Perspective of the Quran

[Mali]

Assalamu-alaikum my dear brother, sisters and respected elders in Islam.

I have recently been reading the interpretation of the meaning of the Quran and have started to ponder the perspective of which the Quran is written in.

I realise that a direct translation from the arabic will contain incomplete infomation and lose its exact meaning, and also that certain words/phrases may have many interpretations such as the use of 'We' as used as a stronger indication of 'I'.

I would like to know your thoughts as to why some parts of the Quran refer to Allah as 'Allah'/'The One' and some to 'Him' and some to 'We'

Kind Regards
Muklis

[sunnimale]

Assalam alaikum.

Allah says in quran
**Yusuf Ali's translation**
"We have sent it down as an arabic Qur'an, in order that ye may learn wisdom"( QURAN ,12:2)"

"(It is) a Qur'an in arabic, without any crookedness (therein): in order that they may guard against Evil" ( 39: 28)

"We have made it a Qur'an in arabic, that ye may be able to understand (and learn wisdom) ( 43:3)

The message of Quran is for the whole of the mankind . TO understand its grammer in detail we must know arabic .

Some non muslims ask this question " if Quran is for the whole mankind , why was it revealed only in Arabic?

Quran was revealed on prophet mohammed ( alahissalaam) , who was sent in arabia and who spoke Arabic. The prophetic mission started from arabia and spread to other parts of the world.It would have been of no sense , a prophet calling for teachings and spreading the messaage in a langauage which people around him cannot undesrstand.

Allah says in quran
"
Had We sent this as a Qur'an (in the language) other than arabic, they would have said: "Why are not its verses explained in detail? What! (a Book) not in arabic and (a Messenger an Arab?" Say: "It is a Guide and a Healing to those who believe; and for those who believe not, there is a deafness in their ears, and it is blindness in their (eyes): They are (as it were) being called from a place far distant!" ( Quran 41:44)

No English translation can give its EXCAT meaning . For example , quran 2 : 62 , whole verse is in past tense ( the word " kafaru" Is for past tense), but all the english translation has it in "present " tense and the english trnalstors have done this to avoid confusion.

Regarding your general query , insha Allah some learned brother will answer , but if you can quote a verse , then some more can try as to why " HE is used there and not " ALLAH " OR why" THE one" IS USED .

Tafsir baydawi and ruhul bayan , both explain many such fine details.

wassalam

[Mali]

Assalamu-alaikum my dear brother, sisters and respected elders in Islam.

Thank you for your reply.

Kind Regards
Muklis

[AbuZaid]

Here is an answer to that question by Dr Zakir Naik.

Question:
Does Islam believe in several gods because the Quran uses the word ‘We’ when God speaks in the Quran?

Answer:
Islam is a strictly monotheistic religion. It believes in and adheres to uncompromising monotheism. It believes that God is one, and unique in His attributes. In the Quran, 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.

Two types of plural
In several languages, there are two types of plurals, one is a plural of numbers to refer to something that occurs in a quantity of more than one. The other plural is a plural of respect.

1. In the English language, the Queen of England refers to herself as ‘We’ instead of ‘I’. This is known as the ‘royal plural’.

2. 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.

3. Similarly in Arabic, when Allah refers to Himself in the Quran, He often uses Arabic word Nahnu meaning ‘We’. It does not indicate plural of number but plural of respect.

Tawheed or monotheism is one of the pillars of Islam. The existence and uniqueness of one and only one God is mentioned several times in the Quran. For instance in Surah Ikhlas, it says: “Say He is Allah the One and Only.” [Al-Quran 112: 1]



JAzaak Allahu Khair

[basidd1]

I saw one thing on the PBS Documentary "Islam: Empire of Faith," that a possible explanation is that by shifting the pronouns, I, We, He, it keeps people from having a clear conception of Allah. This avoid the anthropomorphosis other faiths have undergone.

[AbuZaid]

Jazaak Allahu Khair Br basidd 1