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)

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
Singular	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)
Plural	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