The etymology of the word Allāh have been discussed extensively by classical Arab philologists . Grammarians of the Basra school regarded is as either formed " spontaneously " ( murtajal ) or as the definite form of lāh ( from the verbal root lyh with the meaning of " lofty " or " hidden " ) . Others held that it was borrowed from Syriac or Hebrew , but most considered it to be derived from a contraction of the Arabic definite article al- " the " and ilāh " deity , god " to al @-@ lāh meaning " the deity " , or " the God " . The majority of modern scholars subscribe to the latter theory , and view the loanword hypothesis with skepticism .