Abdul Hadi: 'Allah' cannot be translated to 'God'

Pas President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang today said that there was no dispute among PAS leaders concerning the use of the word 'Allah' in the Bible as reported in the media.

He said the word 'Allah' could not be translated to 'God' as the definition of god was too generic.

"For the Muslims, we translate 'Allah' as 'Allah' in the Malay language, the Pakistanis who speaks Urdu will also translate 'Allah' as 'Allah'.

"Would the English-speaking Christians who converted to Islam translate 'Allah' to God or Lord? No, it's still 'Allah'. If the word 'Allah' cannot be translated to other language, then how can the word 'God' be translated to 'Allah'?

"The word 'God' cannot be translated to 'Allah' because 'Allah' has been used in Urdu, Parsian and even English. For Muslims, we will translate God as 'Tuhan', a generic term, because 'Allah' is a specific word."

He said this when launching the republished book titled 'Amanat Haji Hadi: Antara Fitnah dan Fakta' (Hadi's Message: Between Defamatory and Facts) at Rusila Mosque, here on Friday.

When asked whether the opposition pact would defend the use of the word 'Allah' in the Bible should it succeed to form the government after the general election, Abdul Hadi said: "Let's form the government first."

Meanwhile, he said that he would continue to defend his message made in 1981 and would also continue to give explanation to Muslims by republishing the book, which was first published in 2002.

The content of the book is maintained except for spelling errors, he said, adding that the 74-page book was priced at RM10 each.