Ilah

thumb|Gilded statuette of El (deity)|El from [[Ugarit, Father of the gods; explains the origin of the word Ilah.]]

''''''' (; plural: ') is an Arabic term meaning "god" or deity, refers to anything or anyone that is worshipped. The feminine form is ''''''' (, meaning "goddess"); with the article, it appears as ' (). The word is spelled either with an optional diacritic alif to mark the '''' only in Qur'anic texts or (more rarely) with a full alif, .