Monday, December 20, 2010

Word 'we' refer to what in Quran?

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

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.
In several languages such as English, Hindi, Arabic or Hebrew, there are two types of plurals,

1-plural of  numbers to refer to something that occurs in a quantity of more than one. 


2-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. Such as:

1-Al-Quran mention:

And kill not your children for fear of poverty. We shall provide for them as
well as for you. Surely, the killing of them is a great sin.
(Surah Al-isra' 17 : 31)

2-Al-Quran mention: 

And enjoin Salah on your family, and be patient in offering them. We ask not of  you a provision: We provide for you. And the good end is for those who have Taqwa.
(Surah Taha 20 : 132)

That is why the Arab Christian never question the word We in the Quran, it is because they know their language, it is not plural of number; but it is a plural of respect. 
 
3-Al-Quran mention: 
 
"Say He is Allah the One and Only."
(Surah al-ikhlas 112 : 1)

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