إله

See also: أله‎, اله‎, آله‎, and آلة‎

Arabic

Alternative forms

• إِلَاه‎ (ʾilāh)

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *ʾil- with a vocative suffix ـَاه‎ (-āh) which is else only sporadically attested in Arabic but has left its trace in the -ā vocatives of أَب‎ (ʾab, “father”), أَخ‎ (ʾaḵ, “brother”), حَم‎ (ḥam, “father-in-law”). Forms a root ء ل ه‎ (ʾ-l-h).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔi.laːh/
  • Egypt: IPA^(key): [ʔeˈlæːh]
  • Levant: IPA^(key): [ʔɪˈlaːh]
  • Central Arabia: IPA^(key): [ʔɪˈlæːh]
  • West Arabia: IPA^(key): [ʔeˈlaːh]
  • Persian Gulf: IPA^(key): [ʔɪˈlɑːh]
  • Tunisia: IPA^(key): [iˈlɛːh]
  • Algeria: IPA^(key): [ilɛh]
  • Morocco: IPA^(key): [ʔilæh], colloquially IPA^(key): [ʔlæh]

Noun

إِلٰه • (ʾilāh) m (plural آلِهَة‎ (ʾāliha), feminine إِلَاهَة‎ (ʾilāha) or إِلٰهَة‎ (ʾilāha))

1. god, deity (generic)

Declension

Declension of noun إِلٰه (ʾilāh)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	إِلٰه ʾilāh	الْإِلٰه‎ al-ʾilāh	إِلٰه ʾilāh
Nominative	إِلٰهٌ ʾilāhun	الْإِلٰهُ‎ al-ʾilāhu	إِلٰهُ ʾilāhu
Accusative	إِلٰهًا‎ ʾilāhan	الْإِلٰهَ‎ al-ʾilāha	إِلٰهَ ʾilāha
Genitive	إِلٰهٍ ʾilāhin	الْإِلٰهِ‎ al-ʾilāhi	إِلٰهِ ʾilāhi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	إِلٰهَيْن‎‎; إلَاهَيْن‎ ʾilāhayn‎; ʾilāhayn	الْإِلٰهَيْن‎‎; الْإلَاهَيْن‎ al-ʾilāhayn‎; al-ʾilāhayn	إِلٰهَيْ‎‎; إلَاهَيْ‎ ʾilāhay‎; ʾilāhay
Nominative	إِلٰهَانِ‎‎; إلَاهَانِ‎ ʾilāhāni‎; ʾilāhāni	الْإِلٰهَانِ‎‎; الْإلَاهَانِ‎ al-ʾilāhāni‎; al-ʾilāhāni	إِلٰهَا‎‎; إلَاهَا‎ ʾilāhā‎; ʾilāhā
Accusative	إِلٰهَيْنِ‎‎; إلَاهَيْنِ‎ ʾilāhayni‎; ʾilāhayni	الْإِلٰهَيْنِ‎‎; الْإلَاهَيْنِ‎ al-ʾilāhayni‎; al-ʾilāhayni	إِلٰهَيْ‎‎; إلَاهَيْ‎ ʾilāhay‎; ʾilāhay
Genitive	إِلٰهَيْنِ‎‎; إلَاهَيْنِ‎ ʾilāhayni‎; ʾilāhayni	الْإِلٰهَيْنِ‎‎; الْإلَاهَيْنِ‎ al-ʾilāhayni‎; al-ʾilāhayni	إِلٰهَيْ‎‎; إلَاهَيْ‎ ʾilāhay‎; ʾilāhay
Plural	broken plural triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	آلِهَة‎ ʾāliha	الْآلِهَة‎ al-ʾāliha	آلِهَة‎ ʾālihat
Nominative	آلِهَةٌ‎ ʾālihatun	الْآلِهَةُ‎ al-ʾālihatu	آلِهَةُ‎ ʾālihatu
Accusative	آلِهَةً‎ ʾālihatan	الْآلِهَةَ‎ al-ʾālihata	آلِهَةَ‎ ʾālihata
Genitive	آلِهَةٍ‎ ʾālihatin	الْآلِهَةِ‎ al-ʾālihati	آلِهَةِ‎ ʾālihati

Related terms

• الْإِلَاه‎ (al-ʾilāh)
• اللّٰه‎ (allāh, “God”)
• إِلٰهِيّ‎ (ʾilāhiyy, “divine”)
• إِلٰهِيَّات‎ (ʾilāhiyyāt, “theology”)
• أُلُوهِيَّة‎ (ʾulūhiyya, “godhood”)
• اللَّات‎ (al-lāt, “Allat”)

References

• Bauer, Hans (1915), “Semitische Sprachprobleme. 5. Die Verwandtschaftsnamen und ilāh „Gott“ im Semitischen”, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (in German), volume 69, page 561
• Wehr, Hans (1979), “ءله”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN