What are the different opinions on the etymology of the word "Allah"?

Sources

• ✓ Al-Kafi 3:97

  Shia

  Al-Kafi · Book 3, Hadith 97

  Hisham ibn al-Hakam asked Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) about the names of Allah and their derivations. He said, "O Hisham, Allah is derived from 'Ilah' (God), and Ilah implies meaning. The name is other than the Named. Whoever worships the name without meaning is a disbeliever and has not worshipped anything. Whoever worships both the name and meaning has committed polytheism and worshipped two. Whoever worships the meaning without the name, that is pure monotheism. Do you understand, O Hisham?" I said, "Teach me more." He said, "Allah has ninety-nine names, and if the name were the Named, then each would be a deity. But Allah is a meaning indicated by these names, and all are other than Him. O Hisham, bread is the name for the eaten, water the name for the drink, garment the name for what is worn, and fire the name for what burns. Do you understand, O Hisham? Understanding this will help you dispute the enemies of our people who take besides Allah." I said, "Yes." He said, "May Allah benefit and stabilize you, O Hisham." He said, "By Allah, none overpowered me in monotheism until I took this position." — OR — He said, "There are three types of Quran reciters: One who recites the Quran treating it as merchandise, bargaining with kings through it and extending his power over people by it; another who recites the Quran, memorizes its letters, but neglects its limits and applies it presuming excessive liberty—Allah does not multiply such among the bearers of the Quran; and a third who recites the Quran, applying its cure to the sickness of his heart, staying awake at night and thirsting during the day because of it, performing prayers in mosques, and distancing himself from his bed for its sake. It is by these last that Allah, the Mighty and Powerful, repels affliction, deals with enemies, and sends down rain from the sky. By Allah, these people have a status in Quran reciters more revered than red sulfur." — OR — I asked him about washing the deceased outdoors. He said: It is permissible, but if a covering is used, that is better in my view. — OR — He was asked about game hunted in the halal zone and then brought alive into the sanctuary. He said, "Once it is brought into the sanctuary, it is forbidden to eat or keep it. Do not buy in the sanctuary except something slaughtered outside it and then brought alive but already slaughtered again in the sanctuary. That is permissible for the halal." — OR — Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him) married Surriya, who had belonged to Hasan ibn Ali (peace be upon them). When Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan heard of this, he wrote to him a letter, saying, "You have become the husband of a female slave." Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him) wrote back, "Allah has raised the lowly by Islam, completed the deficient by it, and honored the base by it. Thus, there is no baseness upon a Muslim; baseness is only that of the Age of Ignorance. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) married his slave and married his servant. When the letter reached Abd al-Malik, he asked those around him, 'Tell me about a man that, when he attains what lowers others, is only elevated more.' They said, 'That is the Commander of the Faithful.' He said, 'No, by Allah, he is not that.' They said, 'We know of no other but the Commander of the Faithful.' He said, 'No, by Allah, he is not the Commander of the Faithful, but rather Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him).' — OR — Aisha said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The people of Barira made a condition for her loyalty. The Messenger of Allah said: Loyalty belongs to the one who frees. — OR — Deportation from one city to another. Ali (peace be upon him) deported two men from Kufa to Basra.

• ✓ Al-Kafi 3:21

  Shia

  Al-Kafi · Book 3, Hadith 21

  Hisham ibn al-Hakam asked about the names of God and their derivations, whether "Allah" is one of the derived terms. He said, 'Allah is derived from Ilah (God), and Ilah implies meaning. The name is other than the named. Whoever worships the name without the meaning has disbelieved and worshiped nothing. Whoever worships both the name and the meaning has disbelieved and worshiped two. Whoever worships the meaning without the name, that is true monotheism. Do you understand, Hisham?' I said, 'Explain further.' He said, 'God has ninety-nine names. If the name were the named, each name would be a god. But God is a meaning indicated by these names. All else besides Him is other than Him. Hisham, bread is a name for the edible, water is a name for the drink, clothing a name for the worn, and fire a name for the burning. Do you understand, Hisham? Understand this and argue it with our enemies and those who associate others with God, the Glorious and Exalted.' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'May God benefit you and strengthen you.' Hisham said, 'By God, no one dominated me on monotheism until I established myself at this level.' — OR — I said to him, 'Which deeds are best?' He said, 'The traveling condition.' I asked, 'What is the traveling condition?' He said, 'Beginning and ending the Qur'an. Whenever one brings its beginning, he travels to its ending.' And he said, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Whoever Allah gives the Qur'an and sees that another man is given something better has belittled the great and magnified the small.' — OR — The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: God Almighty says, 'Whoever falls ill three times and does not complain to any of his physician, I will replace his flesh with better flesh and his blood with better blood. If I grant him recovery, I have granted him recovery and he bears no sin, and if I take him away, I take him to My mercy.' — OR — David ibn Abdullah narrated from Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Muhammad, from Isa ibn Yunus, who said: Ibn Abi al-Awja was one of the pupils of al-Hasan al-Basri but deviated from monotheism. It was said to him, "You have left the doctrine of your companion and entered into something baseless and untrue." He replied, "My companion was ambiguous; he would say sometimes predestination and other times compulsion. I do not know that he adhered to a definite doctrine." When he arrived in Mecca, rebellious and renouncing those who perform the pilgrimage, he was hated by the scholars for his vile tongue and corrupt conscience. He came to Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) and sat with him in a gathering with his peers. He said, "O Abu Abdullah, gatherings are trusts, and everyone with a cough must cough; may I speak?" Abu Abdullah said, "Speak." He said, "How long will you keep walking this threshing floor and taking refuge in this stone and worshipping this 'House' of bricks and mortar and running around it as a camel when it is startled? Anyone who contemplates this and sets a limit on it realizes it is an act founded by one who is neither wise nor insightful. So say: You are the head of this matter, its pinnacle, and your father is its root and completeness." Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) replied, "Whoever Allah misguides and blinds his heart conceals the truth but did not seek refuge in it, and Satan is his friend and master and companion who leads him to paths of destruction and does not let him out. This House is a bondage through which Allah enslaved His creation to test their obedience in coming to it, encouraging respect and visitation of it, and has made it the place of His prophets and the direction of those who pray towards it. It is a branch of His pleasure and a path leading to His forgiveness, established on perfection and greatness. Allah created it two thousand years before the earth’s formation. It is therefore the most deserving of obedience in what He commands and refrains from commanding. Allah the Creator warned the souls and bodies." — OR — The best of your women are five. It was said: O Commander of the Faithful, who are those five? He said: They are gentle, soft, pleasing; if her husband becomes angry, she does not sulk until he is pleased; and when he is absent, she guards him in his absence—that is a worker under God's command. The worker under God's command never fails. — OR — I asked him about a young boy whom a man frees. He said, "Yes, Ali (peace be upon him) freed many boys." — OR — I asked Abu Ibrahim about a man who commits adultery while having a concubine and a slave whom he approaches, whether the slave protects him and is present, and he said yes. That is because he possesses something that protects him from adultery. I asked: If he has a slave but claims he does not approach her? He said: He should not be believed. I asked: If he has a temporary wife, does she protect him? He said no; that applies only to something permanently possessed.