Arabic vocabulary
How to say “God” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
عند الفتور، بدّل الوسيلة لا الغاية إن عجز لسانك فليذكر قلبك، وإن ثقل قلبك فلتخدم يدك، فالطرق إلى الله بعدد أنفاس الخلائق
When feeling lethargic, change the means, not the goal: if your tongue is too weak, let your heart remember; if your heart is heavy, let your hands serve, for the paths to God are as numerous as the breaths of creation.
اللهِ — God. 'Allah' = 'God'; takes the 'to...' ending after 'ila'.
From: On Sincerity →أن يراد بها وجه الله،
That they are intended for the sake of Allah,
اللهِ — God. The owner completing 'face of God', in the genitive. Set directly against 'face' with no separate 'of', it makes the whole phrase mean seeking God Himself as the aim.
From: Deeds for God Alone →والله المستعان،
And Allah is the One Whose help is sought.
وَاللهُ — and Allah. 'and Allah,' the subject of a verb-less statement (the -u). A pious formula; its predicate, 'the One whose help is sought,' follows with no verb 'is.' The author turns to God after the harsh verdict.
From: Revelation Over Philosophy →انطلق رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه حتى سبقوا المشركين إلى بدر وجاء المشركون،
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his companions set out until they reached Badr before the polytheists, and the polytheists came.
اللهُ — upon him. Within the fixed blessing this names God as the one who blesses; boilerplate recurring after the Prophet's name, read as a settled unit.
From: A Handful of Dates and Paradise →فقام أحدهم فقال بعد أن حمد الله وأثنى عليه
One of them stood up and said, after praising Allah and thanking Him:
اللهَ — God. This is the name of God carrying the accusative ending because it is the direct object of 'praised', the one being praised. Word order is verb then object, so this follows its verb. The ending, not the position alone, is what marks it as the receiver of the action.
From: Justice in the Field →أيها الناس، إن الله خلق السموات والأرض في ستة أشهر، ثم استوى على العرش
O people, indeed Allah created the heavens and the earth in six months, then rose over the Throne.
اللهَ — Allah. The name of God, taking the accusative ending here purely because the emphasis particle 'inna' before it requires that case of the following noun. Meaning-wise it is the subject of 'created'; its ending is dictated by the particle, a clear case of a word's shape being governed from the front.
From: Justice in the Field →قَالَ الله الشَّيْطَان يَعدكُم الْفقر ويأمركم بالفحشاء
Allah said: 'Satan threatens you with poverty and commands you to immorality.'
اللهُ — Allah. This is the divine name standing as the subject who does the saying. It sits in the subject (doer) form, and because it is already a unique proper name it is fully definite without needing any 'the'.
From: Adam's Warning →كَمَا قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
As Allah, the Exalted, said: 'So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.'
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name as the doer of the saying. Its ending marks it the subject of 'said', identifying who is quoted.
From: The Hidden Idolatry →قَالَ الرِّيَاءُ، يَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالَى يَوْمَ يُجَازِي الْعِبَادَ بِأَعْمَالِهِمْ اذْهَبُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ كُنْتُمْ تُرَاءُونَهُمْ بِأَعْمَالِكُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَانْظُرُوا هَلْ تَجِدُونَ عِنْدَهُمْ جَزَاءً
He said: 'It is showing off. Allah will say on the Day He recompenses people for their deeds: Go to those for whom you showed off in the world and see if you find any reward with them.'
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name as the doer of the saying. Its ending marks it the subject of 'will say', naming who speaks on that Day.
From: The Hidden Idolatry →وَقَالَ يَقُولُ اللهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا أَشْرَكَ مَعِي فِيهِ غَيْرِي فَهُوَ لِلَّذِي أَشْرَكَ وَأَنَا مِنْهُ بَرِيءٌ
And he said: 'Allah says: Whoever does a deed in which he associates someone else with Me, it is for the one he associated, and I am free from it.'
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name as the speaker, its ending marking it the subject of 'says'. It names who is quoted.
From: The Hidden Idolatry →وَقَالَ مَنْ سَمَّعَ سَمَّعَ اللهُ بِهِ، وَمَنْ رَاءَى رَاءَى اللهُ بِهِ
And he said: 'Whoever seeks to be heard, Allah will make him heard, and whoever seeks to be seen, Allah will make him seen.'
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name as the doer of the consequence, its ending marking it the subject. It identifies who responds to the insincere seeking.
From: The Hidden Idolatry →وَقَالَ مَنْ سَمَّعَ سَمَّعَ اللهُ بِهِ، وَمَنْ رَاءَى رَاءَى اللهُ بِهِ
And he said: 'Whoever seeks to be heard, Allah will make him heard, and whoever seeks to be seen, Allah will make him seen.'
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name as the doer of the consequence, its ending marking it the subject. It names who responds to the showing off.
From: The Hidden Idolatry →فَوَجَدْنَا الْعُلَمَاءَ رَحِمَهُمُ اللهُ تَعَالَى قَدِ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهَا، فَقِيلَ هِيَ سَبْعٌ وَاحْتَجُّوا بِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ اجْتَنِبُوا السَّبْعَ الْمُوبِقَاتِ
We found the scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, differed regarding them. It was said they are seven, citing the Prophet's saying: 'Avoid the seven destructive sins'.
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name as the doer of that prayer-verb, its ending marking it the subject: it is Allah who is asked to show mercy.
From: What Small Worship Erases →وروي عن أنس رضي الله عنه،
It is narrated from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name as subject of 'was pleased', carrying the subject ending that marks it as the one who is pleased, within the recited blessing.
From: The One-Third Rule →قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said.
اللَّهُ — God. The divine name as the subject of the blessing verb beside it, naming who sends the blessing within the fixed formula.
From: Trapped and Delivered →وَدَخَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ كُدَىٰ،
And the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered from Kuda.
اللَّهُ — Allah. Inside the blessing-formula this divine name is the one doing the blessing, the subject of the wish-verb just before it. So although the formula honours the Prophet, grammatically it is God who is asked to act.
From: Conquest of Mecca Account →كنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في دعوة، فرفع إليه الذراع، وكانت تعجبه،
We were with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, at a meal where a foreleg was presented to him, which he liked.
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name standing as the subject of the blessing verb before it, in the nominative as the doer. Within this honorific formula it is the one who sends the blessing, not part of a possessive chain here.
From: The Prophet's Intercession →يجمع الله الأولين والآخرين في صعيد واحد،
Allah gathers the first and the last in one place,
اللهُ — Allah. The divine name standing as the subject of the verb before it, in the nominative as the doer of the gathering. Placed after its verb in the usual verb-first order, it is the word that actually names who acts.
From: The Prophet's Intercession →ورجل وسع الله عليه، وأعطاه من أصناف المال، فأتي به فعرفه نعمه، فعرفها قال فما عملت فيها ؟
And a man whom Allah made wealthy and to whom He gave all kinds of wealth. He will be brought, and Allah will make him recognize His blessings, and he will recognize them. He will say: 'What did you do with them?'
اللهُ — God. This is the subject doing the action of the preceding verb 'made wealthy' - the doer follows the verb here, which is the normal Arabic order (verb first, then who did it). Even though the verb already came complete, the name is what fills the 'who' slot, so the whole clause reads 'made-wealthy God', i.e. 'God made him wealthy'. Word order is the only thing marking it as subject; there is no separate subject pronoun word.
From: Intentions on Judgment Day →OpenArabic teaches words like اللهُ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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