The Plural and Singular use in the Quran

[Arnold Yasin Mol]

I hope through the use of Tasreef, cross-comparison of the Message of verses, to get a closer understanding on why the Plural is used in the Quran.

The Plural use has been used by Christians and Islamic mystic sects to proclaim a Trinity or plurality or a sharing of power with Allah. Many see it as a mistake, or tried to explain it by saying Allah is to big and All-encompassing to only use the singular form. Many attempts have been made to explain it, or use it as evidence that Allah is not the Monotheist God of Abraham.

So what is the Plural form? Why is it used. To answer this question we must look at WHEN it is used. The Quran explains itself by using similair concepts with different subjects. So first we must establish the common fact in the Quran:

"GOD IS ONE" (2:133, 163; 4:171 5:73; 6:19; 9:31; 12:39; 13:16; 14:48, 52; 16:22, 51; 18:110; 21:108; 22:34; 37:4; 38:65; 39:4; 40:16; 41:6; 112:1).

Whenever the first person plural form is used by the Almighty, it mostly invariably indicates participation of other entities, such as the angels and humans.

For example, the revelation of this Quran involved participation of the angel Gabriel and the prophet Muhammad, but also Allah's Kalimat. Hence the use of the plural form in 15:9:
"We revealed this scripture, and we will preserve it."
The plural form here simply reflects the fact that the angel Gabriel and the prophet Muhammad participated in the processof delivering the Quran.

Say you have a company that produces tables. You are the designer, but you have other people making the tables. You have even created the people, all the material that will be needed, the whole factory is made by you. You can say the table is designed by you, but about the completed tables, you must say: We, me and the craftsmen, have created the tables. Even if you have made every subtance that is involved. Why? Because you have granted a Personality to the craftsmen. You gave them an ego, a sense of an 'I'. As Allah is Rahman, He will not act as if we have no sense of Self, He acknowledges our sense of Self by using 'We'.

In 2:23 also the 'We' is used to explain that the Revelation was brought to Muhammed:

2:23 If you are still in doubt concerning that which We have revealed unto Our servant (Muhammad), ......

And the 'We' use is explained in:

2:97 “Who bears a grudge against Gabriel?" For he it is who has revealed this Qur’an upon your heart by Allah’s Will....

So it Allah who is acknowledging Gabriel as an entity with a personality. Just as in 15:9, where Allah acknowledges Muhammed as a being with a personal ego. Everything is part of Allah, so all is done through Him, and none can go outside of Allah. But we have a personal ego that can make its own decisions and think on its own. Allah acknowledges this by using the Plural 'We' in these verses.

But Allah has used the Plural also for something different:

2:34 And when We said to the angels, “Humble yourselves and be subservient to Adam, or mankind - they instantly complied humbling themselves, except Iblis (Satan). He refused through self-glorification, and so became a rejecter of the Divine Command.

Here the 'We' represent Allah and His Will that is expressed in His Kalimat=Word/Decree/Design/Prophecy.

Angels in Arabic is Malikah, which means: something in power, authority and control. Thus you can translate the word Malikah with 'The Ones in control and authority'. It is a description of an attribute, and is common description for the Forces of Nature that rule the creation, but also for powerfull messengers as Gabriel, and even powerfull humans.

So you can see that the 'We' is always used when between stages or mediators are used. It never refers to Allah by itself in my knowledge. Dr.Shabbir believes it to represent Allah's Supreme Kingship. And I agree on this when it comes to the above verse 2:34, where it is Allah and His Will expressed in His Kalimat=Decree that represents Supreme Kingship and Total Rule of the Creation.

It is a bit as 'me and my ideas'. Your ideas come forth out of you, as you create them, make them into excistence. So I can say 'me and my ideas' have changed your idea on the plural use of the Quran inshAllah.

This can be seen with the creation of Jesus where he is called a result and sign of Allah's Kalimat, Allah's Decree. The plural form is consistently used when referring to the creation of Jesus (21:91, 66:12) where Allah's Ruh, Inspiritation, is breathed into Mary. So this explains the 'We' in 2:34 to be Allah and His Kalimat. Especially look at 4:171 where it clearly says that HE and not WE, has imparted His Kalimat unto Mary, and suddenly the WE is used in 21:91and 66:12.

3:34 "O Maryam, surely Allah gives thee glad tidings with a Word/Decree (kalimah) from Him, whose name is the Masih Isa, son of Mryam…

No use of We, only Allah and His Kalimat:
4:171 The Masih, - Isa son of Maryam, is but a messenger of Allah, and His Word/Decree (kalimah) which He imparted towards Maryam

Suddenly the use of the Plural We:
21:91 And remember her (Mary) who guarded her chastity (under very adverse circumstances). We breathed into her of Our Energy, and caused her, together with her son, to become a symbol of Our Grace unto all people.

In this case I believe it Allah and His Decree that has told the Forces of the Universe to submit to Adam, mankind. Which explains the plural use. Also it is a clear single entity, as the single form HE is used in 4:171 and 3:34. If it was a plurality, it would have used 'They'.

That Allah is a single Personality and not a trinity or multiple entity, can be shown easily with a few very important verses.

When Allah blew in His Ruh, Divine Energy of Personality, into Adam, the whole mankind; He uses the singular form:

15:29 And when I have perfected him in due proportion and breathed into him something of My Energy, bow before him.” (That something will be the gift of free will, the ability to make decisions 76:3)

38:72 And when I have designed him, and breathed into him from My Energy (from the Attribute of Free Will) then be submissive to him.”

This shows the direct relationship between us and Allah, but also that this Ruh, His Energy that gives us Personality and Inspiration, can only be gotten from Him. This shows immediately that the only entity ,which is the Supreme Personality, is a single entity. If there were more gods, or personalities of gods as in the trinity, that would have had the control over creating a personality, an ego, it would have used 'We' and not 'I'.

This Ruh must not be confused with the Ruh that was used on Mary, as this clearly refers to Inspiritation, as her baby is meant to be a Prophet. The word Ruh is used multiple times for Wahi, Divine Revelation, in the Quran. Adam is Arabic for Mankind and also Black Man [adami=to be brown], and thus refers to the first humans as well as Mankind in total. As only Prophet's receive Divine Revelation, the Ruh they receive is different from the Ruh that is given to Mankind in total. For Mankind it clearly refers to the Ruh of having a personality, an ego or 'I'.

That Jesus's Ruh is also different is shown in the verse 2:87:

2:87 And, verily, We gave the Scripture to Moses, and after him We sent a succession of Messengers. And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear evidence of the Truth and We strengthened him with Ruhul Qudus=Holy Inspiritation....

So it is clear that Allah's Kalimat=Decree is involved when it comes to Revelation, as is seen also in 15:9, where it is Allah's Decree that the Quran would be preserved.

This is also why the 'Us' is used in the Quran. For example:

18:28 ...And pay no heed to any whom Our Law has made to forget Us because he only follows his desires, and abandons all that is right.

The 'Us' here again represents Allah and His Kalimat, His Decree and Word. So everytime you see an 'Us' it represents Allah and His Will expressed in His Kalimat, Word and Decree. His Kalimat is not a seperate entity outside of Allah, but His Decree of the Creation.

18:48 All mankind will be one, as they were in the beginning (2:213). Before their Lord total equity will prevail as if all were lined up before Him (10:19). “Now, indeed, you have come to Us just as the initial state after We created you. This is so, although you thought that We had not set it to happen.”

We were created through His Word/Kalimat. So the plural use represents Allah's Royal Command and Control in the Universe. That is expressed in His Laws.

Another important notion to explain the difference in the single use and plural use is when Allah spoke to Moses directly, without the mediation of Malikah/Angels, we see that Allah is speaking exclusively in the singular tense:

20:12 Verily, I am your Lord! Take off your sandals, verily, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa=wrapped within=Vision.” (Your quest for the Truth is over. So lighten the burdens of your search. Now you are in the Sacred Valley of Revelation).
20:13 I have chosen you to be My Prophet. Listen, then, to what is being revealed.
20:14 Verily, I, I alone am Allah, there is no god but Me. Therefore, serve Me alone, and from this very moment strive to establish the Divine Order in the land to practically remember Me.

As you can see clearly, when Allah talks directly to Moses, it only uses the singular and clearly says: I alone am Allah, there is no god but Me. All possibilities to a trinity or plurality-power is completely denied.

20:15 Behold, the revolution is surely coming. But I Will to keep it hidden for the time-being.

If a plural would be needed to represent a plurality-power or trinity, then which one of the gods is the only one knowing the moment of revolution? If Allah is as well singular and plural, this would relate to a confusion in His own Personality. Of course this is nonsense, and so again Allah is a single Entity.

Whenever the service of Allah is mentioned, the singular tense is used 51:56:

51:56 And I have not created the nomads or the urban but to consciously and willingly live by My Laws. (‘Ibadah’, usually translated, as worship is better applicable in that sense to idol-worship. And since the Qur’an consistently promotes action over ritual, ‘Ibadah’ of Allah is better understood as serving Him by serving His creation. That is in conformity with my rendering, I consciously and willingly live by --’).

Still many forms of 'We', 'Us' must explained, this is just the beginning.

May Allah increase us in Knowledge.

[Mahmood Qasmi]

Salam Arnold,

I must say, this is an excellent analysis. I had always thought that there was a pattern to the use of "We" v/s "I" and it did not merely signify "We" in the sense of showing Divine Stature. Excellent to see an analytical approach to differenciate the two in such detail.

Nothing in the Quran is without due purpose and reason...

[Arnold Yasin Mol]

Also to show another side of the Plural use in the Quran, is the this common used custom:

Pluralis majestatis

Pluralis majestatis ("majestic plural") is the plural pronoun where it is used to refer to one person alone. This is also known as the "royal 'we'" or the "Victorian 'we'" because it has usually been restricted to august personages such as monarchs, bishops, popes, and university rectors. The idea behind the pluralis majestatis is that a monarch or other high official always speaks for his or her people. For example, the Basic Law of the Sultanate of Oman opens thus:
On the Issue of the Basic Law of the State We, Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman…[1]

Famous examples of purported instances:
We are not amused. — Queen Victoria (in at least one account of this quotation, though, she was not speaking for herself alone, but for the ladies of the court.)
The abdication statement of Nicholas II of Russia uses the pluralis majestatis liberally.
We are a grandmother. — Margaret Thatcher announcing the birth of Mark Thatcher's son Michael in 1989.
In January 1996 Hillary Clinton became the first US First Lady to be subpoenaed to appear before a criminal grand jury, in connection with the Whitewater affair; objecting to the release of documents, she said "I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers - we are the President."

Another view of the form is that it reflects the fact that when a monarch speaks he or she speak both in their own name and in the name of their function, office or status.

United States Navy Admiral Hyman G. Rickover told a subordinate who used the royal we: "Three groups are permitted that usage: pregnant women, royalty, and schizophrenics. Which one are you?" This was said as the subordinate was speaking for superiors without authority as well as in an unofficial capacity.

It is to be distinguished from pluralis modestiae, also pluralis auctoris (inclusion of readers or listeners). For instance:
Let us calculate! — Leibniz
We are thus led also to a definition of "time" in physics. — Albert Einstein