We explain what Allahu Akbar is and what the different meanings of this term are. Also, what is its pronunciation?
What is Allahu Akbar?
Allahu akbar is a expression of faith belonging to the Islamic religion often found in mosque inscriptions and prayer books, but also used as an informal exclamation of surprise, joy or approval. It also has the equivalent expressions takbir either tekbir.
The phrase It literally translates as “God is the greatest.” and is composed of Allähunominative of the Islamic god (Allah) and the superlative of Kabir (adjective for large): ackbar. This is the first phrase of the Islamic call to prayer (adhan) pronounced by the muezzin or muezzin, responsible in a mosque for calling for prayer. It is also used in prayer to separate the stages of the rite and to indicate its formal beginning.
The phrase Allahu Akbar appears in numerous symbols of the Arab Muslim world such as the calligraphed medallions of the Reina Sofía temple in Istanbul, or the flags of the nations of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and in one of the variants of the flag of Pashtunistan. The Libyan anthem is also called precisely that. Likewise, it was printed on the flag and emblem used by the Pakistani resistance (Waziristan) against British colonization in 1930, so that a certain nationalist or culturalist significance can be attributed to it.
Finally, this sentence was sadly made famous for being used as a war cry by terrorist agents of international extremist groups such as Al Qaeda or, particularly, the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, ISIS or Daesh). These groups were responsible for numerous attacks against innocent civilians in various nations in the East and West.
See also: Carpe Diem
How is your pronunciation?
The phrase Allahu Akbar is pronounced aláju acbár, using equivalents of the Hispanic alphabet. The double l is pronounced as one, the ax is aspirated and the emphasis falls on the stressed syllables in the transcription.
