| "Allaah, 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):'Verily, We have given you a manifest victory" [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." |
( Al-'Aqeedah al-Tadmuriyyah by
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, p. 75).
These words, innaa ("Verily We") and nahnu ("We"), 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 " We have decided…" etc. [This is known in English as "The
Royal We" – 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'an innaa ("Verily We") and nahnu ("We"), 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
| "Verily, We: it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e., the Qur'an)" |
[al-Hijr 15:9 – 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):
| "And your god is One God, there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful" [al-Baqarah 2:163] |
and
| "Say: He is Allaah, the One" [al-Ikhlaas 112:1] |
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.
(Al-'Aqeedah al-Tadmuriyyah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, p. 109).