Why does Allah refer to Himself with the plural pronoun?

If Allah is One, then why does He sometimes refer to Himself with the plural pronoun, "We"?

[This answer was originally posted as a response to a student question in the course, The Pearl of Divine Oneness (BLF201)]

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

1. Rhetorical Subtleties

One of the earliest and most authoritative Quranic lexicologists, al-Raghib al-Asfahani (d. 425 A.H.), explained that nahnu (Arabic for we) is normally a pronominal reference that a speaker makes to himself when speaking of himself along with others. When Allah Most High uses nahnu to refer to Himself the Quran, He may either be using it solely for Himself, or, if the He speaks of an action that He creates at the hands of His angels, for example, He may be referring to the Himself along with His angels. [1]

When He uses nahnu to refer to Himself, nahnu is the royal we, and connotes majesty. Someone steeped in the Quranic language will feel humbled before the divine majesty when reciting such verses. This humbleness is the essence of worship, which defines the relationship between servant and Master. Verses that speak of resurrection and judgment, for example, have a powerful aura of divine majesty. In one such passage, Allah Most High says,

The next verse uses the royal we to continue this scene of divine majesty, saying, "nahnu a`lamu bi ma yaquluna idh  yaqulu amthaluhum tariqatan in labithtum illa yawma.", meaning, " We know very well what they say, when the best of them in his ways will say, “You did not remain more than one day.”" (Quran, 20:102—104)

Other verses accept the second interpretation offered by Asfahani, e.g., "inna nahnu nazzalna al-dhikra", meaning "It is We who have sent down the Remembrance [i.e., the Quran]." (Quran, 15:9) The nahnu here could be the royal we (with the same connotations as in the previous verse), or Allah may be referring to Himself along with the Angel Jibreel. The dominant interpretation here and elsewhere, though, is that it is the royal we.

2. Language Shifts

The royal we used to be common in the English language. Fowler's Modern English Usage notes,


Because the royal we has fallen into disuse, it no longer produces the same rhetorical effect:


This shift in the English language carries over when we read English translations of the Quran, and leads to questions like the one being addressed in this answer.

In its original Arabic, the eloquence of the Quran is miraculous, meaning that a rhetorician of the ancient Arabic language will clearly see that the Quranic eloquence can only be an act of God. There are many rhetorical devices in the ancient Arabic language, though, that have fallen into disuse in modern Arabic, or that have no equivalent in English. Our stony insensitivity to the Quranic eloquence is commensurate with our ignorance of the style and metaphor of the ancient Arabic language in which it was revealed.

This is a straightforward fact recognized everywhere. There are many expressions in the beautiful English of Shakespeare, for example, that have either become meaningless or taken on a different meaning. The word fond was used by Shakespeare to mean foolish: "For I, too fond, might have prevented this." (Rich III 3.4) [5] The word grin, which we today associate with pleasure, was used by Shakespeare (and many others until recent times) as simply "show one's teeth": "the pangs of death do make him grin" (2 HVI 3.3). [6]

3. The "I" of Intimacy

If nahnu connotes divine majesty, then why ever use ana (Arabic for I)? Muslim rhetoricians explain that eloquence (balagha) is not static, but varies from one situation to another. [7] Some situations demand an aura of divine majesty, other situations demand an aura of divine intimacy.

Intimacy with Allah Most High is the privilege of those He loves, and when He speaks to them, He often uses ana rather than nahnu. One of the most intimate conversations in the Quran is Allah Most High's conversation with the Prophet Moses (upon him be peace) on Mount Sinai, where Allah Most High refers to himself with ana rather than nahnu.


Similarly, after promising His devoted servants His eternal pleasure in Paradise,


He tells His Prophet, "Tell My servants I am the All-forgiving, the All-compassionate," (Quran, 15:49) using the singular pronoun ana to connote loving intimacy, and then giving them a gentle warning, "and that My chastisement is the painful chastisement." (Quran, 15:50) Contrast the tone of this singular-pronoun-warning with the royal-we-warning issued to those who obstinately disobey Him, "We shall take vengeance upon the sinners." (Quran, 32:22)

A famous hadith qudsi that speaks of the intimacy of the remembrance of Allah also uses ana rather than nahnu: the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) said that Allah says,


The Quran is miraculously beautiful, but to taste the beauty, one needs to learn the ancient Arabic language. To someone who masters ancient Arabic, the Quran is a sparkling jewel. If one finds that one can't see the beauty, the fault lies in oneself, not in the Quran.

And Allah Most High knows best.

Hamza.


[1] al-Raghib al-Asfahani, Mufradat Alfadh al-Quran, Entry Title: n.h.n.

[2] OED is an abbreviation for Oxford English Dictionary and OE is an abbreviation for Old English.

[3] R.W. Burchfield (ed.), The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (3rd ed.), Entry Title: we

[4] Ibid.

[5] Shakespeare Dictionary, http://www.acepilots.com/bard/ws_word_f.html (as accessed on August 18, 2009)

[6] Shakespeare Dictionary, http://www.acepilots.com/bard/ws_word_g.html (as accessed on August 18, 2009)

[7] "Eloquence of speech is for speech to correspond to the demands of the situation and for it to be well-formed (fasih). What is demanded by a situation varies: a situation suited to indefiniteness is different from a situation suited to definiteness, a situation suited to the absence of qualification is different from a situation suited to qualification ..." (al-Khatib al-Qazwini, al-Idah fi `Ulum al-Balagha, Muqadimma fi al-kashfi `an ma`na al-fasaha wa al-balagha)

[8] Muslim rhetoricians comment on the succeeding verses, saying that when Allah Most High asks the Prophet Musa, "And what is that in your right hand, O Musa?”, he deliberately prolongs his response by mentioning additional details (beyond the simple answer, "It is my staff.") to relish his intimate discourse with Allah Most High, "It is my staff. I lean on it, and I beat down leaves with it for my sheep, and I have many other uses for it." (Quran, 20:17,18)