Waaq (also Waq or Waaqa) is the name for the sky God in several Cushitic languages, including the Oromo and Somali languages. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Waaqa (Oromo pronunciation: [waːkʼa] ) still means 'God' in the present Oromo language. [5] Other Cushitic languages where the word is still found include Konso Waaqa; Rendille Wax; Bayso Wah or Waa; Daasanach Waag; Hadiyya Waaʔa; Burji Waacʼi. [6] [7]
In the present-day Somali language, the primary name of God is now the Arabic-derived Allaah. [8] The term Waaq survives in proper names and placenames. The Somali clan Jidwaaq (meaning ‘Path of God’) have derived their name from Waaq. [9] Names of towns and villages in Somalia that involve the word Waaq include Ceelwaaq, Caabudwaaq and Barwaaqo. [10] [11]
Waaq is also a word in Arabic for protector ( واق ) and occurs in the Quran. [12] [13] Some traditions indicate Waaq to be associated with the Harari region. [14] The Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi mentions in his Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya that Waaq used to be a generic name for God, in comparison to the Turkic people’s tenets of Tengri. [15]
In Oromo and Somali culture, Waaq, Waaqa or Waaqo was the name of God in their pre-Christian and pre-Muslim monotheistic faith believed to have been adhered to by Cushitic groups. [16] It was likely brought to the Horn by speakers of the Proto-Cushitic language who arrived from North Sudan in the Neolithic era. [2] In more recent times, the usage of the term has mostly declined since the arrival of Islam and Christianity to the Horn of Africa. [17]
Chapter: Ar-Ra'd. Verses: 13:34 and 13:37.