Epistemological approach to exploit Allah’s pronunciation for religious purposes in Malaysia

Ali, Asem Shehadeh Saleh and Qurashi, M. Umar (2022) Epistemological approach to exploit Allah’s pronunciation for religious purposes in Malaysia. In: International Seminar on roles of University in Responding to Psychosocial Issues in The Community (ISRUPIC 2022), 15 December 2022, Kuala Lumpur-IIUM. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Purpose: The word Allah has a sanctifying peculiarity in the three monotheistic religions. It is the word that denotes the great creator, who is truly worshiped, and that all other gods are false. From an epistemological approach, it is noted that the historical and linguistic study of the word “God” in ancient religions and civilizations leads to a difference in the ancient use of the word “Allah”, which was widely used and released in both heavenly and pagan religions, and between the word “Allah”, which was not used in all religions and civilizations except for the right of Allah Almighty. Some believe that the specificity of the word “Allah” is related to the Arabic language and the Islamic religion because its uses are limited to Muslims only. This view needs to be reviewed and clarified through the linguistic, historical, and religious epistemological approach. The problem of this topic was: Clarifying the issue of translating the word (Allah) in different religions among speakers of the same language, such as the Malaysian language, which has ethnic and religious diversity. Design: There is a possibility of solving this problem in the light of the epistemological approach through several questions. This topic aims to clarify the importance of the role of epistemology in the diversity of the connotations of the word “God”. Know how the word “God” was mentioned in the languages of the three monotheistic religions. Realize how the word “God” came before Islam in ancient and pre-Islamic civilizations. Illustrate the issue of translation of the word “God” by other religions in the Malay language. Show the possibility of solving the problem of translating the word “God” in other religions in the light of the epistemological approach. Findings: Ancient civilizations agreed to use the words (ʼilāh/God) and (‘a ‘aalihah/Gods) for each of their deities. They singled out God Almighty with a specific word (Ēl) in Semitic civilizations, such as: Canaanite, Akkadian, Hebrew, and Assyrian, which they distorted to (An). As well as Arabic, this is specialized in the word “Allah” to denote the Great Creator. The previous decision that prohibited Christians in Malaysia from using the word “Allah” on the grounds that it is specific to Muslims was not based on the epistemology of the languages and history of the three religions and its uses in them. Other than that, it violates the constitution, which guarantees everyone to practice their religious rites. It is also against Malaysian law, which respects the freedoms of all religious communities. The freedom for Christians to use the word “Allah” to denote the Great Creator is a correct religious, linguistic, and historical usage without any flaws. Moreover, the use of the word “Allah” in pagan religions to denote false gods is religiously, linguistically, and historically forbidden. It is specific to refer to “Allah” the Creator, the Mighty and Sublime, and the One who is truly worshiped. Significances: The importance of the issue is due to the specificity of the word Allah, which has persisted since ancient civilizations until the present day. Considering this term is proper to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, it is not applied to anyone else. This contrasts with the word (God), which is used to refer to all other Gods and deities, whether the true God or other false deities. The Holy Qur'an launched it on those deities. It is also mentioned in ancient and modern civilizations and religions. Some believe that the specificity of the word (Allah) is related to the Arabic language and the Islamic religion. Also, its uses are limited to Muslims only. This view needs to be reviewed and clarified through the linguistic, historical, and religious epistemological approach.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Slide Presentation)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Connotations of “God, monotheistic religions, Semitic languages, God before Islam, God” into the Malay language.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of Arabic Language and Literature Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
Depositing User:	Asem Shehadeh Ali
Date Deposited:	16 Dec 2022 09:35
Last Modified:	16 Dec 2022 09:35
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/101955

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