Of the Pagan origins of al-Ilah and its rituals
Allah is the contraction of al-ilah (in Semitic languages it’s the name for “God”). Ilah means “God” and Allah “the God”. Al-Ilah was the dominant God in Mecca: Actually he was the Moon-God. Muhammad didn’t introduce any new God, he just proclaimed Allah the greatest of the existing ones (the Meccans didn’t accuse him to honour another God).
That the name Allah existed already, can be shown from the fact that Muhammad father’s name (who died before his birth) was actually…Abdu’llah (servant of Allah). The Kabah is called as well “Baitu’llah” (house of Allah).
The word “Allah” could be of Sanskrit origins (Allah, Akka, Amba are synonyms for Goddess/Mother), as the name “Mecca” (would mean: sacrificial fire). As a matter of fact, Hindus as well turn around their holy temples. Some of the verses pronounced by
Muhammad actually resemble the verses of Imrau’l Qais, (old Arab poet). Even some rituals are taken out from the Sabians (performed in an analogue way seven daily prayers, o/w 5 correspond to the Muslim ones).Do we have to take for granted that the Qur’an is preserved on “golden tablets”? (Q 85:21-22).
Muslims, are very sensitive when faced with their religion's Pagan origins. Many Pagan customs and practices, not directly involving the practice of idolatry, were preserved in Islam such as the Hajj, the Kaaba, Ramadan, and the five daily prayers. M attempted to place a monotheistic veneer over these Pagan practices and presented these items as if they belonged to some "long lost" Abrahamique traditions of Judaism and Christianity. It seems that Muhammad's god is a repackaged version of Pagan deities. Ar-Rahman was a Pagan god that was worshipped in southern Arabia. When Muhammad told the Meccans to bow to Rahman, the people did not recognize this deity as the God of the Chris and the Jews.