ðð¬ ðððð ð«ðððð«ð«ðð ððš ð¢ð§ ðð¡ð ðð®ð«ðð§ ?
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter@NassarMohamadMR

There are Christians who tend to make a point that the Bible mentions in Exodus 3:14 that the name of God is âYahwehâ or âJehovahâ (depending on where one puts the vowels) but this name does not appear in the Qurâan.
Hence they claim that the Qurâan cannot be the Word of God and Prophet Muhammed ï·º cannot be a Messenger of God, because there is no reference to the personal name of God which appears in the Old Testament 6823 times.
ðððð (ððð¡ð°ðð¡) ð¢ð§ ðð¡ð ðð¢ðð¥ð
Letâs first read the concerned verse in the Bible in context:
Moses said to God, âSuppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, âThe God of your fathers has sent me to you,â and they ask me, âWhat is his name?â Then what shall I tell them?â
God said to Moses, âI am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: âI AM has sent me to you.ââ
God also said to Moses, âSay to the Israelites, âThe LORD, the God of your fathersâthe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacobâhas sent me to you.â This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. â [Exodus 3:13-15]
The Hebrew word that is translated as âI AMâ in English, is YHWH (known as the Tetragrammaton) which commonly the Christians read as Yahweh or Jehovah by inserting vowels. The Hebrew form of YHWH is as below:
××××
The objection that Christians raise is that as we see in Exodus 3:15, God says that this is his name forever thus they say if Prophet Muhammed ï·º was a Messenger of Allah then he should have made some reference to this personal name of God, Yahweh/Jehovah, to prove that he is really a Messenger of God.
ðð«ðšð§ð®ð§ðð¢ððð¢ðšð§ ðšð ðð¡ð ð°ðšð«ð ðððð
âYahwehâ and âJehovahâ are two pronunciations formed by humans much later. Although the Jewish Encyclopedia labels the word âJehovahâ to be a philological impossibility, the Christian world tends to use this pronunciation till this day.
ððšðŠð¢ð§ð ðððð€ ððš ðð¡ð ð©ð«ðšð§ð®ð§ðð¢ððð¢ðšð§ ðšð ðð¡ð¢ð¬ ð°ðšð«ð ðððð, ðð¡ð ðððð¡ðšð¥ð¢ð ðð§ðð²ðð¥ðšð©ððð¢ð ðð«ð¢ð§ð ð¬ ð¢ð ððš ðšð®ð« ððððð§ðð¢ðšð§:
âAccording to a Rabbinic tradition, the real pronunciation of Jehovah ceased to be used at the time of Simeon the Just, who was, according to Maimonides, a contemporary of Alexander the Great. At any rate, it appears that the name was no longer pronounced after the destruction of the Temple.â
Moreover, we are also informed by the same encyclopedia that âthe modern Jews are as uncertain of the real pronunciation of the Sacred name as their Christian contemporariesâ [emphasis added]. Hence one thing has been made apparent neither the Jews nor the Christians know the true pronunciation of this word. This word was considered to be ineffable by the Jews and thus with time, people lost the knowledge of its true pronunciation.
ðððð§ð¢ð§ð ðšð ðððð (ððð¡ð°ðð¡)
As it was made apparent that we do not know how to pronounce the word âYHWHâ, we must now look and understand what this word means so as to get an understanding of the word itself. The Jewish Encyclopedia informs us that the meaning of the name âYHWHâ is ââHe who is self-existing, self-sufficientâ, or, more concretely, âHe who livesââ [emphasis added]. Hence in simplest of terms âYHWHâ means The Living and Self-Subsisting.
ðð¢ð ðð¢ðð¥ð¢ððð¥ ððð¬ð®ð¬ ð®ð¬ð ðð¡ð ð§ððŠð ðððð?
Up till now, two things have been made clear; the real pronunciation of the word is not available and that the meaning of this word is âself-existing and self-sufficientâ, in short âHe who livesâ. So now it must be established whether Jesus did use the name Yahweh in any place. The only verse that Christendom can quote to try to prove that Jesus used this word is in the Gospel of John which is as below:
âI tell you the truth,â Jesus answered, âbefore Abraham was born, I am!â â [John 8:58]
As we see that the verse consists of the phrase âI amâ, the Christians say that Jesus has used the word YHWH. So let us take a look at the Greek version of the verse as we all know that the biblical manuscripts with the Christian world are in the language Greek although there is no concrete evidence that Jesus knew this language.
The words translated as âI amâ are: áŒÎ³Ï εጰΌί
Transliterated as: egÅ eimi
Pronounced as: eg-oâ i-meeâ
So the words used here are âego eimiâ which simply means âI amâ â a means of designating oneself. Not only âego eimiâ simply means âI amâ as one would use âI amâ in their everyday talk in the English language, âego eimiâ is no where near to the meaning of YHWH which is seen above to mean The Living, Self Subsisting. So not only does this not sound anything like the proposed pronunciation of the word YHWH, it does not even carry the meaning of the word.
ððð¬ âðð ðš ðð¢ðŠð¢â ð®ð¬ðð ðð±ðð¥ð®ð¬ð¢ð¯ðð¥ð² ðð² ððð¬ð®ð¬?
The term âego eimiâ which simply means âI amâ is used in numerous places in the Bible and there are instances when this term is used by people other than Jesus. Just to give a quick example, the blind man whom Jesus cured uses the same words as well in the Gospel of John:
Some said This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. â [John 9:9]
Do note the deception which the Christian world uses. In the Greek manuscripts, there is no âheâ in the text. The verse ends at âI amâ. The same phrase âego eimiâ is used in Greek texts.
ðð®ð ððš ðð¡ð ððð¬ðð§ðð ðšð âð¡ðâ ð¢ð§ ðð¡ð ðð¢ðð¥ð¢ððð¥ ðŠðð§ð®ð¬ðð«ð¢ð©ðð¬, âððšð®ð§ð âð¬ ðð¢ððð«ðð¥ ðð«ðð§ð¬ð¥ððð¢ðšð§â ð©ð«ðšð¯ð¢ððð¬ ðð¡ð ððšð¥ð¥ðšð°ð¢ð§ð ðð«ðð§ð¬ð¥ððð¢ðšð§ ððšð« ðð¡ð ð¬ððŠð ð¯ðð«ð¬ð:
Others said â `This is he;â and others â `He is like to him;â he himself said, â âI am [he].â â [Youngâs Literal Translation of John 9:9]
Notice that the term âheâ is placed in parenthesis because this word is not present in the biblical manuscripts. Any form of term that is not in the text being translated should be written in parenthesis to convey the meaning and not cause deception such that people would believe that it is part of the original text.
So by using the phrase âego eimiâ was the blind man suggesting that he was YHWH?
Obviously NOT and NO Christian would dare to claim that he was. So then why did he use the term âego eimiâ?
ðð¢ðŠð©ð¥ð² ððððð®ð¬ð ðð¡ð¢ð¬ ð°ðšð«ð ðŠððð§ð¬ ð§ðšðð¡ð¢ð§ð ðð®ð ðð¡ð ð¬ððŠð ðð¬ âð ððŠâ ð¢ð§ ðð¡ð ðð§ð ð¥ð¢ð¬ð¡ ð¥ðð§ð ð®ðð ð.
Similarly, there are other examples in the Bible that prove that this phrase âego eimiâ was not used only by Jesus and it certainly does not hold the meaning of YHWH as seen earlier.
If, however, Christendom wants to claim that âego eimiâ refers to âYHWHâ, the personal name of God, they have to accept that when traveling from Hebrew to Greek, the word was not used as âYHWHâ (Yahweh) but an alternate word(s) was used âego eimiâ which was a reference to the actual name YHWH.
ððšðð¬ ðð®ð«âðð§ ððð€ð ðð§ð² ððððð«ðð§ðð ððš ðððð?
So far we have learned 4 points which I will list so as to refresh all that we have learned so far:
- Â The actual pronunciation of YHWH is lost.
- Â YHWH means âSelf-Subsistingâ, or âThe Livingâ.
- Jesus did not use the term âYHWHâ.
- Christians cannot deny that traveling from Hebrew to Greek another term was used to refer to YHWH.
Thus we see that the Qurâan should have a reference to the term YHWH rather than having the term âYHWHâ as the Qurâan was revealed in Arabic and not Hebrew. The golden question thus would be was any such reference made to the term âYHWHâ in the Quran or by Prophet Muhammad ï·º?
The answer is a definite âYESâ.
We have learned so far that the meaning of the term âYHWHâ is The Living, Self Subsisting, and although the term âAllahâ is used in the Quran, this word simply means âThe Godâ.
However, we know that Islamic teachings inform us of 99 names (attributes) of Allah and the Quran informs us that to Allah belongs the most beautiful names and we can call him by any of these beautiful names:
He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most beautiful names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. â [Quran 59:24]
Say: âCall upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most beautiful names. Neither speak thy Prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between.â â [Quran 17:110]
ðð¡ð®ð¬ ð°ð ð¬ðð ðð¡ðð ðð¡ðð«ð ðð«ð ðŠðð§ð² ðð¢ðððð«ðð§ð ð§ððŠðð¬ ðšð ðð¥ð¥ðð¡, ð¬ðšðŠð ðšð ð°ð¡ð¢ðð¡ ð ð¡ðð¯ð ð¥ð¢ð¬ððð ððð¥ðšð°:
Al-âAdl â The Just, The Equitable
Al-âAfuw â The Pardoner
Al-âAsim â The Protector
Ad-Dafi` â The Remover of Tribulations
Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem â The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Just like these above-mentioned beautiful names of Allah we also learn of two other names which combined are read as Hayyul-Qayyum:
ððð²ð²ð®ð¥-ððð²ð²ð®ðŠ â ðð¡ð ðð¢ð¯ð¢ð§ð , ððð¥ð-ðð®ðð¬ð¢ð¬ðð¢ð§ð
YHWH â The Living, Self-Subsisting
Here it has been proven that there is a clear reference to the name YHWH in the Qurâan which crumbles the Christian stand that Islam has no reference to the name YHWH and thus Prophet Muhammad ï·º is not the Messenger of Allah.
ððð«ðð¬ð¬ðð ððŠð©ðšð«ððð§ðð ðšð ððð²ð²ð®ð¥-ððð²ð²ð®ðŠ
One of the verses which have Allah referred to by the name Hayyul-Qayyum is in Ayat-ul-Qursi (The Verse of the Throne). Ayat-ul-Qursi has multitude of benefits but apart from Ayat-ul-Qursi having its benefits, this verse with âHayyul-Qayyumâ mentioned in it was referred to by Prophet Muhammad ï·º as the âgreatestâ:
Ubayy bin Kaâb said: Allahâs Messenger (May peace be upon him) said: O Abuâ al-Mundhir, do you know the verse from the Book of Allah which, according to you, is the greatest? I said: Allah and His Apostle (May peace be upon him) know best.
He again said: Abuâl-Mundhir, do you know the verse from the Book of Allah which, according to you, is the greatest? I said: âAllahu La ilaha illa Huwal Hayyul Qayyum.â Thereupon he struck me on my breast and said: May knowledge be pleasant for you, O Abuâl-Mundhir! â [Sahih Muslim, Book 4, #1768]
In another narration, Prophet Muhammad ï·º heard the man use âHayyul-Qayyumâ in his supplication and the Prophet ï·º said that he has supplicated using Allahâs Greatest Name:
Narrated by Anas Ibn Malik: I was sitting with the Apostle of Allah ï·º and a man was offering prayer. He then made supplication: O Allah, I ask Thee by virtue of the fact that praise is due to Thee, there is no deity but Thou, Who showest favour and beneficence, the Originator of the Heavens and the earth, O Lord of Majesty and Splendour, O Living One, O Eternal One.
The Prophet ï·º then said: He has supplicated Allah using His Greatest Name, when supplicated by this name, He answers, and when asked by this name He gives. â [Abu Dawood, Book 2, #1490]
Yet another hadith to show the importance stressed by Prophet Muhammad ï·º on the Hayyul-Qayyum:
Narrated by Asmaâ daughter of Yazid: The Prophet (pbuh) said: Allahâs Greatest Name is in these two verses: âAnd your deity is one deity; there is no deity but He, the Compassionate the Merciful,â and the beginning of Surah Al âImran, A.L.M. âAllahu La ilaha illa Huwal Hayyul Qayyum.ââ [Abu Dawood, Book 2, #1491]
ððšð§ðð¥ð®ð¬ð¢ðšð§
With the grace of Allah, it can be seen that there is a clear reference to YHWH in the Quran. This reference is much stronger than what the Christians claim to be a reference to YHWH in the New Testament. The word âego eimiâ is in no way the Greek word for YHWH nor does it hold the meaning of YHWH. However as seen, there is a clear reference to the term YHWH in the Quran as well as the Hadith.
The Quran gives us many beautiful names of Allah, some of which have been mentioned above, and a Muslim can call upon Allah with any of his beautiful names unlike the followers of the Bible who do not even know how to pronounce the âpersonal nameâ revealed to them. Indeed much of the truth in those books is lost just like the pronunciation of YHWH is lost and the Quran is sent to restore that which is lost â The Criterion.
ððšðŠð ððšð«ð ðððð®ðð¢ðð®ð¥ ðððŠðð¬ ðšð ðð¥ð¥ðð¡
Al-Ghani â The Self-Sufficient, The Rich Beyond Need
Al-Awwal â The First
Al-âAakhir â The Last
Al-Barr â The Source of All Goodness
Al-Baaqi â The Everlasting One
Al-Haqq â The Truth
Al-Khaliq â The Creator
Al-Kafi â The Sufficient One
Ash-Shahid â The Witness
Credit: Ebrahim Saifuddin
ðððð ðððð ðð¡ð¢ð¬ ðð«ðð¢ðð¥ð ð¡ðð«ð ððšðš
Allah is the same God the Jews and Christians identify as God the Father, Yahweh or Elohim. Allah is the same God that Jesus worshipped.
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How the Jews Invented Yahweh, and Made Him Great
99 Beautiful Names of Allah (Al Asma Ul Husna)
The folly things of God and Yahweh attributes described by Blasphemous Bible.
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I am the Lord God Dionysus : Parallels between Yahweh and Dionysus
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Allah knows Best.