{"id":3168,"date":"2013-12-04T07:28:20","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T07:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=3168"},"modified":"2013-12-04T07:28:20","modified_gmt":"2013-12-04T07:28:20","slug":"the-meaning-of-the-pronoun-we-as-used-in-the-quran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2013\/12\/04\/3168\/","title":{"rendered":"The meaning of the pronoun \u201cWe\u201d as used in the Qur\u2019an"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"images\/stories\/quranhadith\/quran.jpg\" border=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin: 5px;\" \/>It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronoun<em> nahnu<\/em> (we) for respect or glorification. He may also use the word ana (I), indicating one person, or the third person <em>huwa<\/em> (he). All three styles are used in the Qur\u2019an, where Allaah addresses the Arabs in their own tongue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <!--more-->  <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(<em>Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa\u2019imah<\/em>, 4\/143).<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cAllaah, may He be glorified and exalted, sometimes refers to Himself in the singular, by name or by use of a pronoun, and sometimes by use of the plural, as in the phrase (interpretation of the meaning): \u2018Verily, We have given you a manifest victory\u201d [al-Fath 48:1], and other similar phrases. But Allaah never refers to Himself by use of the dual, because the plural refers to the respect that He deserves, and may refer to His names and attributes, whereas the dual refers to a specific number (and nothing else), and He is far above that.\u201d (<em>Al-\u2018Aqeedah al-Tadmuriyyah<\/em> by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, p. 75).<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These words, innaa (\u201cVerily We\u201d) and nahnu (\u201cWe\u201d), and other forms of the plural, may be used by one person speaking on behalf of a group, or they may be used by one person for purposes of respect or glorification, as is done by some monarchs when they issue statements or decrees in which they say \u201cWe have decided\u2026\u201d etc. [This is known in English as \u201cThe Royal We\u201d \u2013 Translator]. In such cases, only one person is speaking but the plural is used for respect. The One Who is more deserving of respect than any other is Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, so when He says in the Qur\u2019an innaa (\u201cVerily We\u201d) and nahnu (\u201cWe\u201d), it is for respect and glorification, not to indicate plurality of numbers. If an aayah of this type is causing confusion, it is essential to refer to the clear, unambiguous aayaat for clarification, and if a Christian, for example, insists on taking ayaat such as \u201cVerily, We: it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e., the Qur\u2019an)\u201d [al-Hijr 15:9 \u2013 interpretation of the meaning] as proof of divine plurality, we may refute this claim by quoting such clear and unambiguous aayaat as (interpretation of the meanings): \u201cAnd your god is One God, there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful\u201d [al-Baqarah 2:163] and \u201cSay: He is Allaah, the One\u201d [al-Ikhlaas 112:1] \u2013 and other aayaat which can only be interpreted in one way. Thus confusion will be dispelled for the one who is seeking the truth. Every time Allaah uses the plural to refer to Himself, it is based on the respect and honour that He deserves, and on the great number of His names and attributes, and on the great number of His troops and angels.\u201d (Reference:Al-\u2018Aqeedah al-Tadmuriyyah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, p. 109). And Allaah knows best.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Islam Q&amp;A<\/strong> <\/em><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronoun nahnu (we) for respect or glorification. He may also use the word ana (I), indicating one person, or the third person huwa (he). All three styles are used in the Qur\u2019an, where Allaah addresses the Arabs [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c85-al-quran"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The meaning of the pronoun \u201cWe\u201d as used in the Qur\u2019an - SunniOnline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2013\/12\/04\/3168\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The meaning of the pronoun \u201cWe\u201d as used in the Qur\u2019an - SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronoun nahnu (we) for respect or glorification. 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