Usage of "we" in al Qur'an
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I thought it was the royal "we", too. In QXP Dr. Shabbir Ahmed says it may refer to God and His Angels (the forces in nature), or that it may be to emphasize God's unique nature and help humans grasp his separateness. That's the only alternate explanation I've come across, though, so I'm still curious.
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Ibn Kathir uses 'we' to refer to the angels only, as in the following
(And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.) means, His angels are nearer to man than his jugular vein. Those who explained
We' in the Ayah to meanOur knowledge,' have done so to avoid falling into the idea of incarnation or indwelling; but these two creeds are false according to the consensus of Muslims. Allah is praised and glorified, He is far hallowed beyond what they ascribe to Him. The words of this Ayah do not need this explanation (thatWe' refers toAllah's knowledge', for Allah did not say, `and I am closer to him than his jugular vein.' Rather, He said,(And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. ) just as He said in the case of dying persons,
(But We are nearer to him than you, but you see not.) (5685), in reference to His angels (who take the souls). Allah the Exalted the Blessed said,
(Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr and surely, We will guard it.) (159) Therefore, the angels brought down the revelation, the Qur'an, by the leave of Allah, the Exalted, the Most Honored. Thus, the angels are closer to man than his own jugular vein, by the power and leave of Allah. Consequently, the angel touches mankind, just as the devil touches them, for the devil is as close to them as the blood that runs in their veins; just as Allah's Prophet , who is truthful and was told the truth, told us.
http//www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1730&Itemid=106Here it is assumed that any nearness of Allah to his creation is blasphemy.
Of course, heaven forbid that 'we' might collectively refer to both Allah (who is outside of all creation) and the Light of Allah (which shines inside the same creation), even though Allah is one and indivisible ...Richard
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Royal ''We''!
Allah has no partners. Why would He mention anything beside Him when refering to Himself? Even angels. Aren't there verses.where Allah mentions the angels and Himself separately? And are there verses where Allah refers to himself as 'I' instead?
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That's an interesting point, but why use "we" instead of "they" if it refers to the angels alone? I don't know any Arabic at all, so is it possible that the two are interchangeable?
As far as my Arabic goes, no they are not interchangeable. Allah knows best. Good point.
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Peace,
I used to understand "we" and "our" and "us" as referring to God and His angels, but I could never reconcile this understanding with the following verses
2189 And Zachariah when he called out to his Lord ?My Lord, do not leave me without an heir, and You are the best inheritor.?
2190 So We responded to him, and We granted him John, and We cured his wife. They used to hasten to do good, and they would call to Us in joy and in fear. And of Us they were reverent.
Righteous servants of God such as Zachariah and his wife would not call on other than the Lord. I think the "royal we" makes more sense than any other interpretation as it fits all verses consistently.
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I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that the "We" and "Us" are referring to God's infinite power and because it also has the meaning of a "single" person (God). Such as a king refering to himself as "we".
However, I am also interested in a better explanation.
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Ok indeed I did find a verse where Allah addresses himself with "I" instead of "We". Personally though I think He might have done so to prevent confusion on our part, lest we think there is something polytheistic about it
"I am God; there is no other god beside Me; you shall worship Me alone, and observe the Salaah (Prayers) to remember ME."
(Qur?an, 2014)
Imagine if Allah used "We" instead of "I" here. Would have been quite tricky! D . A contradiction.
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I have not studied this theroughly but I did read somewhere that the use of different pronouns referring to God may be a way to point that we cannot determine Him, not even with numbers, because He is bellond any subjection to any human concept. Since humans communicate in languages, it is a way to say, yes, do not attempt to put Me into any thought box.
Salaam
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Salaam,
I, Me, My... refers to Allah alone always in alQuraan as in 2012-14.
We, us... refers to those who holds authority given by Allah as in 197, 199, 1964 and many more aayaat.
InshaAllah, I will share my understanding on it in detail later.
May Allah increase our knowledge and guide us on His path pr
mmKhan -
Some very interesting comment here! )
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We is the system that moves as per His WILL.
Thiis is the correct perception as far as I am aware.
'We' is the set of forces that execute Tao/Sunnatullah (The Way of God). If humans wish to include themselves in We, then so be it. If not, then you are either with Us or against Us.
Here is your answer, straight from God
037.164
YUSUFALI (Those ranged in ranks say) "Not one of us but has a place appointed;
PICKTHAL There is not one of us but hath his known position.
SHAKIR And there is none of us but has an assigned place,037.165
YUSUFALI "And we are verily ranged in ranks (for service);
PICKTHAL Lo! we, even we are they who set the ranks,
SHAKIR And most surely we are they who draw themselves out in ranks,037.166
YUSUFALI "And we are verily those who declare (Allah's) glory!"
PICKTHAL Lo! we, even we are they who hymn His praise
SHAKIR And we are most surely they who declare the glory (of Allah). -
Thiis is the correct perception as far as I am aware.
'We' is the set of forces that execute Tao/Sunnatullah (The Way of God). If humans wish to include themselves in We, then so be it. If not, then you are either with Us or against Us.
Here is your answer, straight from God
037.164
YUSUFALI (Those ranged in ranks say) "Not one of us but has a place appointed;
PICKTHAL There is not one of us but hath his known position.
SHAKIR And there is none of us but has an assigned place,037.165
YUSUFALI "And we are verily ranged in ranks (for service);
PICKTHAL Lo! we, even we are they who set the ranks,
SHAKIR And most surely we are they who draw themselves out in ranks,037.166
YUSUFALI "And we are verily those who declare (Allah's) glory!"
PICKTHAL Lo! we, even we are they who hymn His praise
SHAKIR And we are most surely they who declare the glory (of Allah).Salaam,
Did not understand what you meant with the red.
2116 And We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them for entertainment.
Salaam,
Bender -
Peace Bender,
The collective in the quran known as "Us", you are either with that collective or against that collective. It's as simple as that.
"We" is very varied in usage, do not take it as just one uniform word. It might mean God alone in one usage but another verse it can mean the collective as stated above. Typically when God speaks as absolutely alone, He uses "I", in fact people have it the wrong way round.
In the quran, God uses the royal "I" not "We". "We" is informal, but when God says "I", then you KNOW that verse means business, it's always in the context of God laying down the law and asserting Supreme Dominion.
When "We" is used, it can be in many ways such as "We sent Our messengers", "We visited them with a punishment" in which case "We" also refers clearly to the forces that execute that punishment, etc. When reading the quran one can never switch their brain off; if your brain is switched off you are not reading the quran but merely your own idea of what the quran is.
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Peace Bender,
The collective in the quran known as "Us", you are either with that collective or against that collective. It's as simple as that.
"We" is very varied in usage, do not take it as just one uniform word. It might mean God alone in one usage but another verse it can mean the collective as stated above. Typically when God speaks as absolutely alone, He uses "I", in fact people have it the wrong way round.
In the quran, God uses the royal "I" not "We". "We" is informal, but when God says "I", then you KNOW that verse means business, it's always in the context of God laying down the law and asserting Supreme Dominion.
When "We" is used, it can be in many ways such as "We sent Our messengers", "We visited them with a punishment" in which case "We" also refers clearly to the forces that execute that punishment, etc. When reading the quran one can never switch their brain off; if your brain is switched off you are not reading the quran but merely your own idea of what the quran is.
Salaam,
Thanks for yout answer.
Can you please give 1 verse were you think the "We" can include humans?Salaam,
Bender -
Peace.
What about the usage of the word "allahumma" (which is the Arabic equivalent to the Hebrew word "eloheem"/the gods) in the Qur'aan? Doesn't this also imply a type of plurality? And, if we ascribe this to the 'royal we' concept, then it would imply that God is addressing a heavenly audience, or his "royal courts", possibly even implying that his angels have a hand in his works as well. It all depends on interpretation.
Peace,
Ahmad
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Salaam,
Thanks for yout answer.
Can you please give 1 verse were you think the "We" can include humans?Salaam,
BenderAll those verses for instance where God may punish people using other humans as an instrument; but in truth, the only clear cut verse I know is the one quoted above - 37164.
Normally when it comes to questions like this I would be able to do a quick search and rack off verse after verse but you try searching for usage of "We" in the quran P. I'll have to do some reading in any case so I shall get back to you God willing.As Ahmed Bilal says in any case; that 'We' refers to the higher forces incl. God who cause natural phenomena to occur.