We explain what is allahu akbar and what are the different meanings of this term. Also, how is your pronunciation?
What is Allahu Akbar?
Allahu Akbar is an 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 literally translates as “God is the greatest” and is made up of Allahu, nominative of the Islamic god (Allah) and the superlative of kabir (adjective for large): ack bar. This is the first sentence of the Islamic call to prayer (adhan) pronounced by the muezzin or muezzin, responsible in a mosque for summoning prayer. It is also used in prayer to separate the stages of the rite and to indicate the formal beginning of it.
The phrase allahu akbar appears in numerous symbols of the Muslim Arab world, such as the calligraphic 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 Pashtunistan flag. . The anthem of Libya is also called just like that. Likewise, it was printed on the flag and emblem used by the Pakistani (Waziristan) resistance against British colonization in 1930, so that a certain nationalist or culturalist significance can be attributed to it.
Finally, this sentence became sadly famous when it was used as a cry of war by the terrorist agents of international extremist groups such as Al Qaeda or, particularly, the self-proclaimed Islamic State (EI, ISIS or Daesh). These groups were responsible for numerous attacks against innocent civilians in various nations of the East and West.
How is your pronunciation?
The phrase allahu akbar is pronounced alaju acbar, using equivalents of the Hispanic alphabet. The double ele is pronounced as one, the ax is aspirated and the emphasis falls on the stressed syllables in the transcription.