Calling Allah ‘God’ Is Allowed

Can we call “Allah – الله ” “God” or “Khoda” – in other languages?

Yes – there is no problem with this.

1- Ibn al-Humaam al-Hanafi said 500 years ago:
ولو قال بالفارسية سوكند ميخورم بخداي يكون يمينا
“If he says in Persian: “I swear by KHODA (GOD)”, this is an oath by Allah.”
[“Fath al-Qadeer”, 5/76].

2- Ibn Taymiyah Hanbali said:
كذلك الرب سبحانه يوصف بالعربية ( الله الرحمن الرحيم وبالفارسية خداي بزرك وبالتركية سركوي ) ونحو ذلك وهو سبحانه واحد والتسمية الدالة عليه تكثر
“The Lord, may He be glorified, may be referred to in Arabic as “Allah”, “ar-Rahmaan” (the Most Gracious), “ar-Raheem” (the Most Merciful), and in Persian as “KHODA” (GOD) and in Turkish etc, but He, may He be glorified, is One, and there are many ways to refer to Him.”
[“Fataawa al-Kubra”, 6/568].

3- Ibn Hazm al-Dhahiri said:
لا يمين إلا بالله عز وجل ، إما باسم من أسمائه تعالى أو بما يُخبَر به عن الله تعالى ولا يراد به غيره ، مثل : مقلب القلوب ، ووارث الأرض وما عليها ، الذي نفسي بيده ، رب العالمين ، وما كان من هذا النحو ، ويكون ذلك بجميع اللغات
“There is no (valid) oath except one that is sworn by Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, either by one of His names or by one of the attributes that He has told us of, and not referring to anyone other than Him, such as the Controller of the hearts, the Inheritor of the earth and everything on it, the One in Whose hand is my soul, the Lord of the Worlds, and so on. THAT MAY BE SAID IN ALL LANGUAGES.”
[“Al-Muhalla”, 8/30].

It has to be a beautiful Name and a Name of God, not the name of false deities. So we cannot call God “krishna” or “laat” and “uzza” etc.

But “God” is fine. It is especially recommended to use “God” when talking to people in their languages, so that they do not think “Allah” is the name of some false deity or something.

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Many scholars said that even if a convert proclaims the testimony of faith in other than Arabic, he/she enters into Islam, for example:

4- Imaam al-Maawardi ash-Shafi’ii said
والمقصود بالشهادتين الإخبار عن التصديق بالقلب ، وهذا المعنى يستوي فيه لفظ الفارسية والعربية
“The purpose of the ‘shahadatayn’ is to proclaim what is in the heart. That can be done in either Persian or Arabic.”
[“Al-Hawi al-Kabir”, 3/97].

5- Imam Nawawi ash-Shafi’ii said:
جاء في شرح النووي لصحيح مسلم: أما إذا أقر بالشهادتين بالعجمية – وهو يحسن العربية – فهل يجعل بذلك مسلمًا؟ فيه وجهان لأصحابنا: الصحيح منهما: أنه يصير مسلمًا؛ لوجود الإقرار, وهذا الوجه هو الحق, ولا يظهر للآخر وجه, وقد بينت ذلك مستقصى في شرح المهذب, والله أعلم
“And if he proclaims the testimony of faith in other than Arabic while he can speak Arabic, will that person enter Islam?
There are two opinions on this among our companions, the correct one being that this person becomes a Muslim.”
[“Sharh al-Nawawi ‘ala Muslim”, 1/69].

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To take it even a step further:

Imam Abu Hanifah held the view that even the PRAYER can be done in Persian.

6- Imam Al-Shaybani said:
وقال أبو حنيفة إن افتتح الصلاة بالفارسية وقرأ بها وهو يحسن العربية أجزاه وقال أبو يوسف ومحمد لا يجزيه إلا أن يكون لا يحسن العربية
“Abu Hanifa said: If the opening of the prayer, or recitation, is said in Farsi, and the (person) is proficient in Arabic, then (the prayer) is valid. And Abu Yusuf and Muhammad said: “That is not permissible unless he is not proficient in Arabic.”
[“Al-Mabsoot”, 1/5].

But Imam Abu Hanifah took this opinion back, and the 4 madhabs agreed that the prayer has to be done in Arabic.

7- Imam al-Kaasani Hanafi said:
وعلى هذا الخلاف إذا تشهد أو خطب يوم الجمعة بالفارسية ولو أمن بالفارسية أو سمى عند الذبح بالفارسية أو لبى عند الاحرام بالفارسية أو باي لسان كان يجوز بالاجماع
“And if (someone) says the tashahhud, or the khutba on the day of jumah in Farsi, or performs a ritual sacrifice (dhabiha), or responds (says labbayk) while in ihram in Farsi, or any language, then it is permissible by consensus.”
[“Bada’i’ al-Sana’i’, 1/113].

It is good if the Friday Khutbah is done in a local language, so that people understand it.
What is the point in giving a Khutbah speech in Arabic, in a village, where people don’t understand any of it?
The purpose of the Khutbah was to inform people of the problems facing them, reminding them to get back to God etc.
If they don’t understand it, there is no point.

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Arabic is a beautiful language, but so are other languages.

The diversity in our languages is a Signs of God:

The Qur’an states:
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالِمِين
“And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, AND THE DIVERSITY OF YOUR LANGUAGES and your colors. These are signs for those who know.” [Qur’an 30:22].

And:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ
“Each messenger We have sent has spoken in the language of his own people, so that he might make the message clear to them.” [Qur’an 14:4].

And Ibn Hazm said:
وقد قال قوم: العربية أفضل اللغات لأنه بها كلام الله تعالى
قال علي: وهذا لا معنى له، لان الله عز وجل قد أخبرنا أنه لم يرسل رسولا إلا بلسان قومه. وقال تعالى: * (إني إذا لفي ضلال مبين) * وقال تعالى: * (وإنه لفي زبر الأولين) * فبكل لغة قد نزل كلام الله تعالى ووحيه. وقد أنزل التوراة والإنجيل والزبور، وكلم موسى عليه السلام بالعبرانية، وأنزل الصحف على إبراهيم عليه السلام بالسريانية، فتساوت اللغات في هذا تساويا واحدا
“Some people said: Arabic is the best language because God spoke with it (i.e. the Qur’an).
This makes no sense, because God has explained to us that He has not sent any Messenger except in the language of His people.
So God has spoken and revealed in different languages.
He revealed the Tawrat, the Injil and the Zaboor.
God spoke to Moses in Hebrew, and to Abraham in Syriac.
So languages ​​are equivalent from this perspective. ”
[“Al-Ihkaam”, 1/32].