إله

See also: أله, اله, آله, and آلة

Arabic

Alternative forms

• إِلَاه (ʔilāh)

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *ʾil- with a vocative suffix ـَاه (-āh) which is else only sporadically attested in Arabic but has left its trace in the -ā vocatives of أَب (ʔab, “father”), أَخ (ʔaḵ, “brother”), حَم (ḥam, “father-in-law”). Forms a root ء ل ه (ʔ-l-h).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔi.laːh/
  • Egypt: IPA^(key): [ʔeˈlæːh]
  • Levant: IPA^(key): [ʔɪˈlaːh]
  • Central Arabia: IPA^(key): [ʔɪˈlæːh]
  • Hijazi: IPA^(key): [ʔɪˈlaːh]
  • Persian Gulf: IPA^(key): [ʔɪˈlɑːh]
  • Tunisia: IPA^(key): [ʔiˈlɛːh]
  • Algeria: IPA^(key): [ʔiˈlæːh]
  • Morocco: IPA^(key): [ʔiˈlæːh]

Noun

إِلٰه • (ʔilāh) m (plural آلِهَة (ʔāliha), feminine إِلٰهَة (ʔilāha)) (countable)

1. a god, a deity, a divinity

   Synonym: رَبّ (rabb, “lord; master”)

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 28:88:

     وَلَا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّٰهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ ۘ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ

     walā tadʕu maʕa llāhi ʔilāhan ʔāḵara lā ʔilāha ʔillā huwa

     And do not call upon another god beside Allah: there is no god but He.

Declension

Declension of noun إِلٰه (ʔilāh)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	إِلٰه ʔilāh	الْإِلٰه al-ʔilāh	إِلٰه ʔilāh
Nominative	إِلٰهٌ ʔilāhun	الْإِلٰهُ al-ʔilāhu	إِلٰهُ ʔilāhu
Accusative	إِلٰهًا ʔilāhan	الْإِلٰهَ al-ʔilāha	إِلٰهَ ʔilāha
Genitive	إِلٰهٍ ʔilāhin	الْإِلٰهِ al-ʔilāhi	إِلٰهِ ʔilāhi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	إِلٰهَيْن‎; إلَاهَيْن ʔilāhayn‎; ʔilāhayn	الْإِلٰهَيْن‎; الْإلَاهَيْن al-ʔilāhayn‎; al-ʔilāhayn	إِلٰهَيْ‎; إلَاهَيْ ʔilāhay‎; ʔilāhay
Nominative	إِلٰهَانِ‎; إلَاهَانِ ʔilāhāni‎; ʔilāhāni	الْإِلٰهَانِ‎; الْإلَاهَانِ al-ʔilāhāni‎; al-ʔilāhāni	إِلٰهَا‎; إلَاهَا ʔilāhā‎; ʔilāhā
Accusative	إِلٰهَيْنِ‎; إلَاهَيْنِ ʔilāhayni‎; ʔilāhayni	الْإِلٰهَيْنِ‎; الْإلَاهَيْنِ al-ʔilāhayni‎; al-ʔilāhayni	إِلٰهَيْ‎; إلَاهَيْ ʔilāhay‎; ʔilāhay
Genitive	إِلٰهَيْنِ‎; إلَاهَيْنِ ʔilāhayni‎; ʔilāhayni	الْإِلٰهَيْنِ‎; الْإلَاهَيْنِ al-ʔilāhayni‎; al-ʔilāhayni	إِلٰهَيْ‎; إلَاهَيْ ʔilāhay‎; ʔilāhay
Plural	broken plural triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	آلِهَة ʔāliha	الْآلِهَة al-ʔāliha	آلِهَة ʔālihat
Nominative	آلِهَةٌ ʔālihatun	الْآلِهَةُ al-ʔālihatu	آلِهَةُ ʔālihatu
Accusative	آلِهَةً ʔālihatan	الْآلِهَةَ al-ʔālihata	آلِهَةَ ʔālihata
Genitive	آلِهَةٍ ʔālihatin	الْآلِهَةِ al-ʔālihati	آلِهَةِ ʔālihati

Related terms

• إِلٰهَة (ʔilāha)
• ٱللَّٰه (allāh, “God”)
• إِلَٰهِيّ (ʔilāhiyy, “divine”)
• إِلَٰهِيَّات (ʔilāhiyyāt, “theology”)
• أُلُوهِيَّة (ʔulūhiyya, “godhood, divinity”)
• اللَّات (al-lāt, “Allat”)

Descendants

• Azerbaijani: ilah
• Northern Kurdish: îlah
• → Ottoman Turkish: الاه (ilāh)

  > Turkish: ilah (inherited)

• Uyghur: ئىلاھ (ilah)
• Uzbek: iloh

References

• Bauer, Hans (1915) “Semitische Sprachprobleme. 5. Die Verwandtschaftsnamen und ilāh „Gott“ im Semitischen”, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (in German), volume 69, page 561
• Wehr, Hans (1979) “ءله”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN