(; plural: ) is an Arabic term meaning "god". In Arabic, ilah refers to anyone or anything that is worshipped. The feminine is (, meaning "goddess"); with the article, it appears as (). The Arabic word for God () is thought to be derived from it (in a proposed earlier form al-Lāh) though this is disputed. is cognate to Northwest Semitic and Akkadian ilum. The word is from a Proto-Semitic archaic biliteral meaning "god" (possibly with a wider meaning of "strong"), which was extended to a regular triliteral by the addition of a h (as in Hebrew , ). The word is spelled either with an optional diacritic alif to mark the only in Qur'anic texts or (more rarely) with a full alif, . The term is used throughout the Quran in passages discussing the existence of God or the beliefs in other divinities by non-Muslims. Notably, the first statement of the (the Muslim confession of faith) is "There is no god () except the God ()." See also Al-Lat El (deity) Elohim Arabian mythology Dingir Sources Georgii Wilhelmi Freytagii, Lexicon Arabico-Latinum. Librairie du Liban, Beirut, 1975. J. Milton Cowan, The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. 4th edn. Spoken Language Services, Ithaca (NY), 1979. References External links Islamic terminology Arabian deities Arabian mythology Allah Ancient Semitic religions