would make it a masculine diety, all the while the Ancient Arabians considered Allat to be a feminine diety.
> 
> Lisan Al-Arab mentions 3 different etymologies for the word, least likely of all is this one.



No but it is the right etymology and I have translated this from Lisan Al-Arab and and
القاموس المحيط, فتح الباري ,النهاية في غريب الحديث والمعجم الوسيط
All these book


> If it were true, the final taa in Allat would be geminated; it is not Also if it were, then it would make it a masculine diety





> القراءة اللات، بتخفيف التاء، قال: وأصله
> اللات، بالتشديد، لأن الصنم إنما سمي باسم اللات الذي كان يلت عند هذه الأصنام لها السويق أي يخلطه، فخفف وجعل اسما للصنم؛


 Lisan Al-Arab


> Lisan Al-Arab mentions 3 different etymologies for the word, least likely of all is this one


You are wrong tell me where is this I have read Lisan Al-Arab in لتت root and I did not see any thing  such you said ,this etymolog is the first in Lisan Al-Arab
and other dictionaries.

This what is in Lisan Al-Arab


> (1)
> اللات،  صخرة كان عندها رجل يلت  السويق للحاج، فلما مات، عبدت؛قال الليث: اللت الفعل من اللتات، وكل شيء يلت  به سويق أو غيره، نحو السمن ودهن الألية. وفي حديث
> مجاهد في قوله تعالى: أفرأيتم اللات والعزى؟
> قال: كان رجل يلت السويق لهم، وقرأ: أفرأيتم اللات والعزى؟ بالتشديد.
> قال  الفراء: والقراءة اللات، بتخفيف التاء، قال: وأصله اللات، بالتشديد،
> لأن  الصنم إنما سمي باسم اللات الذي كان يلت عند هذه الأصنام لها السويق أي  يخلطه،
> فخفف وجعل اسما للصنم؛
> 
> (2)
> قال ابن الأثير: وذكر أن التاء في الأصل  مخففة للتأنيث، وليس هذا بابها. وكان الكسائي يقف على اللاه، بالهاء. قال  أبو إسحاق: وهذا قياس، والأجود اتباع المصحف، والوقوف عليها بالتاء. قال  أبو منصور: وقول الكسائي يوقف عليها بالهاء يدل على أنه لم يجعلها من اللت،  وكان المشركون الذين عبدوها عارضوا باسمها اسم الله، تعالى الله علوا  كبيرا عن إفكهم ومعارضتهم وإلحادهم في اسمه العظيم.


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## rayloom

Allat also occurs in Ancient North Arabian inscriptions in the form of 2lt or Hn-2lt (no vowel markers of course, and the Hn is a definite article).
Herodotus's writings from the 5th century BC mention the name of a diety Al*i*lat, which he considered the equivalent of Aphrodite.


muhammad2012 said:


> No but it is the right etymology and I have translated this from Lisan Al-Arab and [...]


You can also search under the roots لوه and لوي to find the other etymologies!


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## dkarjala

rayloom said:


> That's a false etymology.
> If it were true, the final taa in Allat would be geminated; it is not. Also if it were, then it would make it a masculine diety, all the while the Ancient Arabians considered Allat to be a feminine diety.
> 
> Lisan Al-Arab mentions 3 different etymologies for the word, least likely of all is this one.



With all due respect to Lisan al-Arab, there was very little in the way of epigraphic and secondary evidence available when it was compiled, which makes the matter much more interesting and worthy of introspection. I do not claim to definitively show that Allat is a feminine counterpart of Allah, nor would such be my own theory, but I do think that Occam's razor applies. Interesting is that Allat was considered in many communities to be a chief Goddess.


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## muhammad2012

rayloom said:


> Allat also occurs in Ancient North Arabian inscriptions in the form of 2lt or Hn-2lt (no vowel markers of course, and the Hn is a definite article).Herodotus's writings from the 5th century BC mention the name of a diety Al*i*lat, which he considered the equivalent of Aphrodite.


Our linguistic references for Arabic from arabic lexicographers and scholar not from others.


rayloom said:


> You can also search under the roots لوه and لوي to find the other etymologies!


Yes, I know that but these is the main etymologies.


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## rayloom

dkarjala said:


> With all due respect to Lisan al-Arab, there was very little in the way of epigraphic and secondary evidence available when it was compiled, which makes the matter much more interesting and worthy of introspection. I do not claim to definitively show that Allat is a feminine counterpart of Allah, nor would such be my own theory, but I do think that Occam's razor applies. Interesting is that Allat was considered in many communities to be a chief Goddess.



I agree. The fact that Lisan Al-Arab wasn't an etymological work should be kept in mind. In addition to that, the etymologies proposed should be always taken with a grain of salt, well since niether etymology nor archeology were well developed sciences at the time!


muhammad2012 said:


> Our linguistic references for Arabic from arabic lexicographers and scholar not from others.


Who do you refer to by "our". I hope you only mean yourself!

By the way,  الطبري the famous exegete says this:
اللات، وهي من الله ألحقت فيه التاء فأنثت
(Allat, is from Allah with the taa (feminine marker), so it was feminized)

Would that work for you as an Arabic source?


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## muhammad2012

rayloom said:


> Who do you refer to by "our". I hope you only mean yourself!
> 
> By the way,  الطبري the famous exegete says this:
> اللات، وهي من الله ألحقت فيه التاء فأنثت
> (Allat, is from Allah with the taa (feminine marker), so it was feminized)
> 
> Would that work for you as an Arabic source?


Yes,but he is one and not is lexicographers .
and as a muslim I believe صحيح البخاري  


> بَاب  أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ اللَّاتَ وَالْعُزَّى
> 
> number :4578
> 
> حَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْأَشْهَبِ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْجَوْزَاءِ عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ  اللَّاتَ وَالْعُزَّى  كَانَ اللَّاتُ رَجُلًا يَلُتُّ سَوِيقَ الْحَاجِّ


*Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī*


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## rayloom

Al-Bukhari refers to Ibn Abbas' saying. Neither of them is infallible!


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## WadiH

اللات clearly is a female version of الإله.  The other etymologies sound highly contrived.


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## إسكندراني

The only source I have been cited for this right now is الطبري. It seems then that the etymology is not agreed upon?


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## Moseley

I always thought it was accepted Allat was the feminine form of Allah?


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## Schem

Same here. I think Islamic folk etymologies need not apply.


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## إسكندراني

I am surprised you consider every source presented so far apart from الطبري a 'folk etymology'..


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## rayloom

We know now more about the etymology of the word and its use within Arabia long before Islam, and in other Ancient North Arabian languages where it occurs, to make the argument for Allat being the feminization of the name of Allah more convincing.
The other proposed etymologies have also weak points in them, most of all the etymology saying Allat comes from latta al-sawiiq (see my first post in this thread). Repeating this etymology in our Classical books or by our Classical writers wouldn't make it any stronger, especially given what we know now.


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## إسكندراني

What is it, then, that you know?


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