Why is [worthy of worship] inserted into the Quran's statements that there is no God but Allah?

Question

I am not Muslim, so please excuse me if I am mistaken on any of these points. I have been reading an English translation of the Quran (I believe it is called 'the clear Quran'), and many times I have read the phrase "There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Allah" and variations on it. My understanding is that the brackets around 'worthy of worship' mean it was not directly translated from the Arabic, but an added phrase included to capture the intended meaning.

This addition, at least on its face, profoundly changes the meaning of the statement, so it seems a very important inclusion. What is the purpose or meaning of this phrase in context, and is it widely agreed upon among scholars that it is appropriate to include this qualifier?

Answer 1

In Islam, the essential belief is that there is no god other than Allah [period]. Islam is purely monotheistic, it is not monolatry or henotheism.

I would think that this translator wishes to make this an addition in brackets to say that 'god' means 'someone worthy of worship'. The addition is not important, nor do scholars consider it to be appropriate ... which you can verify by looking at the many other english translations which do not add this phrase.

Personally I dislike the 'Clear Quran' translation. Among the issues is that sometimes he inserts his own reformative interpretations into the translation, which go against established orthodox interpretations. Other translations like Saheeh International are much better.