Have you understood all of this, O Hisham?

Have you understood all of this, O Hisham?" He answered him in the affirmative, requesting him to provide more explanations, whereupon the Imam said, "There are ninety-nine Attributes of Allah. Had each Attribute been the same as it describes, each one of them would have been a god by itself. But `Allah' is the meaning one deducts once he becomes familiar with all these Attributes. They all, O Hisham, in their collective sense, are not the same as He Himself. Bread is something you eat.

Water is something you drink. A garment is something you put on. And fire is something that burns. Do you understand all of this, O Hisham, fully enough so that you would promote it and fight the enemies of Allah for its sake?!" Hisham answered him in the affirmative, whereupon the Imam added, "May Allah grant you thereby benefits, and may He keep your feet firm thereupon, O Hisham!" Imam al-Sadiq has said, O son of Adam! If a bird were to eat your heart, it would not have felt satisfied.

If the hole of a needle were put before your vision, it would have covered it up. How dare you, using these two, expect to know by them the domain of the heavens and the earth?! Had you been truthful, you would have looked at this sun: it is one object among many of Allah's creations. Had your eyes been able to see all of it, then, and only then, would you have really been truthful. Allah, the Exalted and the Great, says, "And to your Lord is the [end] goal" (Qur’an, 53:42) .

So, when speech reaches the subject of Allah, it is then that you should hold your tongue... Explanation and derivation of the word "Allah" Views vary in this regard.

One says it is derived from one who ilahs (as a verb) another when the latter seeks refuge with him during the time of fear or calamity, and he would grant him refuge and a safe haven; so, the word would become ilah (as a noun) of people, just as one may be their imam when he leads them in congregational prayers or becomes their undisputed leader, or just as a robe becomes a rid' when it is worn, or lihaf when used as a covering.

Since it is an adjective for someone who is great, "There is nothing like unto Him" (Qur’an, 42:11) , people desired to glorify Him by giving the word the prefix al, thus it became Al-ilah.