(ar|إله; plural: Arabic: آلهة ) is an Arabic term meaning "god". In Arabic, ilah refers to anyone or anything that is worshipped.[1] The feminine is (Arabic: إلاهة, meaning "goddess"); with the article, it appears as (Arabic: الإلاهة). The Arabic word for God () is thought to be derived from it (in a proposed earlier form al-Lāh) though this is disputed.[2] [3] is cognate to Northwest Semitic and Akkadian ilum. The word is from a Proto-Semitic archaic biliteral meaning "god" (possibly with a wider meaning of "strong"), which was extended to a regular triliteral by the addition of a h (as in Hebrew , ). The word is spelled either Arabic: إلٰه with an optional diacritic alif to mark the only in Qur'anic texts or (more rarely) with a full alif, Arabic: إلاه.
The term is used throughout the Quran in passages discussing the existence of God or the beliefs in other divinities by non-Muslims. Notably, the first statement of the (the Muslim confession of faith) is "There is no god () except the God ()."