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When talking to a Muslim about God is ok to use the term Allah? (I personally can’t see any halachik problems, but there’s a lot I can’t see)

Isaac Moses
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Lages
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  • Practically same question (and further related/dupes there) different name. – Oliver Jan 11 '19 at 14:46
  • Allâh means G-d in Arabic. Though I never heard of a Moslem calling G-d Hashem. – Turk Hill Jul 28 '19 at 21:10
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    @TurkHill Allah = God, Hashem = God, Gut = God, Shang di = God (you get the point). And what does ‘God’ equal/mean? The only thing they all have in common is that none are names of God. – Oliver Jul 28 '19 at 22:59
  • @Oliver I understand your first point but not your 2nd, namely that, “that none are names of G-d.” Do you mean that these pagan god names are not the same meaning as Hashem yet quote them all to mean Hashem? – Turk Hill Jul 29 '19 at 00:48
  • @TurkHill On the contrary, I mean they’re basically synonyms for ‘Hashem’, just different languages. – Oliver Jul 29 '19 at 01:21
  • @Oliver I see. Thank you. – Turk Hill Jul 29 '19 at 03:44

4 Answers4

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Having grown up in Egypt and knowing Arabic, I can tell you that Jews (like Muslims) freely use "Allah" in conversation to refer to God, although it is frequently replaced by "Rabbena" (Our Master). God is usually addressed directly as "Ya Rabb" (O Master).

Isaac Moses
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Maurice Mizrahi
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Rambam calls God Allah, for example in Sefer Hamitzvos, Negative Commandment 5 (Kapach, p. 183), “Worshiping any other than Allah”.

כל מא יעבד מן דון אללה

כל מה שנעבד מבלעדי ה׳

Parenthetically, God was also referred to by other names in Judeo-Arabic. For example, at the beginning of the sixth maamar in Emunos Vedeos (Kapach, p. 193), R’ Saadia Gaon refers to God as Rabana.

ערפנא רבנא תבארך ותעאלי

הודיענו אלהינו יתברך ויתעלה

Furthermore, the modern Arabic phrase inshallah, which connotes ‘God willing’ is also used. For example in Sefer Hamitzvos (Kapach, p. 9):

ואלאסתדלאל עליה אן שא אללה

ולהביא ראיות עליו, אם רצה ה׳

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Dr. Shmuel
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  • I'd guess it's rabena rather than rabana, if we're to trust the testimony of https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/98399/170 – msh210 Jul 31 '19 at 03:14
  • @msh210 yes, I was thinking that but must’ve been using my Aramaic glasses. – Dr. Shmuel Jul 31 '19 at 03:58
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Rabbi Ovadia Abraham Somech nickname was "Abdallah (Worshiper of god) Somech".

[The nickname printed in his book]

Alaychem goes to Codidact
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As an Arabic speaker I can assure you that saying “Allah” is like saying “God” in English. I’ve never heard of a Halakhic issue raised by any of the gedolim.

Akiva___
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    Akiva in addition to my welcome on another question, and since MY is different from other sites you might be used to, see here for a guide which might help understand the site. See in particular the focus on sourcing your answers. Since the we don't know you personally, we don't know how much weigh your assertions alone carry. Again great to have you learn with us! – mbloch Jul 31 '19 at 04:59
  • Ok, sorry just getting used to this! – Akiva___ Jul 31 '19 at 11:32
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    No need to be sorry. I was also new one day :-> And I wrote the guide above to codify what I learned. The site can be quirky at times – mbloch Jul 31 '19 at 11:41