Peace080 – Why is Allah in plural form in the Qur’an, whereas God is in singular form in the Old Testament?

Question

In numerous instances in the Qur’an, Allah speaks in first person, plural, such as in 49:13 (translated to English by Shakir): “O you men! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty); surely Allah is Knowing, Aware.”

Here are some more examples which came from part of the second book only wherein Allah is plural:
2:3 – We have given them …
2:23 – We have revealed …
2:34 – We said to the angels …
2:35 - We said: O Adam!
2:36 – We said: Get forth …
2:38 – We said: Go forth from this all.
2:49 – We delivered you from Firon’s (Pharaoh’s) people.
2:50 – We parted the sea for you.
2:51 – We appointed a time of forty nights with Musa (Moses).
2:52 – We did forgive you.
2:53 – We gave Musa (Moses) the Book …

However, God in the Old Testament spoke in the first person, singular (I). Here are some examples from the Holy Bible, King James Version:

Genesis 17:1 – I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Genesis 26:3 – I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.
Genesis 28:13 – I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
Exodus 11:1 – Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt.
Exodus 16:4 – I will rain bread from heaven for you.
Exodus 19:4 – Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians.
Exodus 20:2 – I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Exodus 31:3 – And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.
Isaiah 43:11 – I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Isaiah 43:15 – I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
Isaiah 43:25 – I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Isaiah 44:6 – I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew except a few verses in Aramaic. I do not know if there is the “Royal We” in Hebrew.

Why is it that earlier, in the Old Testament, God spoke with authority as “I” but in the Qur’an, Allah spoke as “We”? Is God in the Old Testament the same as Allah in the Qur’an? Who is Allah really? Is he the true God?

Answer 1

I hate to contradict you, but the Old Testament frequently uses the plural 'we', when referring to God. 'We made Adam in our image', for example.

Also, the word 'Elohim' isn't exactly a singular noun, as the affix 'im' usually indicates a plural noun in Hebrew, as in one cherub, two cherubim. The theory is that back in the dim distant past there may have been two of more 'gods' that ended up as one. The OT was probably passed down verbally before there was writing, it would have been easy to combine stories of various gods into one.

Answer 2

Hello my friend

It is true that God calls himself "we" in early parts of the Old Testament. Elohim is a plural word. This can be interpreted in various ways. It's best to consult scholarly and archeological texts on the subject. Very early Judaism was distintinguishing itself from surrounding cultures. One tribe's god was El, the other's was Yahweh. At a certain point they became identified as the same being that was distinct from (regarded as not having any correspondences with) Father-god or Godhead deities of other surrounding cultures (such as the Babylonian deity Baal). Still, this is not necessarily why God is referred to as "we" in the OT--it's a little more complicated but and one needs to really want to get into the mystical cosmology of Judaism and semantics and the mysticism of letters and numbers to understand it rightly.

I agree that the use of "we" in the Qu'ran is more of a "royal" formal, quasi-third person way of saying "I."

Answer 3

Strong's Hebrew and Greek Concordance identify the English word 'God' in Genesis 1 - 3 with number 430 : elohym. It is plural in form. No I don't have to time to check out all the places where that word is used but in these three chapters alone, it appeared at least 50 times !!

Answer 4

In Sura 3:105, The Qur’an explicitly identifies a party of men sanctioned to invite goodness, enjoin equity, and forbid evil. This party of men surfaces throughout The Qur’an not as Allah, the all forgiving and merciful God, but as fanatical aggressors who are responsible for the destruction of many towns and killing of innocent people in the name of Allah. One such sura below demonstrates the planned strategy of militants, identified as We and Our, killing people while they are asleep at night or in the afternoon while at play. Such chastisement could not have been committed by Allah, the ever merciful and all-forgiving God but by a fanatical party of men.

….Qur’an Sura 7:97-100. We afflicted them suddenly with chastisement, while they perceived not the cause thereof. If the people of those towns had believed and been righteous, We would surely have bestowed blessings upon them from heaven and earth, but they rejected the Prophets, so We seized them because of that which they did. Do the people of these towns now feel secure against the coming of Our punishment upon them by night while they are asleep? Or, do they feel secure against the coming of Our punishment upon them in the forenoon while they are at play? Do they feel secure against the design of Allah? None feels secure against the design of Allah, except those that are losers….

Many other suras identify a party of men that are clearly referred to as We, Our and Us and could not be the all-forgiving and merciful Allah.

Answer 5

Excellent point, and I love how one of the answers goes on about the entirely separate issue of Allah's "gender". As you rightfully pointed out, the reference is plural.

The Quran has many contradictions and absurdities, but in this case, I think the Quran itself provides the answer to your question:

Quran 4:59 "O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination." http://www.usc.edu/dept/msa/quran/004.qm...

So the Quran demands obedience to the Allah AND the messanger (Muhammad) AND those charged with authority (imam's). So herein we have the "we", or in other words, Muhammad is a co-deity, deserving obdience on par with Allah. As a co-deity, Muhammad must have also assisted in the parting of the sea, after all, it wasnt simply Allah who parted the sea, but it was "we" who "parted the sea for you".

Answer 6

It's about translation and the use of a "royal plural"

Answer 7

it is a form of respect in many languages like italian, or spanish, or arabic, or the urdu language.
and for the gender, we consider Him as a being.

Answer 8

a) The Arabic word 'Allah' has no gender. The Arabic grammar has only two genders, male and female and male gender is of two types:

1. Masculine Haqeeqi i.e. Real, which is used to denote the masculine gender in humans, animals.

2. Masculine Majazi i.e. Unreal, wherein it is used as Masculine but in reality it is not so e.g. (Angels) Malak, Layl (Night), Bab (door). The word Allah (swt), too falls in the second category i.e. Masculine Majazi.

The English language has got three genders; male, female and neutral. So if we translate the Arabic word 'huwa' into English, it can be translated as 'he' or 'it'. And the Arabic word 'hiya' can be translated as 'she' or 'it'.

Allah (swt) is unique and cannot be referred as 'it' in English, since Allah (swt) has no gender, neither male nor female or neutral.

Some people may argue that the Arabic word 'huwa' and 'hiya' both can be used for 'it' or neutral gender, then why Allah has used 'huwa' and not 'hiya' ?

In Arabic grammar there are certain rules and criteria for feminine gender. First, if it is female by nature, like the word mother (ummum), it becomes feminine in gender. Allah is not a female. Second, if it ends with the third Arabic letter 'ta' like 'mirwahtun' (fan), it becomes feminine.
The Arabic word 'Allah' doesn't end with 'ta' so it cannot be feminine. Third, if the word ends with 'Alif Mamduda' (big Alif), it becomes feminine.
But the Arabic word 'Allah' doesn't end with 'Alif Mamduda' so, it cannot be feminine. And lastly, if the object occurs in pairs, like pairs of the body, e.g. 'Ainun' (eyes), 'yadun' (hands), they are considered feminine. But Allah (swt) says in the Glorious Qur'an in Surah Ikhlas, chapter 112, verse 1"

"Say: He is Allah the ONE and Only;"

So Allah (swt) is one and not a pair. Therefore, by default since it cannot be used as 'Hiya' i.e. she or it, Allah (swt) uses huwa i.e. He. And Allah (swt) knows the best.

b) Many people have a misconception that Islam is a new religion and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the founder of Islam. However, Islam has been in existence since time immemorial. Islam was present when the first human Adam (pbuh) first set foot on the earth. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is not the founder of Islam but the last and final messenger of Allah.

It is mentioned in the Glorious Qur'an :

"And there never was a people without a warner having lived among them (in the past)." (Surah Fatir, 35:24)

Narrated Umama that Abu Dhar said :

I asked , "O Messenger of Allah, altogether how many messengers were sent?" The Prophet (pbuh) said: One Hundred and Twenty Four Thousand." (Mishkat-Ul-Masabih, authenticated by Shaikh Nasiruddin Albani, Vol. 3, Pg. No. 1599, Hadith No. 5737)

The Religion of all the Prophets was 'total submission to God's will' and one word for that in the Arabic language is 'Islam'.

It is mentioned in the Qur'an that Abraham (pbuh) was a Muslim.

"Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian but he was true in faith and bowed his will to Allah's (which is Islam) and he joined not gods with Allah." (Surah Al Imran, 3:67)

It is mentioned in Surah Al Imran Chapter 3 Verse 52 that Jesus (pbuh) was a Muslim.

" When Jesus (pbuh) found unbelief on their part he said: " Who will be my helpers to (the work of) Allah?" said the Disciples: "We are Allah's helpers we believe in Allah and do thou bear witness that we are Muslims" (Surah Al Imran, 3:52)

Allah (swt) says in the Glorious Qur'an in Surah Al Imran, Chapter 3 Verse 19:

"The Religion before Allah is Islam (Submission to His will)"

And further Allah (swt) mentions in Surah Al Imran Chapter 3, Verse 85:

"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah) never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good)"

Thus, Islam is the first religion and hence the oldest of all the religions. It is the only true religion. All the other religions came later.

The Glorious Qur'an is the last and final revelation of Allah (swt) which was revealed to the last and final messenger prophet Muhammad (pbuh). After him no messenger will come to guide humankind. As Allah (swt) says in the Glorious Qur'an in Surah Al Ahzab, chapter 33 verse 40:

"Muhammad (pbuh) is not the father of any of your men but (he is) the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets: And Allah (swt) has full knowledge of all things."

Allah knows the best !

Answer 9

"We are not amused" - queen victoria, the we is just showing Godlyness and power and royalty as Ceaser spoke in thrid person etc.

Answer 10

royal plural