أكبر
Akbar
Topic
A divine attribute meaning the Greater: God is greater than anything that can be named or compared, as in the takbir Allahu akbar.
What it means
Akbar is the comparative of kabīr, great, and as a divine attribute it means that God is greater than all that exists and beyond every comparison. Scholars explain that no description of Him can reach His greatness. The Quran says, “The remembrance of God is greater” (29:45). The attribute gives the takbīr, Allāhu akbar, which opens the call to prayer, begins the ritual prayer and is said at the festivals. Muslims also say it at moments of joy and of difficulty, to recall that God is greater than the matter at hand.
Often misunderstood as
Allāhu akbar is often presented in English as a battle cry, whereas Muslims say it in prayer, at birth and at every occasion that recalls God’s greatness.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 44, listed as AKBAR. The definition is restated here.