I must state that I have relied on internet sources, which I believe are true. If there are any errors with regard the stated facts, I hope that you would take time to make a comment...
There are some who have come out and mischievously attempted to paint a very wrong picture, i.e.
* There is evidence that usage of the Arabic word 'Allah' in facts pre-dates Islam.
* It has long been used by Arab Christians, which number 15-20 million in the Middle East, and this word can be found in the Arabic translation of the Bible/parts of the Bible. *The earliest written record of the Gospel in Arabic is 897 A.D., and of the Old Testament is in 1475 A.D.
* The word Allah is also used in the AlKitab, the Malay translation of the Bible, and first recorded published Malay translation of part of a gospel was in 1629, and the full alkitab was finally published in 1733.
* The word Allah has been used by Malaysian Christians for a very very long time.
2 - That the usage of the word 'Allah' is part of a devious scheme to confuse Muslims, in Malaysia, and probably convert them to Christianity.
Well, this is really far-fetched, as the word Allah has long been used by Christians. It has not really confused Arab Muslims or Indonesian Muslims - and there really is no example of it confusing Malay Muslims here in Malaysia. I believe Muslims in Malaya are more intelligent than that what some believe
Let us consider the facts -
a) The word 'Allah' have been used by Christians for a very long time. In its written form, it appears, amongst others, even in the translation of the Bible (or parts of the Bible) in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia/Melayu, etc
Thus the first translations of the Hebrew Bible in Arabic appeared after the advent of Islam. In fact, the oldest dated manuscript of the Old Testament in Arabic as shown below dates from first half of the ninth century.
The Oldest Arabic Manuscript of the Old Testament (British Museum arab. 1475 [Add. 26116]). Source: Islamic Awareness Website
Sidney H Griffith has done extensive research on the appearance of Arabic Gospel. Regarding the manuscript evidence, he says:
The oldest known, dated manuscripts containing Arabic translations of the New Testament are in the collections of St. Catherine's monastery at Mt. Sinai. Sinai Arabic MS 151 contains an Arabic version of the Epistles of Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Catholic Epistles. It is the oldest dated New Testament manuscripts. The colophon of this MS informs us that one Bisr Ibn as-Sirri made the translation from Syriac in Damascus during Ramadan of the Higrah year 253, i.e., 867 AD.[11]
The author went on to say:
The oldest, dated manuscript containing the Gospels in Arabic is Sinai Arabic MS 72. Here the text of the four canonical Gospels is marked off according to the lessons of the temporal cycle of the Greek liturgical calendar of the Jerusalem Church. A colophon informs us that the MS was written by Stephen of Ramleh in the year 284 of the Arabs, i.e., 897 AD.[12]
Below is the MS of the Gospel in Arabic written by Stephen of Ramleh.
Colophon of MS. Sin. Arab, No. 72, dated 896 A.D. photograph supplied by Mr. Taufiq Iskarous of Cairo, late curator of Christian books at the Sultanieh Library. The photograph, hitherto unpublished, was taken by Dr. Moritz. Mr. Taufiq Iskarous also supplies the following information from an unpublished report in Arabic by Dr. Moritz, to the Egyptian government on the Arabic MSS. in the library of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai: "The oldest of the Christian Arabic MSS. under the heading Biblica is The book of the four Gospels, arranged according to the divisions of the liturgical year of the Greeks. It was written in late Kufic hand by Istipana, known as al-Ramli, A. Mond. 6389=A. H. Muharram, 284. On parchment, 119 pp. of 26 lines, 13x19 cmm."[13]Source: Islamic Awareness Website
The images below, with the exception of the first image, were taken directly from The Holy Bible in Arabic. Referred to in Arabic as al-Kitâb al-Muqadis (i.e. ,The Holy Book), this is the scripture which is used by Arabic-speaking Christians (of which there are still about 15 to 20 million in the Middle East). So that those unfamiliar with Arabic script have something to compare these images with, the first image below is a verse from the Qur'ân - which is the Muslim scripture. In the images, the Arabic word Allah is underlined in red so that it can be easily identified. Upon comparing the images, one should be able to clearly see that the word Allah appears in both the Qur'ânic and Arabic Bible images. Indeed, the word Allah appears throughout Arabic translations of the Bible, since it is simply the Arabic name for Almighty God. Insha'llah, the examples below will help quell the doubts of those who have been duped into believing that Muslims worship a different god - either by the hostile media or by Christian missionary propaganda. We hope that this serves as enough documentation for those who still have doubts about this. We could think of no other way to prove this point, except to encourage everyone to do further critical and open-minded research on their own. Please, don't forget to compare the images . . .
[Qu'ran 1:1 - English translation]
"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful."
[Qur'ân 1:1 - Arabic transliteration]
"Bismi-Allahi ar-Rahmani, ar-Raheem"
[Qur'ân 1:1 - Arabic]
[Genesis 1:1 - English Bible - King James Version]"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth . . . "
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic transliteration]
"Fee al-badi' khalaqa Allahu as-Samaawaat wa al-Ard . . . "
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic Bible]
"For God so loved the world, that . . . "
[John 3:16 - Arabic transliteration]
"Li-annhu haakadha ahabba Allahu al-'Aalama hataa badhala . . . "
[John 3:16 - Arabic Bible]
" . . . Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God."
[Luke 1:30 - Arabic transliteration]
" . . . Laa takhaafee, yaa Maryam, li-annaki qad wajadti ni'amat(an) i'nda Allahi."
[Luke 1:30 - Arabic Bible]
"the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God."
[Luke 3:38 - Arabic transliteration]
"bini Anoosha, bini Sheeti, bini Aaadama, abni Allahi."
[Luke 3:38 - Arabic Bible]
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