There is a movement in our day that affirms that Muslims worship the same God as the Jews and Christians.
This argument is supported by the claim that “ALLAH” is simply the generic Arabic word for God.
From a scholarly perspective, there is some truth to this argument because Jewish scholars have been using the word ALLAH in the earliest known Arabic translations of the Torah in the ninth century until today.
However, the Hebrew word they’re translating into “ALLAH” is “ELOHIM”, not “YHVH”.
Let me say that again.
When Jewish scholars translate the Torah from Hebrew into Arabic, the Arabic word “ALLAH” is being used for “ELOHIM”, not “YHVH”.
Remember ELOHIM is the generic Hebrew term for “god”, it is NOT a formal name.
Now this is where the importance of not only knowing God’s personal name but using it comes into play.
You see, there’s really only one way to find out if there’s any truth to the statement “Muslims worship the same God as the Christians and the Jews”.
Ask a Muslim if the name of the god they worship is YHVH.
This is a “yes” or “no” question and I believe really gets to the heart of the issue.
Is the name of the god Muslims worship YHVH?
If the answer is “yes”, then I can begin to concede we worship the same god, if the answer is “no”, then we don’t worship the same god.
There’s another important distinction between ALLAH as it is used in the Koran and as it is used in the Arabic-version of the Torah.
In the Jewish Bible, the word ELOHIM is used to refer to BOTH the Most High God AND false gods.
In English we use an upper or lower case “g” to distinguish between these two.
However, in the Koran, the world “ALLAH”, which is ELOHIM in Hebrew and “God or god(s)” in English, is ONLY used to refer to the one and only existing god, it is never used to refer to false gods.
Are you catching this distinction?
In the Arabic version of the Torah, the word ALLAH is translated from the word “ELOHIM”, but “ELOHIM” in the Torah, depending on the context refers to both the Most High God and false gods.
Now if in the Koran, ALLAH is really the same word as ELOHIM in the Hebrew Bible, then it would ALSO refer to both the one and only God AND false gods as well, but it doesn’t.
Thus the meaning is different and what we really end up with are two different words.
And the argument that ALLAH is simply the generic Arabic term for “god” whether with an upper or lower case “g” becomes mute.
Because of this distinction, like it or not, ALLAH has morphed into the formal name of the god the Koran.
It is equivalent to YHVH in our Bibles.
Thus my argument remains the same.
If the name of the god that the Muslims worship is YHVH, then I can begin to concede we worship the same god, if not, then this claim is fallacious.
So if the word ELOHIM is ALLAH in Arabic, what would YHVH, God’s personal name, be in Arabic?
It is the word يهوه
When transliterated into English, it would come out as YAHWAH.
Just as Pharaoh said I do NOT know a god named YAHWEH, I say I do NOT know a god named ALLAH.
I worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and His name is YHVH.
יהוה in Hebrew.
My entire life i thought Muslims, worship a different god! but after this, it seams to be the same god!…..the only difference is accent…..spelling!…in southern Virginia, we pronounce the word (proper English)…corn….as cone…southern draw, ….and hog jaw…(proper English as hog jo!)…..SO! At this point i have to wonder, if that is it!…and in my mind GOD KNOWS WHAT IS IN THEIR HEARTS, ….NOW! they do bow to pray, BUT!….GOD SAID YOU BOW TO ME NOW OR BOW TO ME LATER!……It seams that they still by the first five books of the BIBLE OR TORAH, …BUT THAT IS NO WRONG FOR GOD SAID IN 24TH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW {5TH CHAPTER 17 } JESUS DIDN’T COME TO CHANGE THE LAW BUT TO FULFILL IT! So it is very confusing! But i no longer have disgust for Muslims, but petty!…that they have love the Christians and Jews as them selves. For in my eyes God will hold us accountable…..for i have been confused my self!…..and still am!….all I can say is their are extremist in every religion! All i can say in all honesty that i love the Lord Jesus Christ or who ever he calls himself! he knows who he is and that I love him!…he is the GREAT I AM!
James, I think you need to carefully read this article again. My conclusion is that “ALLAH” is most definitely NOT the same God that the Jews and Christians worship. Keep in mind that there are only two ways to know God, by His Name and by His attributes. Islam differs from the God of the Holy Bible on both accounts. Shalom.
Jesus is God’s only begotten son who died for mankind so that through him mankind can receive the precious promise/ gift of everlasting life. Jesus is the way to gain everlasting life. Gods name is Jehovah and he is the only true God.