No Muslim can explain why Allah uses “We” in the Quran
The Quran over and over again talks about Allah using plural nouns and descriptors. For example,
“Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He relented toward him. Lo! He is the relenting, the Merciful.
We said: Go down, all of you, from hence; but verily there cometh unto you from Me a guidance; and whoso followeth My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.”
(Surah 2:37–38)
And again,
“Nothing of our revelation (even a single verse) do we abrogate or cause be forgotten, but we bring (in place) one better or the like thereof. Knowest thou not that Allah is Able to do all things?”
(Surah 2:106)
Our Muslim friends tell us that this is the Royal We and that Allah is utilising something called the plural of majesty.
There are three problems with this explanation though,
First, the Royal We, is not a known rhetorical device in pre 7th century Arabia, something which will become especially clear when we get to the second point. The Royal We was a 12th century invention originating in France. So it is highly anachronistic to appeal to a rhetorical device five centuries after and in a completely different cultural context to solve this issue.
No king, Israelite or Gentile in the Bible or the Quran ever uses this “Royal We”. It shows it just was not a thing when the text was written. To quote Muslim scholar M. A. S. Abdel Haleem,
“It should be pointed out that in pre-Islamic literature, and during the time of the revelation of the Qur’an, pronouns do not appear to have been used as indicative of status; they did not change with social status, and the plural of majesty, in particular, does not appear to have been used by, or for addressing or referring to, kings or chiefs. The Prophet and his early successors did not use it for themselves nor in their letters to address kings or governors. It was clearly in the Qur’an that such usage was introduced, as has been shown, on the basis of a highly sophisticated application of the concept of plurality.”
(M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, “Grammatical Shift For Rhetorical Purposes: Iltifat and Related Features in the Qur’an”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 55, №3 (1992), p. 414. Haleem provides the following footnote in connection with this observation: M. Sa’rān, al-Lugha wa’l-mujtama’ (Cairo, 1963), 139–58)
The second reason the explanation does not work is that Muhammad was specifically asked about why Allah speaks using plural pronouns in the Quran. This was the historical background for Chapter 3 of the Quran,
“A deputation of the Christians of Najran came to the apostle….
… They were Christians according to the Byzantine rite, though they differed among themselves in some points, saying He is God; and He is the son of God; and He is the third person of the Trinity, which is the doctrine of Christianity. They argue that he is God because he used to raise the dead, and heal the sick, and declare the unseen; and make clay birds and then breathe into them so that they flew away; and all this was by the command of God Almighty, ‘We shall make him a sign to men.’ They argue that he is the son of God in that they say he had no known father; and he spoke in the cradle and this is something that no child of Adam has ever done. They argue that he is the third of three in that God says: We have done, We have commanded, We have created and We have decreed, and they say, If He were only one he would have said I have done, I have created, and so on, because He is He and Jesus and Mary. Concerning all these assertions the Quran came down.”
(A Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah (Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 271–274)
This would have been as perfect a time as any for Muhammad to for all time clear up this dispute. He could have mentioned the Royal We here. But instead what does he respond with?
“He it is Who hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture wherein are clear revelations — they are the substance of the Book — and others (which are) allegorical. But those in whose hearts is doubt pursue, forsooth, that which is allegorical seeking (to cause) dissension by seeking to explain it. None knoweth its explanation save Allah. And those who are of sound instruction say: We believe therein; the whole is from our Lord; but only men of understanding really heed”
(Surah 3:7)
Essentially, some of Allah’s revelation are clear, some are unclear and only Allah knows what they mean but a true Muslim just believes all of it anyway. Only Allah knows why he speaks in the plural form! If this is the case, any Muslim that tries to explain this is already a kafir (disbeliever) because he claims to have knowledge and understanding only Allah does! He claims to have knowledge Muhammad does not!
Again, note that the Christians also spoke fantastic Arabic and even they had not heard of the plural of majesty or even remotely link the concept to the “We” verses. It was as much a mystery to them as it remains to us today, so a knowledge of Arabic or an understanding of its culture does not bring 21st century readers any closer to resolving this issue.
The third reason this explanation does not work is that even if we were to grant that this is about the plural of majesty, does it mean it is more majestic to be plural than singular? If this is the case then it would be more majestic for Allah to be a trinity rather than an absolute monad!
In conclusion, the God of the Bible uses plural pronouns because by nature He is a multiplicity of persons in one being. Our Muslim friends mock that idea but they are in absolutely no position to tell us why Allah uses plural pronouns and whats worse? No Muslim can actually explain why because if they do, they are claiming to understand Allah more than Muhammad did and they claim to understand something only Allah does!
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