Is “Yahweh” Referred to in the Quran?
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
There are Christians who tend to make a point that the Bible mentions in Exodus 3:14 that the name of God is “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” (depends on where one puts the vowels) but this name does not appear in the Quran. Hence they claim that the Quran cannot be the Word of God and Prophet Muhammad (saw) 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.
YHWH (Yahweh) in the Bible
Let’s first read the concerned verse in the Bible in context:
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. – [Exodus 3:13-15]
The Hebrew word that is translated as “I AM” 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:
יהוה
The objection which Christians raise is that as we see in Exodus 3:15, God says that this is his name forever thus they say if Prophet Muhammad(saw) was a Messenger of Allah(swt) 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.
Pronunciation of the word YHWH
“Yahweh” and “Jehovah” are two pronunciations formed by humans much later. Although the Jewish Encyclopedia labels the word “Jehovah” to be a philological impossibility, the Christian world tends to use this pronunciation till this day. Coming back to the pronunciation of this word YHWH, the Catholic Encyclopedia brings it to our attention:
“According 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.”
Moreover we are also informed by the same encyclopedia that “the modern Jews are as uncertain of the real pronunciation of the Sacred name as their Christian contemporaries” [emphasis added]. Hence one thing has been made apparent that 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.
Meaning of YHWH (Yahweh)
As it was made apparent that we do not know how to pronounce the word “YHWH”, 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 “YHWH” is “‘He who is self-existing, self-sufficient’, or, more concretely,‘He who lives’” [emphasis added]. Hence in simplest of terms “YHWH” means The Living and Self-Subsisting.
Did Jesus use the name YHWH?
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 “self-existing and self sufficient”, in short “He who lives”. So now it must be established whether Jesus did use this name Yahweh in any place. The only verse which Christendom can quote to try to prove that Jesus used this word is in the Gospel of John which is as below:
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” – [John 8:58]
As we see that the verse consists of the phrase “I am”, 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 “I am” are: ἐγώ εἰμί
Transliterated as: egō eimi
Pronounced as: eg-o’ i-mee’
So the words used here are “ego eimi” which simply means “I am” – a means of designating oneself. Not only “ego eimi” simply means “I am” as one would use “I am” in their everyday talk in the English language, “ego eimi” 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.
Was “ego eimi” used Exclusively by Jesus?
The term “ego eimi” which simply means “I am” 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. – [John 9:9]
Do note the deception which the Christian world uses. In the Greek manuscripts there is no “he” in the text. The verse ends at “I am”. The same phrase “ego eimi” is used in the Greek texts. Due to the absence of “he” in the biblical manuscripts, “Young’s Literal Translation” provides the following translation for the same verse:
Others said — `This is he;’ and others — `He is like to him;’ he himself said, — ‘I am [he].’ – [Young’s Literal Translation of John 9:9]
Notice that the term “he” 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 “ego eimi” 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 “ego eimi”? Simply because this word means nothing but the same as “I am” in the English language.
Similarly there are other examples in the Bible which prove that this phrase “ego eimi” 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 “ego eimi” refers to “YHWH”, the personal name of God, they have to accept that when traveling from Hebrew to Greek, the word was not used as “YHWH” (Yahweh) but an alternate word(s) was used “ego eimi” which was a reference to the actual name YHWH.
Does Quran Make Any Reference to YHWH?
So far we have learnt 4 points which I will list so as to refresh all that we have learnt so far:
- Actual pronunciation of YHWH is lost
- YHWH means “Self-Subsisting”, “The Living”
- Jesus did not use the term “YHWH”
- Christians cannot deny that traveling from Hebrew to Greek another term was used to refer to YHWH.
Thus we see that the Quran should have a reference to the term YHWH rather than having the term “YHWH” as the Quran was revealed in the Arabic and not the Hebrew. The golden question thus would be was any such reference made to the term “YHWH” in the Quran or by Prophet Muhammad (saw)?
The answer is a definite “YES”.
We have learnt so far that the meaning of the term “YHWH” is The Living, Self Subsisting and although the term “Allah” is used in the Quran, this word simply means “The God”.
However, we know that Islamic teachings inform us of 99 names (attributes) of Allah (swt) and the Quran informs us that to Allah (swt) 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. – [Quran 59:24]
Say: “Call 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.” – [Quran 17:110]
Thus we see that there are many different names of Allah (swt), some of which I have listed below:
- Al-‘Adl – The Just, The Equitable
- Al-‘Afuw – The Pardoner
- Al-‘Asim – The Protector
- Ad-Dafi` – The Remover of Tribulations
- Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem – The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Just like these above-mentioned beautiful names of Allah (swt) we also learn of two other names which combined are read as Hayyul-Qayyum:
Hayyul-Qayyum – The Living, Self-Subsisting
YHWH – The Living, Self-Subsisting
Here it has been proven that there is clear reference to the name YHWH in the Quran which crumbles the Christian stand that Islam has no reference to the name YHWH and thus Prophet Muhammad (saw) is not the Messenger of Allah (swt).
Stressed Importance of Hayyul-Qayyum
One of the verses which has Allah (swt) referred to by the name Hayyul-Qayyum is in Ayat-ul-Qursi (The Verse of the Throne). Ayat-ul-Qursi has multitude benefits but apart from Ayat-ul-Qursi having its benefits, this verse with “Hayyul-Qayyum” mentioned in it was referred to by Prophet Muhammad (saw) as the “greatest”:
Ubayy b. Ka’b said: Allah’s Messenger (May peace be upon him) said: O Abu’ 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: Abu’l-Mundhir, do you know the verse from the Book of Allah which, according to you, is the greatest? I said: “Allahu La ilaha illa Huwal Hayyul Qayyum.” Thereupon he struck me on my breast and said: May knowledge be pleasant for you, O Abu’l-Mundhir! – [Sahih Muslim, Book 4, #1768]
In another narration, Prophet Muhammad (saw) heard the man use “Hayyul-Qayyum” in his supplication and the Prophet (saw) said that he has supplicated using Allah’s Greatest Name:
Narrated by Anas Ibn Malik: I was sitting with the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) 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 (pbuh) 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. – [Abu Dawood, Book 2, #1490]
Yet another hadith to show the importance stressed by Prophet Muhammad (saw) on the Hayyul-Qayyum:
Narrated by Asma’ daughter of Yazid: The Prophet (pbuh) said: Allah’s Greatest Name is in these two verses: “And your deity is one deity; there is no deity but He, the Compassionate the Merciful,” and the beginning of Surah Al ‘Imran, A.L.M. “Allahu La ilaha illa Huwal Hayyul Qayyum.”– [Abu Dawood, Book 2, #1491]
Conclusion
With the grace of Allah (swt) 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 “ego eimi” 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 (swt), some of which have been mentioned above, and a Muslim can call upon Allah (swt) with any of his beautiful names unlike the followers of the Bible who do not even know how to pronounce the ‘personal name’ 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 – The Criterion.
Some More Beautiful Names of Allah (swt)
- Al-Ghani – The Self-Sufficient, The Rich Beyond Need
- Al-Awwal – The First
- Al-‘Akhir – The Last
- Al-Barr – The Source of All Goodness
- A-Baqi – The Everlasting One
- Al-Haqq – The Truth
- Al-Khaliq – The Creator
- Al-Kafi – The Sufficient One
- Ash-Shahid – The Witness
Indeed to Allah (swt) belong the most beautiful names.
February 27, 2007 at 7:13 pm
that was a real eye opener…..
may Allah give u more wisdom and guidance.
February 28, 2007 at 4:42 am
Excellent work, very well researched and articulated. May Allah SWT bless you to do even more work in His Cause and Pleasure.
Jazak Allahu Khairan
Syed Adil
February 28, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Masha ALLAH.
Jazaak ALLAH.
may ALLAH give us all the best of knowledge and hidayath.ameen
March 1, 2007 at 10:15 am
Thank you Ebrahim.
This text helps me remember of my small study in Aramic, that taught me that Jesus, whose native language was Aramic (not Greek)maybe did not use the word YHWH to refer to His Father, who is Our Father, Who is The Allmighty One, but he did use the word Allaha.
Which makes us ALL children of the same I Am Who Is. YHWH, Jehova, Jehovi, Eloim…..all sounds that speak of the name of the One as the sound of the whispering wind, the voice that does not need the human body to make itself heard, whispering to us personally in our heart, as in every single heart of every living soul on earth and beyond.
May Peace be with you all
May 29, 2007 at 7:38 am
Here is holy unconfused Proto Indo European ancestor of holy, but confused Yahweh name from before Babel:
eg-, eg(h)om, egô 1: me- I (pronoun)
+
3: guei-, and guei- to live
+-os nominative ending -os
=
Eg-guei-os – PIE ancestor of Hebrew Yahweh = I Live, similar enought to I Am.
Here is proof that Proto Indo European ia Adamic:
http://kamishiji.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=edenics&action=display&thread=1168795948
Allah is Arabic variant of PIE word Sawelos – Sun.
August 3, 2008 at 2:20 am
Thank you
October 6, 2008 at 5:56 pm
favorited this one, guy
January 29, 2009 at 11:16 pm
YHWH REAL PROUNCE IS YAHAWAH AND NOTHING ELSE.
January 30, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Dear beloved Brothera and sisters in YAHWEH
sabbath greetings to yo your blessed family your friends your associates your assemblies your staff and all in the mighty name of YAHWEH . HalleluYAH
I have been sending mail every sabbath worship services and remembering all of you to have joy peace and healthy of life.I already narrated about our sacred truth services and social service activities.Recently I had ulcer (stomach pan)suffered a lot.By you fervent prayers now my health condition is slowly improving.Brother for the first time you encouraged our sacred truth work .Now you became salient .As you have became salient I was mentally disturbed Now we are all facing acute hunger starvation.we do not have food to satisfy our starvation.I tearfully beg of you please understand our immense hardships and send even a mite to satisfy our starvation we condemn the pagan worship of Sunday worshipers.we are cordially invite you to visit our country to deliver your wonderful messages to know our people.we need your fervent prayers and encouragement.I already sent our Holy fests Report of 2008 for your prayerful consideration.your fellowship is very important for us.we ask and pray YAHWEH to unite fellowship with you to praise His High name on earth .let us exalt His High name .
I regret to say that Recently on 26 NOV 2008 the terrorists intrude by sea coast area of Mumbai,INDIA and entered Hotel Taj and obarai and killed 240 innocent people of which 20 foreigners were died .our Israel Rabbi Gavrial and his wife was being killed by terrorists.we deeply mourned and prayed for their demise family Righteous remembrance is a great blessing.you might have watched the sad even over television and news papers.As our three families of Rabbi killed our team has decided to set up a peace mission to restore peace on earth.Now we can teach the YAHWEH peace as part of our sabbath worshipers.If you want to help us to teach peace please send your generosity .our peace Mission team ans co Elders are decided to teach the peace.If you are unable to help us in regard to peace mission and sacred truth activities please forward our intention of spreading the sacred truth and peace mission to those who want to spread out.you may forgotten But as we filled with the love of YAHWEH we never forget you in our weekly sabbath worship services.we need your encouragement.please do not disappoint us in this regard.If you want to know our sacred truth work and peace mission I shall send you in form of pictures. If you can our almighty one reward you in heaven
please do pray for all of us. you are all in our deep prayers
we wait for your kind mail with blessings.
May YAHWEH keep protecting your family
your in Him
(ELDER.M.SRIKANTH) Email: congregations_12@yahoo.co.inMy mailing address is:ELDER.M.SRIKANTHCONGREGATIONS OF YAHWEHPO.ELAMANCHILIROMJI NAGAR W.G.DT., A.P.S.INDIA
February 7, 2009 at 4:27 pm
The debate among the “People of the Book” as to the proper “name” of THE CREATOR is mis-directed into an endless debate on translations, transliterations, and enunciation of consonants and vowel points according to their particular “language” and cultural identity, and thereby MISS THE MARK (Sin) by lifting up a FALSE “name” (nature, character, reputation, fame, report) of THE CREATOR of Mankind who according to Scripture is the FAITHFUL CREATOR of Mankind who will accomplish His plan to fill ALL MANKIND with His image and likeness.
(Isa 29:24) “Those who err in mind will know the truth, And those who criticize will accept instruction. – E-NASB
Now, the question among the “People of the Book” as to the NATURE/CHARACTER of THE CREATOR and the intent of His heart:
(Ps 77:7) Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? – E-NASB
(La 3:31-32) For the Lord will not cast off for ever: 32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. – E-KJVA
(Ps 33:4) For the word of the LORD is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness. – E-NASB
Can you say FAITHFUL CREATOR? Peace be with you my friend as Yahweh brings us ALL into the knowledge of the TRUTH and saves us ALL, the very works of His hands!
March 3, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Hello webmaster
I would like to share with you a link to your site
write me here preonrelt@mail.ru
June 8, 2009 at 7:23 am
Dear fellow Brother and sister in YAHWEH
I visited your wonderful wb page.I am a Messianic leader having 4 congregations .I also involved in manysocial and compassionate activities.we do not have any finamcialassistance from anywhere.I wanr to spread of the Messianic sacred truths all over India.we need your long term fellowship andstewardship.leasejoin me into your fellowship and encourage us to spread of the sacred truths to many distant places.Ialos addmy comment into your web page and encourage us in spreading the sacred truths to far istant places.If you can our yahshua Messiah shall grant you recih rewards ineternity .If you need any kind of additional information Ishall gladly send you. your reward is great in heaven
please do prayfor all of us ,our socia net work and compassionate activities
we are all fervantly praying for all your endeavours
we wait for your blessed mail
May ELOHIM bless you all
yours in Him
(PASTOR.D.SYAM BABU)
E-mail: syambabu11@yahoo.com