Allah is the Arabic term for God, specifically the monotheistic God of Abraham. It is derived by contraction from al-ilāh, meaning "the deity", and is cognate with the Aramaic ʼAlāhā and the Hebrew ʾĔlōah (itself related to the shorter form El, a name for God in Canaanite religion and used in the Hebrew Bible for the God of Israel). The word is the primary name for God in Islam, where it is considered the proper name of the one supreme being. It is also used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews to refer to their God, reflecting a shared Abrahamic heritage. Linguistically, Allah is thought to have originated among pre-Islamic Arabs as a name for the supreme deity, who was worshipped alongside lesser gods in a pantheon. According to historical sources, the pre-Islamic Arabians recognized Allah as a creator and high god, but their polytheistic practices incorporated numerous other deities. The shift to a strictly monotheistic usage came with the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE, when the Prophet Muhammad proclaimed the unitary nature of God. Today, for Muslims, Allah is the unique creator and sustainer of the universe, whose 99 names (such as al-Raḥmān, "the Merciful") describe His attributes. Usage in Arabic-Speaking Faiths Arabic-speaking Christians have historically used Allah to refer to God the Father, as well as in liturgical contexts (e.g., “Allāh al-Ab” — “God the Father”). Similarly, Arabic-speaking Jews used Allah in translations of Hebrew scripture. The term features in sacred texts of both traditions, though its strongest association remains with Islam, where it appears over 2,800 times in the Quran as the designate of the deity worshiped by Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Structurally, the name Allah has been analyzed as a contraction of al (the definite article) + ʾilāh (god, from the Semitic root ʾ-l-h), yielding the sense "the God." When speaking Arabic, Christians typically say “Allāh” for God without implying a different nature: the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is expressed using terms like “Allāh al-Āb, al-Walad, ar-Rūḥ al-Qudus” (God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). Related variants include the Semitic mythological names Ilu (Ugaritic) and El (Canaanite/Hebrew), which share the same root concept of a supreme or divine being. In terms of distribution, Allah is not typically used as a given name for children, out of reverence for the divine; it is, however, encountered in Arabic theophoric names, such as عبد الله (Abd Allah, "servant of God"). The term has also entered many non-Arabic Muslim languages via religious vocabulary, often without translation. Meaning: "The God" Origin: Arabic, from Semitic root ʾ-l-h; contraction of al-ilāh Type: Religious term, proper name for God Usage: Widely used in Islam and by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews