Translate This Page.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

QUR’AN USES ‘WE’ FOR ALLAH

Question:
Does Islam believe in several gods because the Qur’an uses the word ‘We’ when God speaks in the Qur’an?

Answer:
Islam is a strictly monotheistic religion. It believes in and adheres to uncompromising monotheism. It believes that God is one, and unique in His attributes. In the Qur’an, God often refers to Himself using the word ‘We’. But this does not mean that Islam believes in the existence of more than one God.
Two types of plural
In several languages, there are two types of plurals, one is a plural of numbers to refer to something that occurs in a quantity of more than one. The other plural is a plural of respect.
a.   In the English language, the Queen of England refers to herself as ‘We’ instead of ‘I’. This is known as the ‘royal plural’.

b.  
Rajiv Gandhi, the ex-Prime Minister of India used to say in Hindi "Hum dekhna chahte hain". "We want to see." ‘Hum’ means ‘We’ which is again a royal plural in Hindi.

c.  Similarly in Arabic, when Allah refers to Himself in the Qur’an, He often uses Arabic word'Nahnu' meaning ‘We’. It does not indicate plural of number but plural of respect.
Tawheed or monotheism is one of the pillars of Islam. The existence and uniqueness of one and only one God is mentioned several times in the Qur’an. For instance in Surah Ikhlas, it says:
"Say He is Allah the One and Only." [Al-Qur’an 112: 1]

10 comments:

  1. a good quesion and nice explaination

    ReplyDelete
  2. If The Question is from A Muslim. Then shame on him he should consider the status of his EMAAN. And If from a non Muslim then A perfect Answer

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am very pleased today, cos this question has always been on my mind and i am soo greaful to Allah for granting me knowledge through Sheik Naik

    ReplyDelete
  4. One of the opinions of ibn katheer which I found to be beautiful is that "we" refers to Allah and his angels

    ReplyDelete
  5. Superb Answer..!! Jazak Allah Khair..!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. even if the question was from a Muslim, you dont know his intentions. So dont judge over his eemaan. He might want to know the answer if a non muslim asks him. Allh knows best

    ReplyDelete
  7. MASHA ALLAH,. JASAHA KUMUL LAAHU KHAIRAN

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mashallah brother, very intelligently described. May Allah reward you ...

    ReplyDelete