๐๐ก๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ โ๐๐โ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง- ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR
๐
๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ: ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ซ
1- God speaks in the singular mode (I) or (He) to assert His absolute Oneness. The use of the singular is evident in such verses where the stress is on worshipping God alone and thus the emphasis on the Oneness of God is paramount.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ:
God bears witness that there is no god except Him. Quran 3:18
I am God, there is no god except Me, therefore you shall worship Me and observe the Salat to commemorate Me. Quran 20:14
This is Me, God, Lord of the worlds. Quran 28:30
Such verses relate directly to the Oneness of God, as a result, we will not find any verses which speak of the Oneness of God or of worshipping God alone that employ the plural WE.
2- We also note that verses which speak of Godโs attributes and Godโs beautiful names are always phrased in the singular.
๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐๐:
Inform My servants that it is indeed I who is the Ghafoor (Forgiver), the Raheem (Merciful). Quran 15:49
God will suffice you against them; He is the Samee (Hearer), the Aleem (Knowledgeable). Quran 2:137
He is Qahir (Supreme) over His servants. He is the Hakeem (Wise), the Khabeer (All-Aware). Quran 6:18
To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and what is in them; He is Qadeer (Capable) of all things. Quran 5:120
This is a proclamation for the people so that they may be warned with it, and for them to know that He is but Wahid (One) God, and for those who possess intelligence to take heed. Quran 14:52
๐๐๐๐จ๐ง๐: ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ
In contrast, we find Quranic verses where God uses the plural (We) and (Us) to refer to Himself. This use of the plural is employed to express specific purposes.
1- One of the names of God used in the Quran is the name Al-Wasei which translates to The Vast or the Immense (see Quran 2:247, 2:261, 24:32). As a result, the plural is used to portray the grandeur and vastness of God.
– The subject in Quran 51:47 is the creation of the universe.
We read that God has created it with might and also that despite its enormous size God is expanding it continuously:
And the universe, We constructed it with might, and We are expanding it. Quran 51:47
The plurality here is not one of the multiple gods but of the vastness of God and of Godโs creation. This is in line with Godโs name Al-Wasei.
๐- ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฒ๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ.
We have sent messengers before you to their people, and they came to them with clear proofs. Then We took revenge on those who committed crimes, and it is incumbent upon Us to support the believers. 30:47
๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐:๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐:
a- Messengers sent by God to guide the people.
b- The punishment God inflicts on the criminals.
c- The victory granted by God to the believers.
The three acts mentioned are not acts which take place between two equals, but they are all acts that are executed by a Supreme God to His servants. The plural here denotes the Royal and Majestic nature of these acts.
This is not any different from the use of the plural when a King issues a decree. This would be worded as: “We have decreed.”.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐, ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง, ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ.
– In Quran 11:94 we witness the use of the plural to denote Majesty once again when the subject is a divine decree issued by God:
When Our command was issued, We saved Shu`aib and those who believed with him by mercy from Us. Quran 11:94
A command issued by God is a majestic command, thus the word โWeโ is once again appropriate to denote Majesty.
The use of the plural is employed in the same manner in Quran 11:40, 11:58 and 11:66.
– In 16:40 we witness the use of the plural to denote Godโs supreme majestic power and authority whenever God wishes for anything to come into existence:
Our word to anything We desire is merely to say to it, “Be” and it is. Quran 16:40
๐๐ก๐ข๐ซ๐: ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐โ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐
The following glorious Quranic words speak of Godโs greatness and how it can never be comprehended by the human being:
They did not value God according to His true worth. Quran 39: 67
It is not possible for our limited brains to comprehend God’s greatness. All we are able to do is to contemplate and marvel at His immense creation. By so doing, we get a mere glimpse of His greatness.
The greatness of God is of such immense incomprehensible proportions that it even poses problems to the language which we speak. Our language is limited by a finite vocabulary which can convey a limited number of recognised meanings which we are familiar with.
In concept, it is not possible to have words in any language which are able to describe matters that are beyond the understanding of the human reader of the language in the first place. It follows that there can never be any words in any language spoken by humans that are able to accurately or, adequately refer to God.
The inefficiency of the human language is also a reason behind the allegorical descriptions of Paradise and Hell in the Quran. There are simply no words accurate enough to describe what Paradise and Hell are really like, hence the use of allegory.
The singular (He) may adequately convey the fact that God is One. However, the singular represents that which is finite and thus is inappropriate to refer to God.
The plural (We) may offset the limitations of the singular (He) but is also problematic since the word (We) could be interpreted as a multiplicity of single entities rather than the infinite attribute.
Basically, any human language is limited between the ‘he’ and the ‘we’ for the speaker in the first person, but does not have a word to be used in the first person if the infinite is the speaker (so to speak)!
As a result, we find God alternating between the two words (He and We) perhaps to convey to us the fact that neither word is accurately representative since God is far greater than to be represented by any single word of any language.
This alternation between two alternatives (He and We), when neither is accurately representative, is not any different from the manner in which God employs the present tense, the past tense and the future tense when speaking about the same event.
As an example, God speaks in the Quran in the past tense about various events which are future events from our point of view, such as the end of the world or events on the Day of Judgement. The following are some examples of Quranic verses which speak about various events on the Day of Judgement:
The heaven was opened and became gateways. Quran 78:19
And the mountains were moved and became mirages. Quran 78:20
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๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ญ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐. ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐!
1- God is not subject to the concept of ‘Time’, which is no more than one of His creations. God is making this truth known to us through the deliberate use of the past tense in such verses.
2- Events that will take place on the Day of Judgement lie outside the physical universe we live in.Time is only a dimension of our physical universe
That being said, we also read about the same events, taking place on the Day of Judgement, spoken of in the present tense and also in the future tense.
They recline (present tense) therein on couches, never encountering scorching heat nor bitter cold. Quran 76:13
Silver vessels will be passed (future tense) around them as well as cups made of crystal, crystal of silver, which they determined its measure precisely. Quran 76:15-16
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐?
This alternation between the tenses is not a grammatical error, but a declaration from God that none of the 3 tenses are applicable in an existence where there is no such thing as ‘Time’.
The alternation between the (I) and the (We) is for the same reason. Neither of these words adequately describes God.
It is worth mentioning that a number of translators of the Quran used the future tense when translating such verses as 78:19-20. This is incorrect for two reasons:
1- By changing the tense from the past tense of the Quranic words to the future tense in the translation they are indirectly implying that God made grammatical mistakes, which they are amending!
2- By changing the tense, they failed to understand the reason behind God’s deliberate use of the past tense and thus, they have deprived the reader of the scientific content of such verses.
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๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก: ๐๐ก๐ฒ “๐๐” ๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ?
1- Most importantly, the rule of not associating anyone with God deems it inappropriate that God in His Majesty would speak collectively of Himself together with the angels, or any others besides Him.
๐๐๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐:
a- The name of the King is Richard, and the name of his servant is also Richard.
b- The name of the King and his servant is Richard.
Out of respect, sentence (b) is inappropriate because it refers to the “King” and his “servant” collectively.
๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐?
2- In principle, there can be no jobs that are carried out by God and the angels collectively. The angels are commissioned by God to carry out His commands. The notion that God would join them in executing a command is insulting to His Majesty, for it would imply that God on His own is not able to carry out the work and thus He is accompanied by the angels.
3- We are told in the Quran that when God wills any matter, He only says “Be” and it is (see Quran 16:40 above). In contrast, the angels do not possess that kind of authority. When they are commissioned to carry out a job, they work through the motions to execute that job.
If God merely says “Be” and it is, it would be hard to find justification for the angels to be part of any job with God, for that would mean that God would have to go at the pace of the angels in executing a job and not at the instantaneous attribute of “Be” and it is.
๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ โ๐๐จ๐ฒ๐๐ฅ ๐๐โ (๐๐, ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ฎ๐ซ) ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง. ๐๐จ๐ฒ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ (๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ) ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐๐ฑ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐.
