Response to Misha'al Al-Kadhi: Definitions and Abbreviations

Definitions and Abbreviations

Usually nobody would expect controversies already about the definitions of words. A dictionary or glossary of terms should be something objective and straight forward. Not so with Misha'al Al-Kadhi. In his book, which is supposedly designed for the "dialog" between Christians and Muslims, he makes already his definitions to be distinctly Muslim. But in all investigation, if the hoped for result is already put into the definitions that are used to describe it, then all we have are foregone conclusions and no honest investigation anymore.

Al-Kadhi's definition Corrected definition
Allah: The supreme God of all creation. He is known as "God" or "Father" to the Christians, and as "El" or "Yahweh" to the Jews. This assumes the Qur'an is true in saying that "our God is the same as your God". Christians and Jews might not always be inclined to agree with this. See the article "Is Allah the God of the Bible?" Therefore, let us give the alternative definition: "Allah" is the Arabic word for God, the supreme and only God, the Creator, who according to the Qur'an is the same as the God of the Bible, but there are many differences between the Qur'anic and the Biblical description of this God.
Given that the title "Father" is an abomination to Muslims and strongly rejected, I wonder how he can say that Allah is also known as "Father"?
Also, I am sure Mr. Al-Kadhi has not obtained this information from Jews. They do never call God "El" or "Yahweh", but they say "Adonai" or usually "HaShem".
The origin of the name "Allah"
Muhammad: The last messenger of God to all mankind. He was the seal of the prophets of God, who included prophets Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus, and many others. The prophet of Islam. Whether he was a prophet of the one true God is a matter of disagreement between Muslims and Christians.
Islam: The last message of God to all mankind. It was sent down upon prophet Muhammad (pbuh), recorded in broad outlines in the Qur'an, and described in detail in the Sunnah. Islam is an Arabic word which means "Submission to God". Islam means "submission" and summarizes the essential aspect of the message preached by Muhammad.
Qur'an: The holy book of the Muslims. It consists of 100% the word of God and no words of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his companions, or any human being. The word "Qur'an" basically means "reading" or "recitation" and is the name of the holy book of the Muslims. Muslims believe the rest of what Mr. Al-Kadhi thought he could make the definition for everyone.
Sunnah: The title given to the collection of recorded words and actions of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Most of what he said or did throughout his lifetime is recorded in the Sunnah. Sunnah: Literally "a path or way, a manner of life". Sunnah is that which Muhammad did, which he enjoined, and which was not forbidden by him when done in his presence. These things are reported in books, like the hadith (stories of deeds and sayings of Muhammad), the sirat (biographies), books of fiqh and tafsir by Muslim scholars, but Sunnah is not a book itself.
pbuh: Means "Peace Be Upon Him". Used most often in reference to prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and also in reference to the many other prophets of Allah, such as Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, etc. Agreed
pbut: Means "Peace Be Upon Them". Same as above, but used in reference to more than one. Agreed
s.a.w. / s.a.s.: Same as "pbuh". It is an abbreviation of the original Arabic words "Salla Allahu alaihi Wa Sallam", which are translated as "peace be upon him" in English. This is not quite so straight forward.
The true meaning of this phrase is discussed in the entry SAW of our Index to Islam.
Ibn: An Arabic word which means "Son of." Agreed
Bint/Ibna: An Arabic word which means "Daughter of." Agreed
Masjid: An Arabic word which means mosque. This is substituting one name by another and not giving a definition. Masjid means a "place of prostration". This is sometimes even used for churches or the Jewish Temple as one can observe in Sura 17:1.
OT: Old Testament. The portion of the Bible transmitted by the Jews. Agreed
NT: New Testament. The portion of the Bible specific to the Christian faith. Agreed. This is an acceptable neutral definition. But we could also call it "Word of God" following Al-Kadhi's approach in regard to the Qur'an.
People of the Book: This is the term used in the noble Qur'an to refer to the Jews and Christians. It is also sometimes translated as "People of the Scripture" Apart from again the prejudging of the Qur'an as "noble" one could agree. "People of the Book" (Ahl al-Kitab is an important term and designates those people who have received genuine revelation from God - scripture, the Book.

Al-Kadhi's definition	Corrected definition
Allah: The supreme God of all creation. He is known as "God" or "Father" to the Christians, and as "El" or "Yahweh" to the Jews.	This assumes the Qur'an is true in saying that "our God is the same as your God". Christians and Jews might not always be inclined to agree with this. See the article "Is Allah the God of the Bible?" Therefore, let us give the alternative definition: "Allah" is the Arabic word for God, the supreme and only God, the Creator, who according to the Qur'an is the same as the God of the Bible, but there are many differences between the Qur'anic and the Biblical description of this God. Given that the title "Father" is an abomination to Muslims and strongly rejected, I wonder how he can say that Allah is also known as "Father"? Also, I am sure Mr. Al-Kadhi has not obtained this information from Jews. They do never call God "El" or "Yahweh", but they say "Adonai" or usually "HaShem". The origin of the name "Allah"
Muhammad: The last messenger of God to all mankind. He was the seal of the prophets of God, who included prophets Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus, and many others.	The prophet of Islam. Whether he was a prophet of the one true God is a matter of disagreement between Muslims and Christians.
Islam: The last message of God to all mankind. It was sent down upon prophet Muhammad (pbuh), recorded in broad outlines in the Qur'an, and described in detail in the Sunnah. Islam is an Arabic word which means "Submission to God".	Islam means "submission" and summarizes the essential aspect of the message preached by Muhammad.
Qur'an: The holy book of the Muslims. It consists of 100% the word of God and no words of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his companions, or any human being.	The word "Qur'an" basically means "reading" or "recitation" and is the name of the holy book of the Muslims. Muslims believe the rest of what Mr. Al-Kadhi thought he could make the definition for everyone.
Sunnah: The title given to the collection of recorded words and actions of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Most of what he said or did throughout his lifetime is recorded in the Sunnah.	Sunnah: Literally "a path or way, a manner of life". Sunnah is that which Muhammad did, which he enjoined, and which was not forbidden by him when done in his presence. These things are reported in books, like the hadith (stories of deeds and sayings of Muhammad), the sirat (biographies), books of fiqh and tafsir by Muslim scholars, but Sunnah is not a book itself.
pbuh: Means "Peace Be Upon Him". Used most often in reference to prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and also in reference to the many other prophets of Allah, such as Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, etc.	Agreed
pbut: Means "Peace Be Upon Them". Same as above, but used in reference to more than one.	Agreed
s.a.w. / s.a.s.: Same as "pbuh". It is an abbreviation of the original Arabic words "Salla Allahu alaihi Wa Sallam", which are translated as "peace be upon him" in English.	This is not quite so straight forward. The true meaning of this phrase is discussed in the entry SAW of our Index to Islam.
Ibn: An Arabic word which means "Son of."	Agreed
Bint/Ibna: An Arabic word which means "Daughter of."	Agreed
Masjid: An Arabic word which means mosque.	This is substituting one name by another and not giving a definition. Masjid means a "place of prostration". This is sometimes even used for churches or the Jewish Temple as one can observe in Sura 17:1.
OT: Old Testament. The portion of the Bible transmitted by the Jews.	Agreed
NT: New Testament. The portion of the Bible specific to the Christian faith.	Agreed. This is an acceptable neutral definition. But we could also call it "Word of God" following Al-Kadhi's approach in regard to the Qur'an.
People of the Book: This is the term used in the noble Qur'an to refer to the Jews and Christians. It is also sometimes translated as "People of the Scripture"	Apart from again the prejudging of the Qur'an as "noble" one could agree. "People of the Book" (Ahl al-Kitab is an important term and designates those people who have received genuine revelation from God - scripture, the Book.

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