Maybe It's Just Me, But...

A comment made by Farid regarding the A-L-L-A-H issue:

Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me that people are putting a lot of value into the name "ALLAH" but none into Allah itself. I mean think about it, getting all worked up over a name and then forgetting the actual values that the religion aims to instill.

To me, the letters A, L, L, A and H in this order respectively, was placed under a religious canopy and given sacred attributes. In truth, it's just a name regardless of its history. What's important is what is attached to your concept of god. People sometimes forget that though religion can be standardized, their belief system is as purely subjective as its deity. If I, a muslim, were to refer to Allah as Dandelion in my prayers, does that make my prayers invalid? If Allah was almighty, then surely he would be capable of recognizing it. Many of my brothers forget that Allah can think for itself, without their assistance in the matter. Allah or Dandelion or Yahweh is supreme afterall.

That being said, it's just a name, a concept constructed by human convention in languages that are humanly constructed. Allah or God or Dandelion encompasses all human constructs and so to put such Godly attributes into a word constructed with just 3 letters is to reduce Allah into those 3 letters. Isn't that the bigger sin?

Closing statement: The fact that many of my brothers and sisters do not allow the use of allah (yes, in small caps) by non-muslims not only limits their rights to freedom of expression, but also implies that they can do nothing with the name but use it in a negative context.
Afiq's note:
Very well said Farid. We need more people like Farid in Malaysia!

19 comments:

hazel darwisya said...

i agreed.100% agreed.

carutPK said...

it just a name? no it isnt..can u refer ur prayer to "o mighty keropok udang?" maha mengetahui itu sifatnya..tapi manusia kena la respek ALLAH and 99 nama ALLAH..

simple - ada manusia nama rahman also..adakah dia tuhan?sebab kongsi nama? i dont think so. then we must be specific when men-refer siapa tuhan and siapa tidak. dan siapa sebenar di maksudkan.

*mungkin im the yang tak pandai..my 5 cent (up sket)

Farid said...

Aww shucks! I feel so... insightful :)

@carutPK: It's completely fine if you want to refer to Allah as Keropok Udang. As long as you know who you're praying to, that's what counts.

With a telephone line, you dial a number with a specific person in mind. If you punch an incorrect number, someone unfamiliar picks up. A prayer to me, is similar in that you have the person in mind but it doesn't matter what number you punch in, it's always going to be god on the other line.

Wow, I can't help but put this response in such simplified terms but I hope you understand where I'm coming from.

carutPK said...

i knw u mean this
“Call upon Allah, or Call upon Rahman; By whatever name ye call Upon Him, (it is well): For to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names”. [Al Qur’an Al-Isra:110]

..tapi limitation kena ada ("For to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names") dan i cuma cakap dari sudut 'respect' seorang hamba soal nama dah dibagi 99 pilihan.

Farid said...

@carutPK again, the relationship one shares with a deity is entirely subjective. you can choose to have a hamba relationship, others may well relate to him as a son would to a mother or brother or as lovers would.

Like the relationship, terms of reverence may also be subjective. perhaps to you, the term Keropok Udang may seem trivial and therefore unjustly. But to another, the name Keropok Udang could be one only fit for royalty and synonymous with beauty.

Afiq Deen said...

Contrary to popular beliefs, the term Allah existed even before Rasulullah was born. Even the prophet's father's name is Abdullah which means slave of Allah.

Allah is also a name of a god in hinduism. There also other religions that used Allah before the arrival of Islam.

We should broaden our minds and stop thinking under the tempurung. Do not give in to other people's sentiments and do your own research.

" L " said...

Err..allow me to say something here.. "Allah is also a name of a god in Hinduism?" It's confusing, Afiq. As far as I'm concerned, the word Allah is derived from Arabic word not the Sanskrit word. I'm wondering, ada ke kitab2 Hinduism contains Allah word? Maybe u refer to Vishnu (in sanskrit) right? Yes, in their kitab they believe the concept of one God..(to Muslims, Allah). Hmm.. I've never heard Allah word is frequently pronounced in the church especially from the western tv dramas but they just pronounce God. I wonder why.. Btw, Allah is the only God to all of the living human inhabitants of the earth. So, go & find the truth, Malaysians!! Jgn gaduh2.. =)

Anoneemus™ said...

Typo. it's suicidepark, not suicidepak.

Anoneemus™ said...

Here's an excerpt frm my blog suicidepak.blogspot.com.

Kenapa sibuk-sibuk tentang terminology?
Aku bagi contoh lain.
Dalam bahasa Melayu, solat dipanggil 'sembahyang'. Sembah Yang.
'Yang' dalam bahasa Sanskrit adalah dewa yang dianggap Tuhan oleh orang Hindu. Atau disebut Dewata Hyang dalam agama Buddha. Well yeah Hindu dan Buddha pun asalnya agama sama juga.
Hyang juga bermaksud nenek moyang.
In fact, konsep ketuhanan Kristian iaitu Trinity jika dalam bahasa Indonesia diistilahkan sebagai Sang Hyang Tritunggal.

Literally, 'sembahyang' is menyembah dewa. So kalau kau nak ambil kira istilah, bila kau kata 'jom sembahyang' maknanya kau ajak orang sembah berhala atau sembah nenek moyang.

Senang cerita, dalam konteks terminology, orang Melayu Islam pun guna nama Tuhan agama lain juga.

Afiq Deen said...

yes it was in sanskrit and was spelled i-l-a-h but pronounced as allah.

That was informative anoneemus. I didnt know the etymology of sembahyang until i read your comment.

Anoneemus™ said...

Believe it or not, i found this in the old version of History textbook.

RITZ CHEWAN said...

"To put such Godly attributes into a word constructed with just 3 letters is to reduce Allah into those 3 letters. Isn't that the bigger sin?"

RITZ CHEWAN said...

16:125. Serulah (manusia) kepada jalan Tuhan-mu dengan hikmah dan pelajaran yang baik dan bantahlah mereka dengan cara yang baik. Sesungguhnya Tuhanmu Dialah yang lebih mengetahui tentang siapa yang tersesat dari jalan-Nya dan Dialah yang lebih mengetahui orang-orang yang mendapat petunjuk.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they just don`t want people to get confused between Islam n other religions. If they were to use the same name as well, people might think that there are no differences between each religion. Guess that`s what happened in Indonesia, their churches have long ago used Allah when preaching n they even say alhamdulillah, bismillah and all that. N am guessing again, that`s how a marriage between a non muslim n muslim is allowed without having to convert what so ever. So, I think they know what they`re trying to do n that`s why they are the government, no?

Anonymous said...

"they know what they're trying to do"? mmhmm.. tell me about it..

Anonymous said...

i think u should meet SENATOR YB jamil khir. he will giv u xplanations that will totally open ur mind about this issue.
it's not just 4 us, but 4 the future generations:)

noni itu saya said...

just to share:
http://www.zaharuddin.net/content/view/900/72/

Anonymous said...

afiq, u must bear in mind so many many things...
1)perkara2 yg naturally related ngan ISLAM x boleh di buat bhn jenaka... xkiralah direct or indirect. but, klu ada anyone yg suka sgt tuh, mgkin sdh hilang sensitiviti pd agama sendiri...
2)sebtolnya, public yg x berkelulusan dlm bidang agama atau diiktiraf ketinggian ilmu agamanya x patut sm skali membincangkan perkara2 yg amat sensitif sebegini secara umum. perbincangan wajib dijlnkan dulu dgn mrk2 yg pakar... setakat merujuk kat seorg dua ustaz x mencukupi...
3)u suka ker if org2 yg u syg dunia dan akhirat ada substitute names? mrh x?
4)how about ur sensitivity bl org selain ISLAM boleh menggunakan perkataan ALLAH sewenang2nya? d word ALLAH isn't just about a name. x kiralah dh berlaku since years ago or isu ini baru diwar2kan. bukakan mata hati utk melihat... jgn terus melulu.
5)org selain ISLAM mmg suka isu ini diluluskan utk memudahkan future "hidden" agendas mrk dilaksanakan. kesannya nnti maha dahsyat jika x dibendung.
6)jgn terlalu liberal sebaliknya cuba kembali kpd Al-Quran. amat mudah. cuba ulangi dan fahami meaning KALIMAH SYAHADAH.
7)rsnya dalaman kita perlu segera dirawat sblm tewas dikecam pelbagai reaksi positif dan negatif dr public.

remember, ISLAM IS ISLAM, but not all MALAYS ARE ISLAM. ISLAM x mengajar its followers to behave exactly like a terrorist. mslh ini WAJIB diperdebatkan antara CENDIAKAWAN ISLAM dgn pihak mahkamah dan org2 tertinggi Kristian. yg pasti, kebenaran akan menang. renung2kanlah sbb perkara2 sebegini melibatkan perihal keIMANan seseorg MUSLIM......

refer sini, kot2lah ada golongan yg x reti berbahasa 1Malaysia...

here

sini

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