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(; plural: آلهة ) is an Arabic language term meaning "Deity". In Arabic, ilah refers to anyone or anything that is worshipped. The feminine is (إلاهة, meaning "goddess"); with the article, it appears as (الإلاهة). 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 إلٰه with an optional diacritic alif to mark the only in Qur'anic texts or (more rarely) with a full aleph, إلاه.
The term is used throughout the Quran in passages discussing the existence of God in the context of Tawheed also to refer 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 ( )", which declares belief in pure monotheism.
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