Allah

Allah (English pronunciation: /ˈælə/, /ˈɑːlə/ or /əlˈlɑː/;Arabic: الله‎ Allāh, IPA: [ʔalˤˈlˤɑːh]) is the Arabic word for God (al ilāh, literally "the God"), referring to the God in Abrahamic religions. The word has cognates in other Semitic languages, including Elah in Aramaic, ʾĒl in Canaanite and Elohim in Hebrew.

It is now mainly used by Muslims to refer to God in Islam, but has been also used by Arab Christians since pre-Islamic times. It is also often, albeit not exclusively, used by Bábists, Bahá'ís, Indonesian and Maltese Christians, and Mizrahi Jews. Christians and Sikhs in West Malaysia also use and have used the word to refer to God. This has caused political and legal controversies there as the law in West Malaysia prohibits non-Islamic uses of the word.

Etymology

The term Allāh is derived from a contraction of the Arabic definite article al- "the" and ilāh "deity, god" to al-lāh meaning "the deity", or "the God".Cognates of the name "Allāh" exist in other Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Aramaic. The corresponding Aramaic form is Elah (אלה), but its emphatic state is Elaha (אלהא). It is written as ܐܠܗܐ (ʼĔlāhā) in Biblical Aramaic and ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ (ʼAlâhâ) in Syriac as used by the Assyrian Church, both meaning simply "God".Biblical Hebrew mostly uses the plural (but functional singular) form Elohim (אלהים), but more rarely it also uses the singular form Eloah (אלוהּ). In the Sikh scripture of Guru Granth Sahib, the term Allah (Punjabi: ਅਲਹੁ) is used 37 times.

Maher Zain

Maher Zain (Arabic: ماهر زين‎ ; born 16 July 1981) is a Muslim Swedish R&B singer, songwriter and music producer of Lebanese origin. With more Facebook fans than any other Muslim artist, award-winning singer-songwriter Maher Zain is one of the biggest stars in modern Islamic music. He released his debut album Thank You Allah, an internationally successful album produced by Awakening Records, in 2009. He released his follow-up album Forgive Me in April 2012 under the same production company.

Career

Beginnings

Maher Zain's Lebanese family emigrated to Sweden when he was eight. He completed his schooling there, gaining a bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering. After university, he entered the music industry in Sweden and linked up with RedOne, the Moroccan-born Swedish producer, in 2005. When RedOne moved to New York in 2006, Maher Zain followed soon after to continue his music industry career in the USA producing for artists such as Kat DeLuna.

On returning home to Sweden, he became engaged once more with his Islamic faith and decided to move away from a career as a music producer to become a singer/songwriter of contemporary R&B music with a strong Muslim religious influence.

Inshallah

Inshallah (Arabic: إن شاء الله‎, ʾin shāʾa llāh^u), also in sha Allah or insha'Allah, is Arabic for "God willing" or "if Allah wills". Variants of inshallah are used not only among Muslim groups, but also in Christian and Jewish groups from the Middle East, in parts of Africa, and among Portuguese and Spanish-speaking peoples.

Religious explanation

In the Quran, Muslims are told that they should never say they will do a particular thing in the future without adding insha-Allah to the statement. This usage of insha-Allah is from Islamic scripture, Surat Al Kahf (18):23-24: "And never say of anything, 'I shall do such and such thing tomorrow. Except (with the saying): 'If God wills!' And remember your Lord when you forget...'" Muslim scholar Ibn Abbas stated that it is in fact obligatory for a Muslim to say insha-Allah when referring to something he or she intends to do in the future.

Derivations

Due to the Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th to 15th century, a similar derivation from Arabic occurred: the adverbs ojalá in Spanish and oxalá in Portuguese, which mean "hopefully".

Find Us

"Find Us" (sometimes subtitled "In the Back of the Club") is the second single from Milk Me, a 2004 album by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Penalty Recordings as a CD single and 12 inch with "Hot" as its United States b-sides and "It's Nothing" as it United Kingdom b-side. The song is produced by The Beatnuts and features raps by Juju and Psycho Les, as well as a chorus sung by a young Akon. The song's lyrics are both braggadocios and sexually explicit. The song's beat is characterized by its stomp-and-clap percussion, as well as its intermittent whistling noise. The song also features live instrumentation provided by guitarist Eric Krasno and keyboardist Neal Evans.

"Find Us" was released to mainly positive critical reception: Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic considers it a "standout" song, while Tom Doggett of RapReviews.com adds that it has a "marvelous minimalist beat" and "catchy hook." Low Key of MVRemix.com describes "Find Us" as "a perfect club song for the summer" because of its "infectious handclaps." On a less positive note, Robert DeGracia of AllHipHop.com claims: "['Find Us'] is a complete eye-crosser that makes listeners struggle to make sense of what's exactly rocking around the clock."