Allah: A Psychospiritual Contemplation On His Name

by Mohamed Hatta Shaharom

Perhaps, the most popular word which means God that is repeated at any moment in time is the word Allah. Daily, this Arabic Name of God is being mentioned countless of times by more than a billion people coming from various ethnic groups and religions.

Allah is the Arabic word for “the God” and is derived from an old Semitic word. Among the Canaanites, God was known as El. This name is preserved in Hebrew names as Isra-El, Beth-El and Ishma-El. Most Arabic-speaking Eastern Christian and Jewish communities living in Muslim countries use the name Allah for God. The word Allah has entered numerous other languages of the world, regardless of whether the majority of their speakers are Muslims (like the Malaysian and Indonesian languages) or not (like the Spanish and Portuguese languages).

To the ears of the Believer, the Names of the Attributes of Allah are beautiful when recited aloud or otherwise. Even when they are being mentioned in silent manner, they have a soothing sound to the reciter. When written in calligraphic form, these Names become among the most beautiful of Islamic art forms.



Objectives of the

The book is written with four objectives in

* It is meant to be an introduction to knowing Allah s.w.t and His relationship with His creation.
* The author’s collections of photos are meant not only to add colour to an otherwise serious book but also help in the contemplation of the Creator and His creation.
* The author hope, by reading the book, the reader can relate his/her life experience to the existence of God.
* The author hope the book can help strengthen the fibre of faith in mind and emotion of the Muslim reader, while it is also hope that the non-Muslim reader can better understand the love and awe that the Muslim had towards his/her Maker.

The content of the

* The One and Only God
* Names of Beautiful and Glorious
* Proof of Understanding the Signs of God
* The Beloved of Prophets and Messengers of God
* Slaves of Servants of God
* Books of Scriptures of God
* Angels of Spiritual Beings of God
* Judgment of The Hour, Destiny and the hereafter
* Healing of Guidance and Mercy of God

198 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Born in 1952CE / 1371H, the author studied at Sekolah Dato' Jaafar, in his hometown Johor Bharu, before continuing his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, Malaysia. After studying medicine at Egypt's Cairo University and psychiatry at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia - UKM), he obtained the Diploma of Islamic Thought from the institute of Islamic Sciences, Malaysia. He was later trained in forensic psychiatry at Monash University, Australia.

He was Editor, Malaysian Journal of Psychiatry, President, the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM) and Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia (Reform Society of Malaysia- JIM), and leader of MERCY Malaysia's Afghanistan, Iran Aceh, Indonesia disaster relief missions. He was Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry and a Senate member of UKM, before becoming Senior Vice President (Academic) and Founding Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, Malaysia. He is Fellow, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia and Senior Fellow, Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists. The author and his doctor wife has six children and six grandchildren. His latedt writings which range from topics on psychitry to socio-religious and humanitarian issues are:

*Sorrow Behind the Smiles: Disaster Relief in Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iran. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2006.

*Tsunami... Grief Beyond Tears: Notes on a Humanitarian Journey in Aceh, Indonesia and North Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2006.

*7-Day Stress Relief Plan. Kuala Lumpur: CERT Publications, 2007.

*Etika Perubatan Islam dan Isu-isu Psikiatri (Islamic Medical Ethics and Psychiatric Issues). Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2008.

(CERT Publications, 2009)