But they found the hamza in the beginning and also in its midst...

But they found the hamza in the beginning and also in its midst, where it is quite heavily stressed, heavy on the tongue, so they eliminated it and it became just as it is revealed in the Holy Qur’an, that is, "Allah." This viewpoint is supported by al-Harith ibn Asad al-Muhasibi and a group of scholars, and there are dissenters. Derivation of the Word "Allah" Some say that the word "Allah" is derived from the verb walaha (past tense), yawlahu (present tense), from the root noun walah.

The waw was replaced with a hamza, just as the case with wisad and isad, wisha and isha, wikaf and ikaf. Walah is extreme love. Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) used to be forlorn most of the time whereas Jesus used to be mostly merry and always wearing a smile on his face. They both sought the judgment of the Almighty in their regard, whereupon Allah inspired them, "The nearest of you to Me is the one who thinks best of Me." And surely Allah knows best.

The Almighty is Endless regarding His essence, perpetuity, eternity, Attributes, qualities and blessings. His creation, on the other hand, are described as reaching the end of their life terms, being limited in their characteristics, thoughts, and spheres. The one who is incapacitated cannot reach the Endless One. No wonder, then, that the minds are forever overcome by the lights of His Independence, and the reasons are too feeble to realize the brightness of His Greatness.

He is as He describes Himself when He says in 6:18 and 6:61, "He is the Supreme above His servants." The Creator is the One Who is adored, and He is worthy of it; hence, He is called ilah. He has made it clear for us that He is the One who bestows His blessings upon those whom He creates in sundry ways. Adoring is the ultimate form of glorifying. Reason testifies that the ultimate end of glorification suits only the One Who is the source of benevolence and bliss.

It is to this fact that the Almighty refers when He says, "How do you deny Allah while you were dead and He gave you Life"? (2:28). Nobody knows Allah as He deserves to be known except Allah Himself. In sermon 186 in Nahjul Balagha, Imam `Ali says the following: One who assigns conditions to Him does not believe in His Oneness, nor does one who likens Him to anything grasp the reality about Him. One who illustrates an example for Him does not revere Him.

One who points at Him and imagines Him does not know the meaning of His Lordship.